Earning a customer’s trust can be one of the most touchy parts of owning a business. However, more and more customers want to trust the entities they do business with. The cliché “trust is earned” is popular for a reason— it rings true to this day. Loyal and returning customers are the backbone of a successful business, and gaining trust is one of the most essential ways to build that loyalty.
Here are five proven tips on doing just that.
Prioritize honesty
Being upfront and honest with the customer is always the best policy. You should ensure that all employees are providing the same information when it comes to prices, products, and services. Honesty and transparency will gain a customer’s trust over time because they will always know what to expect from your business.
Also important to the customer experience is communication. As a business, you must have the most reliable contact center solution available so that you can connect with your customers in an efficient and valuable way.
Bright Pattern, a business-to-business call center software company, can help ensure that your customer experience is consistent and satisfactory across the board. They offer cloud based call center solutions that streamline communication channels, customer support, customer information, and more. Brighpattern’s many advanced features allow businesses to use various modalities like phone calls, video calls, SMS, text messages, mobile app, live chat, social media, and other social channels to connect with customers and improve customer satisfaction.
Be consistent and goal-oriented
Such a multimedia approach necessitates a need for consistency in customer service messages and approaches. The professionals at workboard.com —whose clients include Microsoft, Cisco, and Comcast— help businesses put Objective and Key Results (OKR) into practice. OKR offers analytics for teams to articulate goals and measure outcomes. For building customer trust, businesses use OKR to clearly outline their mission and how to communicate that with clients.
Build rapport
It is human nature to want to connect. The more connected people are, the more trust can be built into a relationship. Follow-up phone calls, Zoom meetings, other video chats, email, and, of course, personal visits should be invaluable assets for any business owner or manager trying to develop trust with a customer.
Tony Robbins, a well-known motivational speaker, offers pointers on how to build that rapport needed to win a customer’s trust. He explains that customers like “mirroring,” or acting the same way as someone else. How can this be interpreted into business operations? Try researching the language use of your main demographics and use keywords that relate to their experience in marketing campaigns and advertisements.
Be available
Being available does not just mean keeping consistent officer hours or taking a client’s phone calls. It also means responding promptly to every email or message.
Unless the communication was prearranged or is prompted by an emergency, no one can be expected to promptly answer a customer’s text message sent at one in the morning. But if you let emails go unanswered for two days, a customer might begin to question where they stand in your pecking order.
That inevitably will lead to a loss of trust.
Simply consider your own experiences. How did you feel when you were kept waiting for three days for a routine question to be answered from the plumber?
Being available by all means is vital to gaining and keeping a customer’s trust.
Add personal touches
Knowing about your customer’s family and their favorite sports teams, or sending a birthday card or party invitation will help build trust. Most people want those they do business with to care about them as a person and not just as a customer who will pay them.
Make an effort to learn the details of your customers’ lives and you will be rewarded in ways that are not measured in dollars and cents. Businesses of all sizes can benefit by making their operations a little more personal.
Trust will be forever something that some people will not easily give to another. However, if you are truthful, consistent in your actions, and apply a personal approach to your outreach, you should be able to gain any customer’s trust.
