20 years ago, merely knowing a brand’s name was enough to convince you to buy from them. Today, in our consumer-driven world, this is no longer the case. Simply promoting your brand won’t cut it; you need to build trust within your relationships.
With hundreds of businesses competing for customer attention in the same spaces, how do you cut through the noise and competition?
By being authentic, engaging, consistent and honest.
A good reputation is key to building trust within your customer relationships. According to research, 97% of participants in one survey said customer reviews factor into their buying decisions. Furthermore, 92% of customers hesitate to purchase a product or service if there are no customer reviews.
You can establish yourself as a trustworthy brand by delivering valuable and authoritative content, providing outstanding customer service, and building a stand-out social media presence.
This will win you more business whilst also boosting the lifetime value of each customer. The results: short-term sales and long-term repeat business.
How To ACTUALLY Build Brand Trust in Your Relationships
The key to building brand trust in your relationships is to plan for it.
- Does your business want to be considered an authority in its product/service area?
- Can you work trust into your brand values meaning your marketing strategy has trust at the heart of it?
- How can you communicate this value to your audience?
- Add ‘build trust in our relationships’ as one of your ongoing business goals.
To achieve these points, you can work on some clear action points to help you build trust.
1. Establish brand trust goals
Trust isn’t easy to quantify but it can be measured. Use the following goals to measure the level of trust customers have in your brand:
- More referrals from existing customers
- Improve the lifetime value of existing customers by getting repeat business
- Increase positive reviews on targeted platforms
Your current social media platforms and review sites will show you how much consumer trust you’ve built so far and how to improve it.
Use SurveyMonkey for direct and immediate feedback on specific questions, or use other online polling software to conduct a survey and assess customer satisfaction.
2. Create valuable content
Is your content relevant and engaging? Blog posts, infographics, newsletters, social media campaigns; all of these are great ways of connecting with your customers. They can explain your mission, highlight your services and provide significant information.
The best approach for content marketing is to make sure your content is both timely and relevant.
Ask the following questions to address your audience’s needs:
- Why is your audience reading your content? Why have they clicked or searched for this information?
- How can you offer value beyond your product/services?
- How can you help your customer’s resolve their pain points?
By answering these questions you can create highly engaging and impactful content that will serve your reader’s needs.
3. Deliver a consistent brand story
Consistency builds trust. Consumers tend to shop with brands that reflect their values and identity. If your brand story changes regularly, customers won’t be able to keep up and will lose interest and no longer trust you.
Your content should be consistent with your brand story so as not to confuse your audience, otherwise they may lose trust and move to a competitor.
Not everyone is going to love you, but a consistent brand story will keep your loyal audience happy. These customers are likely to refer you to family and friends.
Make sure your products/services also align with your brand story. For example, if you pledge to be a family friendly brand, don’t promote a product that can’t be used in a family friendly environment. Build an expectation in your audience’s mind that your products will fulfil.
Anyone can sell a product or service, but a trust-driven brand will build customer relationships that will sell now and for many years to come.
4. Share customer experiences
Let your customers be your biggest advocates. What can be better than sharing the thoughts of people who use your services every day?
The best place to do this is on social media. Share great reviews, positive social media comments and testimonials. Newsletters are also a good place to do this as you can include the benefits of your business.
Developing a strong online presence is one of the best ways to build trust – your content is a driving factor here, go back to point 2! To make sure your content has a high impact, focus on relationships rather than conversions.
Prioritise your customer’s needs, look beyond transactions, and you’ll create long lasting brand trust and loyalty.
Trust Is Your Biggest Asset
There’s no doubt about it – trust is crucial for your business, it helps you sell now and it helps you sell later.
At Future Marketing we can help you identify the key areas in your business strategy where you can build increasing and priceless trust. Contact us today at info@futuremarketing.co.uk and we can discuss the best steps for your business.
