In today’s day and age, customers have the ability to do business with anyone, anywhere around the globe. In order to be competitive and gain your fair share of the market, you have to establish trust. Only the most trustworthy companies are capable of getting customers to stick with them year after year. Therefore, building trust must be a priority if you want to keep your customers for over a year.
You can’t possibly discount the importance of trust in a business. One poll found that 81% of customers will not buy from a company that they don’t trust. Unfortunately, building trust is a lot easier said than done.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to establish trust, though it’s not usually about picking one thing. You’ll want to run your business honestly and efficiently so that your customers never have a chance to question your intentions.
Be Honest
It costs absolutely nothing for you to be honest with everyone you work with. If someone asks you a question, regardless of whether they are an employee or a customer, answer truthfully. Making your company more transparent will pay off. Market your brand in such a way that you are honest. Don’t get into the habit of false advertising as it will only come back to you later on.
Even how you portray your brand on social media should be honest. Don’t use stock images – take photos of your employees, your products, and more. Show people more about who you are so that you’re not hiding behind a logo. Consumers want to do business with real people – by being honest and by being open, they’ll see that you are real – and they’ll reward you with their business.
Offer Transparency
The moment you decide that you want to go into business, you need to learn about being transparent. You should be transparent with your customers, your business partners, and your employees. It will ensure that you are trusted – and no one has to wonder if you’re keeping secrets from them.
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Transparency should be at the root of your company culture. Hold meetings to tell people what’s going on. Let your employees in on various decisions that are happening behind the scenes. Maintain an open-door policy so that employees can ask questions.
Newsletters can also help you to achieve transparency with your customers. Let them know some of what’s happening within your business and what they can expect from you in the future. Ultimately, be sure that you lead by example. Maintain core values within your business and make sure that they are being followed by you and everyone around you.
Obtain ISO Certification
ISO 9001 certification is a popular way to develop trust because it involves creating and implementing a Quality Management System (QMS). What is ISO 9001? ISO offers a way to stay organized and improve upon processes so that they meet an international standard.
With a QMS, you can tap into a number of benefits including being able to manage risks more effectively, meet customer expectations more regularly, and get the help where you need it to be more productive and more profitable.
Communicate with Your Customers
The moment communication stops, customers begin to wonder what’s going on. They wonder if you took their money and ran. Unfortunately, every consumer has a nightmare story to share about when they didn’t get sufficient communication with a business – and it’s what has caused them to trust businesses as much as they once did.
You need to communicate with your customers so that they know what is going on. There are a few times when communication is key:
- Upon receiving the order
- Expectations along the way
- Potential issues
- When the order is being delivered/shipped
- Follow-up
Establishing trust shouldn’t be difficult. However, every business operates differently. Talk with your customers to find out what they want from you. Then, simply deliver in a way that allows you to develop trust. It will end up paying dividends throughout the life of your business.