Establishing Customer Trust: Key Strategies for Business Success

These days, there are multiple businesses and shopping opportunities for just about every product and service, so standing out and attracting customers to your enterprise is trickier than ever. While you can promise one-year warranties and big sale prices, you really need to get back to basics and establish customer trust. By showing that your company cares and by delivering on that promise day after day, you can gain a loyal following and retain those customers for years to come. Here are a few key strategies to consider.

Be Human

The first step is to make it a point to show the world that your company is made up of people who care about customer needs. Show your human side through friendly actions. In essence, you need to be human to connect with your customers. That starts by having friendly employees who make the customers feel welcome. Whether they walk into your store or ask a question on your e-commerce website, your employees should offer a warm greeting, ask how they’re doing today, and show enthusiasm to assist. Clients are more likely to trust an authentic person than they are a cold employee or a robot who answers a call or chat.

The other key element of any customer interaction is to answer the customer’s questions or solve their problem. If the customer leaves the call without a resolution, they likely won’t try to do business with your company again, and they may tell friends that your company is unhelpful and untrustworthy.

Supervisors need to train their teams on resolution management and provide them with a way to reach out if they can’t find an answer to a customer’s question during the interaction. If you don’t have a solution for the customer then and there, promise to reach out again and make sure to deliver on that promise.

You can kick your personalization up a notch and build more trust by humanizing your brand and making it more relatable to the consumer. Do that by updating your marketing materials to incorporate storytelling and give some interesting tidbits about why your company was founded, what it stands for, and why your products are aimed at your consumer.

You could also create marketing materials that showcase the backstories of some of your employees and how their upbringing affects their jobs. This is a way to show that your company is sincere and that could be enough to build a connection with your customers.

Keep Customers Satisfied

Another way to build customer trust is to simply deliver on your promises and do whatever you can not to disappoint your clients. For instance, one of the things that many customers hate is when you advertise products that aren’t actually in stock. Many customers will only need to have that negative experience once, and they may never trust you or return to your company again.

You must keep an eye on your inventory, and if a product is out of stock, then take it off your website so customers don’t have the misconception that it’s available. If possible, automate your inventory system. Many inventory programs allow you to set up alerts when an item is running low. Once you get the alert, jump into action and restock so you aren’t setting yourself up for failure.

Let’s face it. There are countless things that can go wrong at a business that can leave customers unsatisfied. You need to prepare for what’s coming by focusing on risk management. To properly manage risk, you need to identify all potential issues, from computer problems to employee shortages, and then analyze how likely the problem is at your business.

Then, you need to incorporate the proper protections. Spare no expense on this step because it’s better to have a resolution in place and not have to use it than to have a company-ending problem and have nowhere to turn.

Respond Positively To Negative Feedback

One way to do your best business and retain customer trust is to put a lot of your attention on negative feedback and learn lessons from what you see. Many entrepreneurs become offended when they read bad reviews and can even lash out in defense, which will hurt your reputation. Instead, follow the lessons of companies like Honda.

Marketers from the company went on social media and shared a picture of their new vehicle. The people did not like what they saw, and they weren’t so nice when they vocalized their opinions. Instead of deleting the post or responding angrily, they took their ideas and worked to improve the car.

You may also receive negative feedback from customers who had a bad experience and want to vent their frustrations on social media. When you receive bad comments, use it as a golden opportunity to show people how much you care about them and their business.

If a customer comments on one of your posts that their item arrived damaged, then don’t try to cover it up, but instead embrace it by apologizing and offering a solution, such as a replacement or a discount to keep. That way, other people who see your post will know that you’re there for your customers and that they can trust that they’ll be taken care of if they buy from you.

Building Trust When Starting Out

Many young entrepreneurs and new business owners wonder how to build customer trust and a strong business reputation when first starting out. You simply need to be genuine and honest at all times by telling folks what your product does and doesn’t do and don’t make false promises. If a new customer asks you a question, and you don’t know the answer, say so and find out the answer.

You can also build trust by asking current happy customers to refer their friends to your company and spread the word of their positive experiences so new folks know you’re a good company going in.

The point is there’s a lot you can do to build trust with customers through honest customer service and a desire to leave customers wanting more. Business owners who put their best foot forward daily will get the solid customer base they desire.