One of the challenging obstacles that most businesses face is gaining the trust of their customers, especially when getting started.
People are less likely to trust brands they’re not familiar with due to many reasons. Even if you’re an established brand, customers form associations with their preferred products or services over time. And this makes it difficult for them to consider other alternatives.
This calls for creative tactics and strategies that help you earn the trust of your target audience and fuel your sales funnel with quality leads.
Here are 6 ways you can build customer trust and grow your business.
So, without further ado.
Let’s get started.
1. Know Your Customer
To build customer trust, you have to get to know your target audience first. It’s essential that you are aware of customers’ needs and preferences to offer seamless experiences.
It’s the interests of your target audience that determine their decisions. So, you have to explore your audience’s characteristics to make informed decisions.
However, gathering such insights may be easier said than done as around 95% of marketers find it challenging to access customer data.
Knowing your customers helps you connect with the target audience in a better way and acknowledge higher engagement.
Customer insights enable you to deploy efficiently designed strategies to build trust which in turn leads to increased traction and helps you capture quality leads.
2. Generate Awareness
One of the best ways to win the hearts of your customers is by helping them explore the best-suited solutions.
It’s reported that around 53% of customers do online research before making a purchase decision. And most of the time, customers themselves are unsure of what they actually need.
A rookie mistake most businesses make here is pitching their products or services without educating their target audience first. Instead, you should provide your customers with the information they need to make the right decision.
Helping your customers find what they’re looking for enables you to build trust and gain authority in your respective niche. People start respecting you and are likely to pay heed to your recommendations.
3. Ensure Transparency
When it comes to gaining your customers’ trust, honesty is the best policy. Remember, you have to earn the trust of your audience. So, whatever you do, do it the right way.
Businesses often overpromise to get much-needed attention from their respective target audiences. And in some cases, the tactic pays off. However, the impact that follows is short-lived.
So, it’s best that you don’t feed your customers with false or misleading information and be as transparent as you can when presenting your products or services.
Exaggerated claims would get you nowhere. You may see a quick boost in traction but the aftermath would be much more devastating in comparison.
Businesses resort to marketing gimmicks from time to time but you shouldn’t straightaway lie to your customers. A quick buck is not worth losing the trust of your customers for good.
4. Ask Your Customers
One of the efficient ways to gain the trust of your customers is by asking them what they want. Around 50% of customers are more likely to prefer brands that offer inclusive experiences. So, probing your customers for their input helps form strong associations.
This not just helps you offer bespoke solutions but also enables you to provide flexible support throughout their journey.
Listening to what your customers have to say helps grow your business. Moreover, it proves to your customers that you value them by offering unique products or services that best serve their needs.
5. Leverage Social Proof
People find it difficult to trust new businesses or companies they’ve not previously interacted with.
They are often indecisive when it comes to making purchase decisions and seek recommendations from others to make up their minds. And when they hear positive things about the brands, they are more likely to try them out.
So, when engaging new customers, one of the best ways to gain their trust is by leveraging social proof. Around 73% of customers are more likely to trust businesses with positive reviews from their customers.
Social proof can be anything, reviews from your satisfied customers, testimonials, case studies, etc. Basically, it’s user-generated content that helps you attract new customers by telling them about the experiences of others before them.
Social proof fuels positive word of mouth which in turn helps you attract new customers and ensure lasting relationships.
6. Be Approachable
We live in a digital era that has brought information to our fingertips. And in this day and age, people prefer to do their research before making their purchase decisions.
So, it’s best that you provide your audience with answers to their questions and make it easy for them to reach out to you.
You’re not the only brand in your respective niche. There are many others. And people generally incline more toward businesses that readily address their customers’ queries. That’s why around 63% of customers choose to revisit sites that have a support feature enabled such as live chat.
So, the more approachable you are, the easier it would be for you to convince new customers into trying your products or services.
It’s a Wrap
There you have it. The 6 ways to build customer trust. If you’ve been struggling to gain the trust of your respective target audience. Try out the recommendations aforementioned and see if they work out for you.
However, you shouldn’t expect results overnight. Remember, building trust takes time and requires consistent effort along with patience.
