HOW TO BUILD TRUST AS A BRAND
What is brand trust?
This article will focus on how you can build trust for your brand as a business owner. But before we go any further, what is brand trust?
The idea of brand trust entails that you have a tight relationship with your customers. Your customers should be able to vouch for your business even in your absence. The bond with your customers should be so close that even in lapses, they are ready to stick with your brand and extend an arm of understanding.
Now that you understand the concept of brand trust, you would want it for your brand. After all, no business owner wouldn’t want to get to this level.
If you are nodding as you read this article, come with us while we explore building trust as a brand.
Importance of building trust as a brand
Before we dive into how to build brand trust, let’s look at why building brand trust is essential. We aren’t here to force you to believe in brand trust. Instead, we want to give you points that convince you of the usefulness of building brand trust. This way, you would engage in the process effortlessly.
Some importance of building trust as a brand are:
● Brand loyalty
When actively trying to build trust for your brand as a business owner, you consciously ensure that your customers remain loyal to your brand. As a brand owner, we know that customer retention is vital for you. After all, you wouldn’t want to go through the stress of getting new leads and losing them after one purchase.
Being a business owner is like being in a jungle with different animals. Of course, other business owners have different strengths you may or may not know. So, you must ensure you do things to earn your customers loyalty. Else, you will lose them to your competitors.
It is easier for customers to keep patronizing your business when they trust the brand. By building trust as a brand, people will find it easier to keep buying what you are selling as they can vouch for your products and services.
● Referrals
Did you know that you can get your customers to advertise your business? Ideally, one wouldn’t think their customers have any responsibility to promote their brand, which is true. However, you can also get your customers to refer your business to others when they can trust your brand.
Customers would typically talk about your business to everyone around them when they have faith and trust in your brand. The idea is that they have used your products and services and can testify that it works. Therefore, if anyone asks them for recommendations, they can mention your brand.
Remember that they would put their name on the line by referring your business to others. Therefore, building trust with these customers is essential as it is the only way they would be willing to vouch for what you are offering.
● Emotional bond
Building an emotional connection with your brand is crucial as a business owner. It is one way to get your customers on board with whatever you are doing.
For example, if you have an emotional bond with your customers, they wouldn’t resist when you increase the prices of your products or bring in new regulations. Let’s say you want to increase the delivery fee. Typically, customers would like to fight this recent change as they do not wish to spend more than they usually pay. But when they have an emotional bond with your brand, they will understand your shortcomings, and there will be lesser resistance.
But if the customer doesn’t trust your brand, they cannot form that emotional connection with your business. Therefore, they will think you’re out to scam them when you bring in new policies, and they will even port to your competitors.
● Lead generation
Trust is an essential factor you cannot joke with as a business owner. It plays a lot of roles, as we have already highlighted. However, one of the most critical roles of trust for a business is helping with lead generation.
As we mentioned earlier, your customers can refer your brand to others when there is brand trust. And this would lead to getting new customers.
It is easier to convince someone to patronize your business when they hear it from someone who has used your products and services. Testimonials are a vital pillar when it comes to lead generation.
Therefore, you need to start building trust with your customers so that they can engage in word-of-mouth advertising for your brand and help with lead generation. One effort to build brand trust would lead to a ripple effect of gaining new customers.
Ways to build brand trust
Since we have established the importance of brand trust for business, let’s talk about how you can build trust as a brand.
The various ways are:
1. Be human
In building brand trust, you should talk humanly to your customers as it makes your brand more relatable. Many businesses must learn to sound less robotic when communicating with their customers.
Customers would connect better with your brand when you use everyday parlance that they understand. This way, they can be sure that you understand their needs and that the products and services you offer would be helpful.
Of course, we know you are trying to be professional as a business. However, you must also ensure that your tone of voice doesn’t scare customers away.
2. Don’t compromise on your services.
One of the best ways to build brand trust is to ensure you continue delivering excellent customer service. You must maintain the momentum you promised your customers and strive to improve on it. But when the pace starts to reduce, people will doubt your brand’s integrity, which may make them move to your competitors.
The services you’re offering to your customers must never drop below par. Once you notice things are not in place, ensure you do everything possible to rectify the issue to please the customers. After all, your customers are the reason why you are in business.
3. Be accessible
How accessible are you to your customers? Is it easy for them to reach you with a complaint or issue?
Customers love when their favorite brands are accessible. It ensures that you are readily available to help with their challenges. Therefore, having a customer support team and even social media pages would be helpful.
All these ensure your customers are always happy and satisfied with your products and services. Remember, a happy and satisfied customer would refer your business to others. Therefore, you need to treat your customers right.
4. Be responsive
As much as it is essential to be accessible to your customers, you must also be responsive. What is the use of a social media account if you do not answer your customers on time?
It would be best if you typically had nothing more than a 2-hour response time when a customer drops a message. In addition, you should also engage your customers when they comment on your social media pages.
Doing these things shows that you are responsive. When you delay replying to your customers, you will see that they will move to your competitors. Of course, we know that you do not want this for your business.
5. Give your customers an experience.
It is one thing to have products and services you want to sell your customers. However, it is another thing when your customers have an enjoyable experience anytime they use your products and services.
Therefore, you should always consider strategies to ensure your customers have enjoyable experiences. Understandably, your mind may go to spending money when you think of giving your customers an experience. However, giving your customers an experience might be following up with them to get feedback after patronizing your business.
Once you give your customers an experience, you are building brand trust.
6. Solve a problem
Another way to build trust as a business owner is by ensuring that your products solve a problem. Interestingly, business owners have offered products and services that do not solve problems.
The deal is to ensure that you are giving value to your customers. You must understand that you are not selling to yourself. Therefore, you need to have your target audience in mind before offering anything to them.
So, ensure that you are solving the needs of your customers. This way, they will be satisfied with your brand, and there will be brand trust. It will be a mutually beneficial relationship.
7. Be accountable
Transparency and accountability are also important when you are trying to build trust as a brand. It is essential to be honest, and open with your customers. If your brand cannot afford to do something now, tell your customers. It would be wrong to string them along or deceive them that you can do it and end up disappointing them. Once this happens, building brand trust will take a lot of work.
Also, it would be best to be accountable when you err anywhere as a brand. It is always best to admit your wrongdoings and assure your customers that there will be no repeat of such mistakes again.
8. Be liberal with testimonials.
We often see that some business owners shy away from sharing testimonials. Why? The testimonials you get from your customers are potent elements that would help convince others to patronize your business.
Some people may delay patronizing your business as they want to be sure that others have bought something from you. You’d see that they are curious to know about the reviews your business has gotten.
Therefore, you must be liberal with your testimonials to build brand trust. Do not shy away from sharing these testimonies as it would convince others to purchase from your brand and also share their testimonies.
FAQs
How do you get customers to trust your brand?
You can get customers to trust your brand by sharing testimonials with them. As a business owner, it is crucial to keep in mind building brand trust is a gradual process. Therefore, you might not get instant results. But you would build this trust when you are consistent with your strategies.
What makes you trust a brand?
Consistency is what makes customers trust a business. Once the company delivers on all its promises, you can be sure that customers will be happy and satisfied.
