Customer trust is everything. Trust leads to sales, long-term clients and referrals. You need to earn trust, and this is a complicated process. An evolving customer experience is causing trust to be gained at different areas of the buyer cycle.
There are dozens of channels businesses use to engage with customers.
An omnichannel approach must be taken to ensure that customers have a seamless experience. If you want to earn your customer’s trust, you have ample opportunities to do so. Trust can be earned through:
1. Fundraising Campaigns Still Work.
There was a time when local companies would start their businesses on the back of fundraising campaigns. Businesses would often buy baseball teams their jerseys, or they would donate to a significant, local cause.
Now, businesses are going a step further and even offering fundraising online.
Avacare Medical is a prime example of online fundraising. The company offers GoFundMe fundraising support. The company will help pay for the last 10% of a medical supply or equipment for a person in need.
This allows the company to give back to customers, build trust and spread their name.
2. Offer Live Chat.
Customer support is key to earning trust. You can gain customer trust by offering exemplary support. In the fast-paced, online world, live chat support is taking prominence. You have ample opportunities to offer support through:
- FAQs
- Wikis
- Knowledge bases
But when these avenues fail, customers want to speak to a real person. Live chats are a great option, and you can hire someone else to run your support if needed.
Options for live chat include:
You’ll find dozens of live chat options at your disposal.
3. Consistency Across All Channels.
If you shop on Amazon, you know that reviews and product descriptions are very important trust-builders. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I go on Amazon, read a product description and go to a company’s website that has a different product description.
The biggest issue is consistency.
Does the product have a 12-month warranty or a 24-month warranty? Is the product 10 pounds or 13 pounds? Small differences make a big difference in gaining trust. Businesses need to be consistent across all channels.
And this also means social media.
Customers will scour social media for questions and answers. If you provide different answers to the same question, it leads to confusion and distrust.
4. Testimonials and Reviews.
Consumers now read reviews and testimonials more than ever before. You need to have a good reputation across all channels. If you’re a restaurant, customers will go on Yelp to read reviews about your establishment.
It’s a way for customers to safeguard their investment in your business, or in this case, make sure that they enjoy a good meal.
One way to gain trust is to:
- Display testimonials on your site
- Display ratings and reviews on your site
It’s as simple as that.
You have the option to also nudge customers to leave a review. Take down their email address, send them a mail asking about their experience, and also ask them to leave a review or rating of your service.
nice article. I will follow this with my startup companies.
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