One of the most important factors for business owners is the trust built with their customers. It helps build long-lasting relationships, along with customer referrals.
Companies such as Apple and Nike do a fantastic job of creating a cult following — they build trust. Great leaders understand that customer trust can be crucial to growing your base.
According to PwC’s 2022 Consumer Intelligence Series Survey on Trust, 30% of consumers find it hard to trust companies. This is important as customer trust impacts your bottom line and affects how many customers purchase your product or service.
How Can You Naturally Build Customer Trust?
Trust is more than a good product or a friendly atmosphere. If you want to build customer trust through excellent customer service and create loyal customers, you need to focus on two things:
- Provide value to your customers
- Be transparent about what you do and why you do it
Trust is built over time by being honest in your communication and having integrity in your actions. Here are 4 ways to build and maintain customer trust in your interactions:
- Be consistent
- Show empathy
- Be authentic
- Be transparent
8 Tips To Build Customer Trust
Trust is the glue that holds your business together. Customer retention through exceptional customer service isn’t always easy, but it’s worth the effort because it leads to long-term success and profitability.
Here are 8 tips for how to build customer trust.
1. Be Upfront About What You Do And Why You Do It
Customers want to know what they’re getting into before they do business with you. Whether it’s price, quality, or service, you need to be upfront about everything from day one, so there are no surprises later.
Be honest and open about your strengths and weaknesses to avoid losing trust.
Here’s an example of the website page of a UI/UX design agency called Contagion showcasing all their expertise.
Transparency builds trust by showing customers that you’re honest and trustworthy — two characteristics consumers value. Being transparent means being honest about what goes on behind the scenes and sharing information with customers regularly (not just when it suits the company).
This can include posting updates on social media channels, sending emails or newsletters regularly with information on new products or services, etc.
Make sure that your business has a clear mission and stellar customer service. Communicate with your customer base regularly so they know what’s happening. This will help build trust, showing that you’re listening to their needs and taking action based on this information.
2. Be Consistent In Your Approach
Personalised customer service is vital to building the customers’ trust — make sure staff members always use the same tone of voice when speaking with customers.
Be consistent in the customer journey about how long it takes for replies or goods to arrive. If there are delays or issues, communicate this honestly with customers so they know what’s going on rather than leaving them wondering what has happened.
Make sure you treat customer relationships the same way you treated them last month and last year — even if it’s just answering their questions over email or phone calls.
This will show existing customers that no matter what happens, they can always count on you. You’ll be honest and straightforward about any issue they have.
Consistency is critical for building genuine relationships through your message and brand image and how you interact with customers.
If you tell them one thing and then do something different, it will break the customer’s trust and confidence and likely lead to negative reviews or other bad experiences that could impact future sales and repeat business.
3. Don’t Overpromise And Underdeliver
Don’t promise many things that you can’t deliver on. This will only make customers lose faith in you and make it harder for them to trust you again.
When you promise something and don’t deliver, you lose credibility and money in lost sales and time. Verify your marketing materials reflect what you can provide and are aligned with customer interests so people aren’t disappointed later.
Focus on what you can do today and tell customers what’s coming so they can be excited. Set attainable goals and provide an accurate timeline for delivery so everyone is on the same page and there are no surprises.
Your customers need to be able to always count on you for consistent quality service or products. If you tell them something will happen by a particular time but fail to follow that promise, they’ll lose faith in your ability to deliver on what you say you’ll do — and they may never return.
4. Showcase Your Expertise in Your Content
Publishing content online is one of the best ways to showcase your expertise in your industry and connect with potential clients.
With just a few clicks, creators can upload their videos to various platforms. Whether it’s a vlog, tutorial, or short film, the process of publishing video content involves considering video quality, video editing, and metadata. Content creators strive to captivate viewers through compelling storytelling, visuals, and relevant tags to maximize discoverability. Once the video is published, creators can interact with their audience through comments, likes, and shares, fostering a sense of community and encouraging further engagement. Learn how to add YouTube videos to your website in 4 easy steps.
Related: How to Use YouTube for Your Small Business to Increase Sales
This can be anything from an ebook on creating an effective social media strategy for small businesses to a blog post sharing tips on managing finances during the holiday season, even you can schedule them on Instagram too. Use the best Instagram scheduling tools to post at the best times.
It shows that you know what you’re talking about and establishes credibility as an expert in your field.
If you want to gain customer trust but need help figuring out where to start, write an ebook about something related to their industry that they’ll find helpful. The more people read it and see your industry knowledge, the more likely they are to trust you and buy from you.
5. Involve Customers In Crucial Decisions On Products
Customers want to feel like they’re part of the process — that their input matters. That’s why so many companies use focus groups, surveys, and social media channels to get feedback from customers about what they like and dislike about their products.
