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Gaining your customers’ trust has never been more important. In today's globally-connected world, consumers have dozens of options at their fingertips when making a purchase. This availability has allowed customers to be more thoughtful when deciding which brands to support.
Building a company around trust and integrity is the best way to boost customer loyalty and ensure your business’s success. We will show why trust and integrity are essential and what you can do to demonstrate these values in your business.
Why consumers trust brands
Consumer trust is multifaceted but can funnel into three main categories: product quality, customer interactions, and societal concerns.
The quality of a business’s product or service is the first way that a brand can earn its customers’ trust. If your customer consistently receives high-quality products or personalized services, they can begin to trust that you will continue this pattern in the future.
Customer interactions are the second way that consumers decide if a brand is trustworthy. If a company treats its customers well, prioritizes customer service, and keeps customer data safe, it will earn the trust of its patrons.
Finally, customers want the brands they support to take a stand on social issues. A recent study showed that 94% of customers want the brands they engage with to have a strong purpose. In addition, 86% of customers expect the CEO of a company to speak out about societal challenges. Being willing to take a stand shows the integrity of your business and enables your customers to trust you because you value what is important to them.
All three of these factors — product, quality, customer service, and societal implications — contribute to or detract from a brand's trust rating with customers.
The power of retention
So, why should a small business care about building brand trust? At its core, a business needs to acquire new customers and retain most of its current client base to foster growth.
Customer retention can significantly impact revenue — just a 5% increase in retention can increase sales by 25% or more. Additionally, loyal customers typically buy more often, spend more per purchase, and are more likely to refer their friends and family.
Loyal customers are what will keep your business afloat and help it thrive. Instead of continually looking for new customers, instill trust in your current customers to keep them coming back. In doing so, potential customers will see your integrity and come to check out your business. Building integrity and trust provides value and brings sales to your company.
How to build company trust
You need to do everything you can to build customer trust. As you show your business’s integrity, you are essentially giving them a reason to continue shopping with you. You can build trust with the customer by prioritizing them above all else.
There are several things that you can do to show your integrity and instill trust in your customers. Some tips for building company trust include:
- Deliver a consistent product or service. Your customers expect the same quality of goods or services every time they shop with you. If you have multiple locations, the quality should remain consistent across the board.
- Be transparent. Transparency and integrity go hand in hand. Businesses can unintentionally get caught up in scandals. If this happens, the best approach is always to be transparent. Loyal customers will be quick to forgive you if you accept responsibility for your mistakes and address how you plan to stop the error from repeating itself in the future.
- Provide exceptional customer service. Everyone wants respect, and that includes your customers. Make sure that you consistently deliver excellent customer service. Provide a straightforward way for customers to find help when they need support, train employees on how to handle upset customers, and have a proactive plan to make problems right so you can win back disgruntled customers.
- Ask for feedback. No business is perfect — everyone has areas to improve. When a company asks for feedback and genuinely makes an effort to implement suggestions, it shows customers that the organization wants to improve and has integrity.
- Create a loyalty program. If you want to boost customer loyalty, show your clients you care about them. A loyalty program can incentivize future purchases and help customers feel valued and appreciated.
- Showcase your company values. Build customer trust by sharing your company values. When you show your priorities and vision to your clientele base, you're giving them insight into what you want to achieve with your business. In turn, customers will feel excited to support you, especially if your beliefs align. Even emphasizing that you're a local business can bring out loyal customers who believe in reducing their carbon footprint and supporting small businesses.
Moving forward
Customer loyalty is one of the most critical factors to your business' growth. It costs so much time, money, and effort to acquire customers — the last thing you want to do is lose them immediately after a few interactions. Customer loyalty and brand trust are closely intertwined. A plan for improving your business' trust can only increase customer retention.
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