Business trustworthiness is key to acquiring and retaining loyal customers – ensure you earn the customer trust needed for your business
Ask anyone in the business world and they’ll tell you trustworthiness is one of the most important assets for your business. No matter what kind of work your company does, you expect your customers to trust you with their money and personal information. Moreover, you also expect your staff members to trust you with their careers. Chances are none of them will want to do this unless you give them a real reason to trust you.
With that in mind, here are five ways to acquire trustworthiness for your business.
Answer every question you get
If you want people to feel safe when buying from your business, one of the first things you need to do is allow them to ask any question and give them a good response. We live in the age of social media and you’ll probably get a ton of questions every week. Try to give your honest opinion on the subject matter and ensure everyone on social media can read your answers.
Another good idea is to host a live Q&A session every now and then. Live videos like this feel less scripted and demonstrate your confidence when talking to customers. If your company has a YouTube channel, make sure you answer every question you get in the comment section.
Don’t lie about your prices
It’s common for business owners to trick their customers to think their prices are lower than they actually are. We’ve all seen 99 cents trick and omitting shipping costs from the price that so many companies tend to do. While this may seem like a good idea, it hurts the chances of your customers coming back which can translate into huge losses for your business.
According to some reports, 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers and losing them due to tricks as those mentioned above just isn’t worth it. Always tell the customer the real price and you’ll start getting better reviews and attracting more people to your business.
Always use contracts
An important part of acquiring trustworthiness for your business is working with other companies. Whether it’s a supplier or a marketing agency, show them that you’re not afraid to sign a contract right away and ensure you’ll get your part of the deal done.
There are business document templates you can use no matter what kind of a deal you’re discussing. This is a win-win situation as the other party knows you’re legally obliged to do your part while you gain trustworthiness and increase your business’s reputation.
Keep your promises
When selling a product or service, businesses usually make a promise to their customers and most of the time it’s exactly what they want to hear. The problem is, making such promises is a double-edged sword as failing to deliver can make your reputation suffer.
The best way to ensure this doesn’t become an issue is to be extra careful when designing your ads and selling a product or service. Make every information you include 100% accurate and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Sometimes, it’s even better to say no to a customer than make a promise only to fail at keeping it.
Be honest with your employees
Negative comments from your customers can have a bad impact on your company’s reputation but those from former or current employees can completely ruin it. Your employees are your most valuable asset and the last thing you want to do is lie to them. Whether you feel like doing it to shield them from bad news or to save money, it’ll backfire on your business.
Instead of trying to keep secrets from your employees, break any kind of news to them as soon as possible. Get this right and you might even turn your employees into brand ambassadors who can help attract more customers.
To sum up
In the business world, trust comes in different forms and there are a number of things you can do to make your company more trustworthy. Follow the ways covered in this post and you should be able to see more people putting trust in your business. Moreover, keep looking for new ways to give them a reason to do so.
Dan Radak
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