These days, it’s harder than ever to gain consumer trust. Although it’s not easy, proving you’re trustworthy is crucial for your business’s success. According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report, 53% of survey respondents say brand trust is second only to price when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

Going beyond one-time purchases, brand trust can lead to customer loyalty. The survey also revealed that 75% of people with high brand trust said they’ll buy the brand’s product, even if it isn’t the cheapest. In fact, it’s the only brand of the product they’ll buy. On top of that, those with high brand trust are more likely to recommend the brand to others.

Overall, being a trusted brand leads to more revenue. Are you ready to show the world that they can rely on your business? Then read the following five tips for building brand trust.

1. Provide Reliable Products & Dependable Service

The first step to running a successful business and gaining the trust of consumers is simply to do what you do well. Ensure that what you’re selling is the best that it can be. Also, ensure that the way you’re selling it is the best it can be. Standout service can make all the difference in the world, which means every interaction with every customer is important. To be successful at this, you must respond quickly and kindly each time; always striving to provide solutions. Overall, doing business with you should feel easy, which requires you to make every stage of the buyer’s journey a great experience.

It’s also important to use feedback on the customer experience, both positive and negative, to improve and show just how dependable you are. You can talk your products, service, and overall brand up all you want but being unable to back your words with tangible quality is the definition of untrustworthy. It would be better not to market yourself at all than it would be to get caught in a lie.

2. Make Goals & Craft a Plan to Measure Your Progress

Measuring trust isn’t exactly a straightforward, quantitative process. Before making any goals, define what brand trust means to you and what successfully gaining it looks like for your business. For example, will you feel trusted if…
● You have a high number of positive online reviews?
● Your customers recommend your products or services to others?
● You have a multitude of repeat customers?

All of these, and more, can be signs of brand trust. After deciding which metrics you would like to use, be sure to track them so you can measure your success over time. Some tools you could try are…
● Google Alerts to discover what people are saying about your brand online.
● Google My Business for reading any reviews left about your brand.
● Various social media platforms for monitoring any mentions of your brand.
● Survey platforms so you can ask your contacts what they think of you directly.

3. Share Your Brand’s Stories

One great way to gain consumer trust is to not only actively market your brand, but to be as transparent and authentic in these efforts as possible. Show the public “how the sausage gets made.” Better yet, show them who makes it! People love to put real faces to a brand name.

Another effective tactic is to share stories from existing customers. That’s why monitoring reviews is a popular way to track brand trust. Consumers read an average of 10 reviews before trusting a business, according to BrightLocal.

When positive feedback comes in, shout it from the rooftops! Your word alone is no longer enough to gain trust. Consumers are seeking “unbiased” opinions and are doubtful of messages that come from more traditional forms of advertising. In fact, 58% of consumers don’t trust a brand until they’ve seen “real-world proof” that it’s kept its promises.

How you handle negative feedback is also important to consumers. So, do not leave any reviews unaddressed. Be sure to respond to all shared user experiences, and offer apologies and new solutions when appropriate.

4. Maintain Brand Consistency

When creating marketing content for the purpose of sharing your brand’s stories, stay true to who you are. Brand consistency is the practice of delivering content that always aligns with your company’s identity and core values. It implies consistency in both written and verbal messaging, as well as visual designs. By centering all content around your mission and vision, as well as making every piece look and sound similar, you solidify your brand identity. This is how consumers come to recognize communications from your company quickly, because they know what to expect from you, regardless of the marketing channel. Continuity and uniformity show that your brand is stable, professional, and trustworthy.

5. Build Long-Term Relationships & Continue to Delight Existing Customers

When someone is only in it for the money, it’s obvious to onlookers. You may have seen, and cringed at, some cases of this yourself over the years. People who work for your brand should enjoy what they do, which includes building relationships with your customers. To do this successfully, leads must be treated well during each interaction they have with your brand. Also, don’t forget to continue engaging with consumers after they’ve done business with you. Nurturing these contacts can quickly turn them into repeat customers, who are also likely to refer your brand to others. Doing a good job and cultivating meaningful business relationships is fulfilling, and it will naturally and simultaneously bring in more revenue.

At SPC, we work hard to make every interaction with us easy and helpful. By being proactive, we attempt to set realistic expectations while executing each and every task necessary to provide delightful end results. We don’t just want to be perceived as trustworthy; we want to prove that we are dependable all the time.