There are many key elements that’ll determine whether your business is a success or a failure, including the strength of your ideas, price point, and the competition that you face from other companies. These, however, can be considered the obvious matters to focus on. One of the most underrated yet crucial factors is the truth that you develop and maintain with your customers. While you might be getting most things well, if there’s no trust with your customers, then there’ll only be so far that you can go. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at some best ways to establish trust with your customers. 

Tell Your Story

If there’s one thing we’re beginning to understand, it’s that the public is becoming less interested in faceless companies trying to sell them things. There’s too much of it, and consumers are a little worn out. And anyway, it’s hard to build a connection with a brand that you know little about. Small business owners are in a fortunate position because they typically have a much more interesting story than big corporations. So make sure that the public knows it. Rather than keeping the personal side of your existence on hold in the professional sphere, put it forward. You’ve been on a journey to get to where you are now: say it loud.

Be Transparent

Would you trust a friend that always seems to say one thing, but then does another thing? You wouldn’t, or at least you shouldn’t. The same principle can be applied for businesses too. One thing that breaks any trust that consumers have for a company is when the company does something a bit sneaky. For example, if they list the cost of their services as one thing, but the real price is something else. You might make the first sale because the customer is already committed to buying it, but you’ll have lost their trust -- and that’ll make it less likely that they’ll return in the future.

Show Your Expertise

Who do we generally trust in the world? The people who know what they’re talking about. You’d trust a doctor’s medical opinion more than you would the opinion of a random stranger, after all. But of course, people aren’t going to know that you’re one of the people that know what they’re talking about unless you show them. So make sure you’re showing the world that you can be trusted when it comes to whatever it is your business deals in. There are numerous ways to do this. You can have high-quality content on your website, publish videos about your products and services, and all-around using any platform that allows you to show off what you know. The effective thing about this method is that there’s nowhere to hide. If you can confidently publish this information, then it’ll be successful. 

Testimonials and Reviews

People do listen to what companies say, of course, but the corporate voice isn’t the most important voice when it comes to developing trust with customers: that’s reserved for the voice of your happy customers. Studies have shown that recommendations from strangers are nearly as powerful as a recommendation from a family member.

So take a look to see if there’s a way to publish reviews from your customers on your website. To do this, you’ll need to first get their opinion; how you do this will depend on the type of business you have. For example, if you had a hairdresser, then you could ask them in person. If you’re running an online business, then you can follow up on their order with a request for a review. If you’ve been doing your job well, then you’ll likely have plenty of positive reviews coming your way!

Contact Information

It’s all good and well saying the right things, but ultimately, customers want to know that when they have an issue, they’re able to get in touch with the company that they’re dealing with. Indeed, there are few things more frustrating than having difficulty speaking to someone when you need it most; even if you were feeling positive about a company, this is something that would put doubts in your mind. So make sure that your customers can always get in touch with you.

On your website, you should list your social media channels, email address, and phone number. If you don’t have the time to monitor your phone calls yourself, then look at outsourcing the task to a company such as Virtual HQ. You’ll also want to develop a system that ensures emails are answered promptly. If you’re an online-only business, you may consider incorporating a “live chat” feature into your site, too. 

Ask Their Opinion

Your relationship with your customer is a two-way street, not a one-way street. It’s a conversation. People are more likely to trust when it feels as if they’re being listened to! So look at asking for their opinion on how you can serve them better, and then work on incorporating their ideas into your operations. Doing so will have them trust that you’re there to do right by them. 

Solving Problems 

It’s easy to keep a person’s trust when everything’s going well. That’s because the trust isn’t being tested; it’s just there. The true test of trust is when there’s a problem, or, more specifically, how you respond to a problem. If you’re doing everything you can to remedy the issue, then the trust you’ve established will remain intact. 

Carry On Improving

Finally, be sure that you’re carrying on pushing forward. You may once have had the trust of your customers, but if it looks like you’re on the way down, then that trust will slowly erode. People don’t trust companies (or people…) who look like they no longer know what they’re doing, or that they’re past their best. You can avoid this issue by staying committed to improvement. No matter what industry you're in, there’ll always be new ways of operating and new trends popping up. 

Bonus: Ask Their Opinion

Your relationship with your customer is a two-way street, not a one-way street. It’s a conversation. People are more likely to trust when it feels as if they’re being listened to! So look at asking for their opinion on how you can serve them better, and then work on incorporating their ideas into your operations. Great ways are to conduct focus groups in DC. Doing so will have their trust that you’re there to do right by them.