11 ways to gain customer trust

11 ways to gain customer trust

What is Customer Trust? Why is it so important?

How to build trust with customers in 11 ways

1. Tell your story

2. Be honest and transparent

3. Know your target audience

4. Share comments

5. Create and share user rating videos

6. Post real pictures of yourself

7. Provide excellent customer service

8. Build a reputation

9. Share best practices

10. Make sure customers can reach you

11. Build group effects and social trust

What is Customer Trust? Why is it so important?

In today's business environment, knowing how to build trust with your customers is critical. Going the extra mile for your customers at all times is the surest way to build customer trust and a loyal customer base. Companies that fail to take the necessary steps to earn the trust of their customers are losing their potential.

Modern consumers are increasingly sophisticated, discerning and uncertain about their purchasing decisions. According to HubSpot's survey, more than half of customers (55%) now trust companies less than they did before.

Of course, on the face of it, this is a pretty depressing statistic.

But conversely, it actually represents a golden opportunity. If you can provide a better customer experience than your competitors, you'll attract 93% of customers who tell HubSpot they'll buy again and again from a company that provides great customer service

1. Tell your story

Telling your story is a key part of building your brand. It shapes how your audience sees you and allows them to go beyond the product level and understand the starting point of your startup.

If you can communicate your brand's history, expertise, and accomplishments, you're creating a brand that people can identify with. A man who is loved for his approach, his value, and his authenticity.

Have you ever noticed that when you're on the same wavelength as someone, you're automatically attracted to them?

It's exactly the same in business.

Burt Bee, an all-natural skincare brand, is a master storyteller. Their "Bring Back the Bees" campaign promises to plant 5,000 bee-friendly wildflowers in partnership with the British Beekeepers Association for every limited edition lip balm purchased.

They set up a fake florist to advertise the plight of bees, which were plagued by disappearing flowers (much to the surprise of their customers!). The message can be spread that "a world without bees is a world without flowers." "This video alone has over 2 million views and they have their finger on the pulse of public opinion with this video.

If you can write your own story like this, you may win an emotional (and financial) investment from your clients.

2. Be honest and transparent

There is no easy way to earn the trust of your customers; You have to earn it. So how do we do that? Well, a good place to start is to be open and transparent about your product and what potential customers expect from your company.

Stop exaggerating that you invented the best thing since sliced bread. Modern consumers are discerning when it comes to gimmicks and hype.

Give your customers all the information they need - including clear prices and even limits - to help them make an informed decision. The more a customer feels, the more likely they are to give you repeat business.

It's not unusual for McDonald's to occasionally have an image problem. After years of negative media coverage that hurt consumer trust in its brand, the burger giant set out to remove the demonization surrounding its food production methods.

In an effort to educate skeptics and turn public opinion around, their charm offensive has seen them confront common criticisms and demonstrate responsible practices, such as using only sustainable fish and free-range eggs.

After going head to head with critics, they took steps to dispel the guilt some customers might feel when visiting the Golden Arches.

There is nothing bad about honesty. Give it a try and see how much of an impact it has on your customer trust.

3. Know your target audience

Not long ago, market research was seen as a gimmick. But in an era where consumers crave personalized experiences rather than one-size-fits-all, this is more important than ever.

An in-depth study of your customers' needs, their common problems and pain points will help you develop tailored solutions that resonate with them on an individual basis.

If you can show a deep understanding of their needs and provide a service that not only solves their problem, but also brings added value, then your customers are more likely to trust you.

In 1950, the long-running American teen magazine Seventeen created Teena(Get it? !). This must be one of the earliest examples of the "buyer role."

Teena was "too tall, too fat, and too shy," the AD said, but she found solace in "favorite magazines that taught her what to wear, what to eat, and what lipstick to put on."

Thanks to a deep understanding of their readers (and their insecurities), seventeen people were able to write directly to them. Considering they're still going strong, it's obviously working for them!

Understand your audience, as well as your seventeen-year-old audience, and keep your sales and marketing campaigns laser-focused.

4. Share comments

What do employers, landlords and consumers have in common? They all ask each other to provide a forensics person to determine whether the other is trustworthy.

When was the last time you made a restaurant reservation without checking their reviews on TripAdvisor or Yelp first? Word-of-mouth recommendations are important.

We trust the experience of others, not the claims of the company. Reviews can help customers build a strong, immediate impression of a brand's goods and their customer service credentials.

According to our own research, 90% of people say they trust what other customers say about a company more than what the company says about them. Clearly, review is now an important part of our decision-making process.

On average, customers need to read 10 reviews to trust a company. So harness the power of recommendations by highlighting unedited reviews on your website, sharing positive feedback on your social media channels, and responding to reviews quickly and professionally to build a healthy reservoir of trust.

Google's My Business is the fastest growing review site and offers better local rankings for high-scoring businesses. There are countless other channels you can use, including Facebook, Feefo, Trustpilot, and more.

Shout about your success to get user reviews and recommendations, you need to convince new and existing customers to trust your business.

5. Create and share user rating feedback with videos

Taking the power of word of mouth a step further, evaluation video recommendations can be a powerful medium for demonstrating the value of products and the power of services.

If you want to convey the same message yourself, a brand ambassador's willingness to document it and speak passionately about their experiences at your company is a much more compelling and engaging proposition.

Consumers trust an unbiased opinion more than a company's message, so proof videos are a great starter tool to convince customers to buy yours

Having honest and organic branding offers a key narrative for building trust - especially for new customers.

