Trust is important in any relationship — including that between customers and businesses. Companies need to establish a strong and positive relationship with their customers. By doing so, you can generate more sales and give your business an excellent reputation within your industry and beyond.
But creating trust is not always an easy task — one error could completely change a customer’s opinion of you, and this negativity could have a huge impact on your business’s success.
Kamran Mirshahi is the director of reputable PPI claims company Canary Claims. Claims management companies often have a negative reputation due to their excessive use of cold calls and high fees.
Kamran wanted to change this, so he created a transparent company offering a low fee for all customers. By providing something slightly different from other companies and avoiding the cold calls plaguing customers and the industry at large, Kamran started to develop trust with his customers.
Below, Kamran shares his tips for creating and maintaining trust. No matter what type of business you have, trust should be a priority.
4 Tips to Create Trustworthy Relationship with Customers
1. Respond to Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are crucial for every business. 91% of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews, which highlights the importance of keeping an eye on them. With independent online review websites, people can easily access information and experiences from previous customers.
Although you can’t control what people will write in reviews, giving the best customer service alongside your product or service should result in positive experiences.
If, however, you do receive negative comments from customers, how you deal with these can have a significant impact on customer perception and trust.
Replying to customer reviews to resolve their issues or explain the situation in further detail shows that you are proactive and keen to help. Research by Trustpilot reveals that 88% of those who leave a bad review would want the problem to be fixed and to be contacted by the company.
Replying to reviews is an opportunity to show customers that you care and reassure customers that in the rare event something does go wrong, you’re ready to immediately fix it. This is a great way to not only gain trust initially but also regain trust from existing customers.
2. Talk to Real People
Customers still love talking and dealing with people in businesses. Calling a customer service number and having an automated message on the other end is not something that people relish.
In fact, one study shows that 55% of customers prefer talking to a human on the phone for customer service, while 73% of those asked would skip the robotic answering service and press “0” in the hope of getting through to a human instead.
Having people man your customer service phone lines is essential, even for just a few days a week — people want to talk to someone real.
Automatic updates via email and text messages are great ways to communicate with customers, but when customers have questions, they want answers from people who can understand the situation — not having to spend 20 minutes going through an automated menu only to have to talk to someone because their issue couldn’t be resolved.
Ensure you have well-trained customer service operators ready to help your customers. Putting a face or voice to a name — or business — is another way to create trust and show customers that you care.
3. Change Negative Opinions
It can be difficult if your industry has negative press. Some industries and markets naturally have bad connotations and reputations. Research by Ipsos MORI revealed that politicians, government ministers and estate agents were the least trusted among the public.
If you want customers to get past these negative associations and start to trust you, you need to show them why you are different.
Using your website as a tool to explain more about your business and why it’s different from your competitors is a good place to start.
Address any barriers people might have over using your product or service — don’t be afraid to state this on the homepage clearly.
Alternatively, an “About” page can give customers insight into who you are and what your business stands for. It’s an opportunity to showcase your authority and begin to build trust.
4. Be Honest
The best way to establish trust with your customers is to be upfront and honest in all situations and communications. Transparency goes a long way; nobody likes hidden fees or unwanted extras being added on at the last minute.
Being honest with your customers from the start is the best way to build a trustworthy relationship. If something goes wrong, it’s essential to address it immediately and be upfront with customers. Lying to customers will only lead to negative relationships and destroy any trust you’ve built — and that’s difficult to earn back.
Every business should strive to create an honest and trustworthy relationship with their customers. The ideas above are just a few ways you can work to establish a positive bond with customers and have them return to you time and time again.
You Make Like to Read:
Author: Helen Anglin
