Trust is the one thing you want to instill in your customers when you’re starting a business. It’s what would compel your market to do business with you and repeat transactions with you. The problem in many new ventures today is that trust-building isn’t intentional.
Some new entrepreneurs feel like as long as they produce good-quality products and services, trust naturally follows. That, of course, happens. But your competitors do that as well. Perhaps, better than you, especially if you’re fighting against established brands already.
If you want to cut through the competition, you need to be deliberate in building trust with customers. This effort should never, ever be downplayed.
Improve communication.
The more that you talk to customers, the more they feel valued. That they’re not just moneymakers for you, but actual human consumers who are in need. How do you then create an effective communication plan?
One, focus on your message. It has to be personable. Avoid answering with scripted responses to queries in your social media pages. Hit your market’s needs and wants in your ads. Two, consider the means. Use different platforms in broadcasting your message and receiving feedback.
As for responding to queries (and complaints), be timely. As much as you can, get back to people’s questions within the day. This is most important when you’re in the food service business, where a tinge of doubt in health and safety can be brought about by a single social media post. So, if you’re running a soft pretzel shop or pizza chain, improve communication with customers always.
Innovate for the better.
Granted that you produce top-quality products and services now. Watch out, for it might not be the reality in the next few years, months, or weeks. Every day, there are new things emerging, and your market happily goes after the better. If you don’t offer that, not only are you going to be left behind in the industry, but your customers will find it hard to maintain loyalty towards your brand.
Don’t be complacent. Discover new products to offer. Find new ways of delivering services. The best way to ensure that you’re always innovating is to surround yourself with people who are obsessed with such. Find a mentor who can help you grow your business better. Join the business organizations in your community, so you can get sound advice for innovation decisions.
Impress with honesty.
Most customers find it hard to trust a product easily, simply because they’ve been lied to in the past. For instance, a business similar to yours promised them that they’d lose this much weight if they drink their vegan juices daily, yet they didn’t even shed a single pound off. Or, maybe some online business told them they would receive their ordered product at this date, but they didn’t.
The principle here is simple: avoid giving your customers false hopes. Sure, the extravagant claims look and sound good, but in the long run, it would only backfire. At best, you could have a social media backlash. At worst, you could face a lawsuit. The bottom line, your trustworthiness goes downward. Impress your customers with sheer honesty and not grand false claims.
Trust-building is one of those things you can never not prioritize in the business. If you want to stay in the industry for a long time, you need to make your brand trustworthy.