Don't be afraid to ask your clients for testimonials. If they are happy with your service, they will be happy to tell others.

6. Post real pictures or videos of yourself

If you can't satisfy your customers, let's face it, time is limited. At the very least you should have a comprehensive "Meet the team" page.

As you work to help your customers feel connected to your brand, it's useful to show them the people behind the product. This is where you can build empathy and rapport on a human scale.

Online seller Etsy is a community of independent creators. For such a large and decentralized organization, they've made an effort to highlight all those people on the team page who bring life to their site.

It was a lovely touch. It reinforces the fact that clients are dealing with real people who are passionate about their craft.

Cement this relationship by engaging in meaningful human interaction with customers whenever possible.

7. Provide excellent customer service

The customer service your company provides has a big impact on customer trust and loyalty. Therefore, it is essential to employ highly trained professional support staff.

Not only do they need a consistent framework for solving common customer problems, but they also need to be given the freedom to deal with each customer problem on an individual basis.

Our goal is to provide your customers with an efficient, professional and personalised experience. If they feel that your team has gone beyond their capabilities, then they will most likely come back and then recommend you to their friends and family.

Peloton, a global fitness technology company, once had a recurring problem with the standard of service for high-end stationary bikes offered by third-party companies.

"The delivery man is not on time. They don't have a brand mindset. John Foley, Peloton's co-founder and CEO, said in an interview with PWC's Strategy + Business magazine.

Foley delivers its own bikes, now 70% of the company's bikes are delivered to their homes, and customer satisfaction with delivery is 5/5. Isn't it great? !

This is how to deal with customer pain points head-on.

8. Build a reputation

Business magnate Warren Buffett once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it."

Like many of Buffett's speeches, these are golden phrases to keep in mind.

Consider how Facebook's aura of untouchability disappeared overnight after its relationship with the British political consultant Cambridge Analytica was revealed.

Recently, Nike's relationship with Alberto Salazar, the banned track coach, became inseparable. Salazar has been managing Nike's Oregon project for years.

The fate of these two big companies shows that no organization, no matter how large or well-established, is immune to scandal and its impact on customer trust.

The key is to build a reputation for doing things right. This includes providing quality products, providing impeccable customer service, and training employees to the highest standards.

Best Buy, the US consumer electronics retailer, recognises the need to develop a motivated workforce. They have invested in digital tools for their sales teams and introduced product training modules that allow employees to train within designated training programs via high-speed bandwidth in the store.

Best Buy employees also enjoy higher discounts than the industry average, according to PWC's Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019, which helps them become passionate brand ambassadors.

A good customer experience starts with motivated employees and good training. If your employees are happy, your customers will be happy.

9. Share best practices

Who knows your product and industry better than you? Right. That's why you can win over your customers by sharing some practical tips and best practices on how to get the most out of your product.

This kind of work doesn't necessarily require you to invest a lot of time and resources, but will actually bring a lot of added value to your clients.

Sure, you're selling your product in a roundabout way, but you're also giving valuable information back to your customers, who will no doubt appreciate your efforts and insights.

Instructional videos are a great way to share product knowledge.

Our research tells us that as many as 96 percent of people say they watch instructional videos to learn more about a product or service, which aligns with 94 percent of video marketers who say videos help increase customer knowledge about a product or service.

This tutorial video from British DIY store B&Q details how to lay artificial turf. It has the double effect of providing useful advice to customers on the one hand and promoting their products on the other.

Give your customers extra tips and tips and don't expect anything in return except gratitude.

10. Make sure customers can reach you

The Business contact page is the touchpoint for customer interaction. Because of this, it is certainly one of the most visited pages on any website.

However, despite this, many people overlook the importance of the contact page and thus its design and user experience.

Increasing the conversion rate of your contacts page can benefit your business, and providing a human touch to the program can help turn sluggish buyers into enthusiastic advocates.

It's a good idea to provide as much contact information as possible: phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles, and live chat capabilities.

The logical starting point for optimizing transformation is to find friction. Evaluate the data you can use to find the current baseline for the contact form. Where do you lose them? Why? What can you do to improve their experience?

Behavioral analysis software, such as Hotjar, can give you insight into how real visitors interact with your website. This type of information is invaluable for improving the user experience. Constantly adjust, test and improve.

An in-depth study by HubSpot found that the sweet spot for the number of form fields is three, which is a good indicator of keeping things simple for a frictionless user experience.

It also doesn't hurt to use a little humor and humility, as selection screening proves (above). If you can add a human touch to your communication, your customers will remember you.

11. Build group effects and social trust

Just as in a B2C environment, customer reviews provide valuable clues to ensure a prospect's trust, so do customer citations in a B2B environment.

If your company has worked with some big name clients - speak up! If a household name company entrusts its reputation to you, and you have served well along the way, that provides a great deal of social proof and credibility to anyone who wants to be reassured about your company.

Don't be shy about using the influence of past and present clients to get some reflected glory. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to build customer trust.

summary

Trust is the glue that binds customers to a brand. Businesses that know how to build trust with customers and build long-term relationships with them are likely to reap the rewards.

There are no shortcuts or secrets to building customer trust. It's simple: Put the customer first at all times.

Give them quality products. Provide timely and personalized customer service. Honest, transparent and true. Communicate effectively - face to face, through all forms of communication, and through your brand ambassadors. This is how to effectively build trust with customers.

Following these logical steps is your fast track to gaining a very loyal fan base and boosting your sales in the process.