Trust plays an important role in any brand’s reputation. If a business is able to establish a good reputation, first-time buyers will be more willing to take a chance because of the trust other buyers have in the brand. The value of a good business reputation is just as important as having a good product. After all, a great product isn’t going to sell without buyer trust.
At its very core, running a business is all about building relationships. A business grows not only with sales but also with returning customers who develop loyalty to the brand. Ultimately, developing loyalty requires the development of trust. So, with this in mind, how do you build customer trust?
Improve Your Security
An improved security system is necessary for any business, but it is most especially important for eCommerce websites. This is because transaction details will almost always include buyer payment information. Beefed-up security will give your buyers a sense of confidence that their information will be safe from prying eyes.
In addition, you also have to make these security improvements known to your website visitors. This not only acts as a means to build confidence in your prospective customers, but it also acts as a deterrent for malicious people.
Be Active And Responsive On Social Media
It’s a well-known fact that social media is a very effective platform that you can use to reach your target market. After all, almost everyone has at least one social media account. It’s important to develop an active social media presence because this helps build brand visibility, which makes it easier for prospective customers to find you. You can even create an opportunity for more exposure if you’re able to share viral content that’s related to your business. A good way to do this is to leverage trends, seasons, and events in creating your social media posts. Remember that content relevance plays a big role in determining whether or not your content is received well.
Engage Directly With Your Customers
Another thing you have to do is to ensure that you’re engaging directly with your customers on social media. Not every question has to be handled through customer service. While this can be time-consuming, engaging with your customers online shows that you care about them. Even better, you can use the opportunity to direct customers to your business website, which would also help improve your website traffic. The comments section on most social media platforms provides an opportunity to address questions that can be answered immediately.
However, it’s important to respond to these queries properly because a copy-paste response can be spotted easily. Responses of this kind can make your brand look insincere, thus giving your audience reason to distrust you. Ultimately, your customers will let people within their network know of their experience with your brand, whether it’s good or bad.
Invest In A Good Customer Service Department
For the questions that cannot be immediately answered via your social media platforms, you need to rely on customer service specialists who are trained to handle case-by-case problems. These representatives should have the tools to properly handle even the most difficult problems. Issues are sometimes unavoidable and it’s important to be able to resolve these issues as best you can.
Most customers who experience problems aren’t automatically vengeful. They are willing to let the company help them rectify the problem. Remember that your customer service representatives are your brand’s authorized representatives. Thus, the attitude they show up to work with is a direct reflection of your brand as whole.
Ask For Feedback And Manage Your Feedback
Finally, the importance of feedback can never be overemphasized. After all, reviews will often serve as the basis for whether or not a new buyer is going to take a risk on your business. It’s important to manage your reviews. This doesn’t mean that you remove any negative reviews on your site. Instead, you should respond to negative reviews properly.
This not only helps you to explain your side, but it also helps you to show your customers that you are a trustworthy business. By asking for feedback, you prove that you are able and willing to take accountability for any shortcomings.
Set The Right Expectations
Customers aren’t as ready to trust brands as they used to. This is because of previous experiences wherein brands have over-promised, only to fall short of that promise. Being disappointed by a brand is one of the most frustrating experiences for a client. This is because a customer doesn’t just give you their money – they also give you their trust.
It’s very important to be clear about what you’re selling or the service that you’re providing. Information that is expected should be provided clearly and concisely. Product descriptions should be accurate and truthful, as should be shipping fees, shipping times, etc.
The importance of being straightforward cannot be understated, especially when customers can leave a review on your page. Sometimes, while you may not be at fault, inaccuracies in your descriptions might be more than enough to cause a customer to leave a negative review on your page. This would, in turn, dissuade other customers from buying your product, or using your services.
The need for customer trust is essential for any business. If there’s one thing that’s more valuable than a paying customer, it’s a loyal, returning customer. You can’t build customer loyalty without first establishing trust. What’s more, that trust is difficult to earn, yet so easy to break. Thus, earning and keeping trust is a never-ending process that brands should never neglect. So, keep these tips in mind and remember that good business is also about building good relationships.
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