Trust is one of the key foundations of the relationship you share with your customers. It fosters loyalty, and can improve your bottom line through repeat purchases, word of mouth recommendations and reviews. However, for newer businesses, establishing this baseline of trust can be difficult.
With that in mind, here are some simple steps you can follow to increase customer trust in your brand.
Be as transparent as possible. According to a 2024 consumer trends report, “94% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that’s completely transparent.” As such, you should ensure that you let you are as transparent as possible during all customer interactions. For example, you should provide them with insight into the steps you are taking to protect their data when shopping online.
Be sure to shred documents when necessary. From contracts to invoices, it’s easy for paperwork to pile up within your office. However, as this paper can contain sensitive information relating to your customers, you must ensure that you dispose of it properly. For example, you could look into outsourced shredding.
Invest in good cybersecurity. Nearly 50% of small businesses have dealt with some kind of cybersecurity attack in the past year. As such, investing in good cyber security software is crucial, especially when you consider the fact that 41% of customers would stop shopping with a brand entirely if a data breach occured. In addition to this, you should ensure that your team receives through cybersecurity training too!
Respond to complaints and criticism. While the above steps work towards preventing distrust, it’s also pivital that you know how to act when this trust is broken. For example, as opposed to ignoring (or worse, deleting) negative reviews and complaints, you should take a more proactive approach. If this is caused by a misstep on your end, think about the ways you can rectify this to repair your relationship with your customer. Even the act of acknowledging a mistake is a great way to build trust, as it shows potential customers that you are willing to hold yourself accountable and will make a concentrated effort to do right by your customers.
Be authentic on social media. Sometimes, a brand can inadvertently distance itself from its customers due to the way in which it presents its business on social media. For example, when a certain authenticity is lacking, customers feel distanced from your business as there’s no real “human touch” behind the brand name. As such, you should strive to be as authentic as possible on social media. There are many ways in which you could achieve this goal, such as by showing some of the faces behind the brand, from owners to customer care staff!
Use your platform to amplify causes you care about. Another way in which you can humanise your brand and customer trust is by ensuring that you uphold your company values in your day-to-day actions. For example, there’s a difference between saying you promote inclusivity on your website to actually taking a stand to be more inclusive. As such, you should use your platform to amplify causes you care about!