When you involve them in the decision-making process, it builds trust between you and your customers because they feel they have a say in how things are done.
When customers have a positive experience with a brand, they are more likely to become loyal and recommend it to others. This generates leads and positive word-of-mouth.
When you involve customers in crucial decisions and value customer feedback, they feel that you trust their judgment and respect them. They feel part of the team and are more likely to become long-term customers through word-of-mouth marketing and online reviews.
6. Offer Money-Back Guarantee On Products
Money-back guarantees reassure customers that you’re confident in your product. When you offer a money-back guarantee, customers feel like they are making a low-risk purchase that they can try out and return if they don’t like it.
This policy gives them an easy way out if they aren’t happy with their purchase. You’ll also identify any potential issues early. So you can address them before they become more significant problems.
The result is increased customer satisfaction and loyalty — which translates into more sales and revenue.
7. Be Transparent About All Policies, Fees, And Prices
Customers want to know how things work so they can make informed decisions about their purchases and experiences.
They’ll feel more comfortable working with you if you’re willing to share this information upfront. They will know what to expect from each interaction and transaction. This builds trust in both directions (between buyer and seller).
Let’s assume your prices go up periodically without notice. This could cause some people considering buying from you to go elsewhere because they’re afraid of getting stuck with an expensive purchase.
Be transparent about everything from pricing policies to product ingredients. The current customers should feel confident about making purchases.
They shouldn’t feel like they’re being taken advantage of by hidden fees or unexpected and variable costs down the road after purchasing a product from you.
8. Use Social Proof By Showcasing Customer Testimonials Or Case Studies
Social proof through reviews and testimonials is one of the most powerful tools to help build customer trust in your brand or product. If customers see others using your product and experiencing positive results, they’ll try it. It shows potential customers that what they’re buying has been tried and tested.
You can even take it one step further and include a Facebook feed on your website, showcasing real-time interactions and updates from your community.
Include a photo of the happy customer and their comments about your dedicated support staff or good customer service. This is also great marketing content that will attract potential customers who want to learn more about your products or services before making a purchase.
Share information about yourself and your company on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Focus on providing helpful information that adds value to their lives while establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Key Takeaways
It’s no secret that business owners must give customers the confidence they need to make purchases.
When businesses strengthen customer trust with simple policy disclosures, transparent business practices, and trustworthy products, customers will reward them with their business.
Keep in mind that building and maintaining customer trust is something that takes time. But as long as you keep these tips in mind and become more trustworthy, you’ll be well on your way to a successful business. Just don’t abandon the fundamentals: honesty, fairness, and good communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you gain customer trust?
Start by being honest and transparent about everything in your business. If there is an issue, be upfront about it and explain what happened so that people know what happened without making assumptions about why something went wrong.
If someone makes an error on their own or because something out of control, it’s important to explain what happened. This will help customers understand the situation and prevent them from assuming the worst about the company or the person responsible
You can also earn their trust by delivering what you promise on time. If you make a mistake or have an inferior product, offer refunds or replacements immediately.
What is the importance of customer trust?
Customer trust is the foundation of doing business. It builds your reputation, and ultimately, it determines whether or not you will succeed.
If you are reliable in meeting commitments and obligations to customers, they will know they can count on you when they need something from you.
Trust is based on consistency, reliability, and predictability. If you are consistent in your interactions with customers, they will rely on you for their needs and become more likely to return again and again.
And if you are predictable in how you treat people, they will always know what to expect from your company. This predictability helps build customer loyalty and keeps them returning for more.
What are customer trust and loyalty?
Customer trust is the willingness of a customer to believe in the integrity of a company and its products or services. It’s the belief that the company will act consistently in the interests of its customers, employees, and shareholders.
Customer loyalty comes from customers’ satisfaction with the experience they get when dealing with your company or brand. Loyal customers are likelier to buy again and refer others to you because they value the relationship they have with you.
How do you build trust with customers online?
You build trust with customers online by:
- Being upfront about what you do and why you do it: Clearly communicate your business’s purpose and values to customers.
- Be consistent in your approach: Maintain a consistent message across all interactions.
- Underpromise and overdeliver: Avoid making promises you can’t keep and failing to meet customer expectations.
- Showcase your expertise with your content: Demonstrate your knowledge and skills through written content.
- Involve customers in crucial decisions on products or services: Seek inputs from customers when making important decisions.
- Offer a money-back guarantee on products: Provide a refund option for dissatisfied customers.
- Be transparent about all policies, fees, and prices: Make all policies, fees, and pricing information accessible to customers.
- Use social proof: Showcase customer testimonials to illustrate the value of your products.
