The market has been evolving rapidly in recent years. In almost every niche, the rise of social media, smartphones, and eCommerce has pushed businesses to adopt new ways to sell their products and services. In this setting, earning customer trust often proves more difficult than ever.
But at the same time, this evolution has also led to new ways through which some brands cheat and scam people. These include credit card fraud, identity theft, email scams, and more.
Whether browsing a local store or making an online payment, customers these days are more suspicious and diligent than ever. In fact, Gartner’s research reveals that 81% of consumers will not do business with brands they don’t trust.
Yet many business owners don’t realize how important it is to establish trust with customers. As we’ll see in this post, earning customer trust can lead to a stronger customer base and set up your business for continued growth. Let’s begin.
What is customer trust?
Customer trust is the level of confidence a customer has in a company’s products, services, and overall experience of dealing with the company.
When consumers have faith in your brand’s ability to deliver on its promises, customer trust is high. In contrast, when customers don’t believe they can rely on your company, it indicates a lack of trust.
Moreover, trust is the currency of modern business. A survey of 20,000 respondents from different nations shows that 70% of consumers believe trust in a brand is more important than ever.
Image Source: Consultancy.Asia
Why prioritize customer trust?
Customer trust is essential to building and maintaining a long-lasting relationship with your target audience. Without trust, your marketing efforts will not be effective, and your sales will suffer.
To understand this in more detail, here are the main ways in which customer trust helps achieve business growth.
Trust boosts conversions.
Customers don’t spend money on a business they don’t feel confident in. In fact, 81% say they need to trust a brand before buying from it.
Image Source: Edelman
You may have a quality product or service. But if your potential customers are scared of being victims of an online scam, credit card fraud, or identity theft, your goods won’t sell.
Whether you’re selling on your website or in a physical store, little things matter. For example, you can help ease the minds of prospects by actions that build trust.
- Use a well-known payment gateway.
- Use a trustworthy domain extension such as .com or .net…not .info or .cc.
- Install an SSL certificate on your website’s server.
- Provide a receipt right after the payment is made.
- Send a confirmation SMS or email once an order is placed.
Such factors help customers build confidence and overcome the initial hesitation before making a purchase. As a result, shopping cart abandonment goes down, and conversions go up.
Trust helps provide personalized experiences.
According to an Accenture survey of 8000 consumers from North America and Europe, 91% say they are more likely to buy from businesses that provide personalized recommendations.
But how can you provide a personalized experience without access to specific customer data? And you can collect this data only when customers trust you.
For example, customers who trust you are more likely to provide testimonials and collaborate on case studies. And the information they provide can help you understand their needs and why they chose you.
Armed with these insights, you can target and deliver a personalized experience to similar prospects, increasing your chances of turning them into customers.
Trust shields you from the competition.
Customers today have plenty of options in every product category. This makes trust an integral part of staying competitive. The lower your customer trust, the easier it is for competing businesses to eat up your market share.
A customer’s loyalty to a business these days is not just based on the quality of its product or service. It also depends on the qualities that establish trust, such as authenticity and transparency.
In fact, a recent survey of 29,530 consumers in 35 countries revealed that 66% consider transparency as one of the most attractive qualities of a brand.
Image Source: Accenture
So it goes without saying that trust is the key to growing your business in a competitive market.
For example, if you stand by the quality of your product, you can offer a money-back guarantee on your sales page. If none of your competitors do this, this tactic can create more trust and increase buyers.
Trust fosters brand loyalty.
Retaining loyal customers is one of the hallmarks of a successful business. And rightly so, as 60% of loyal customers share their favorite brands with friends and family.
Not just that. 39.4% will spend more on a product they are loyal to, even if there are cheaper options elsewhere.
So here’s another reason why customer trust is so important: it helps establish brand loyalty. For example, you should strive to provide:
- fast and reliable support channels;
- adequate documentation on using your product; and
- answers to common questions and issues.
These factors create trust in customers that you’re always there to support them. When they believe that your company always aims to provide the best experience possible, they’ll become brand advocates and spread positive word-of-mouth.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, customer trust comes with a lot of benefits for your business. And lack of trust can lead to negative consequences. So it’s time you start prioritizing it for your brand.
Building trust among customers is similar to how you build trust in any relationship. It must be earned and fiercely protected at all times. You should do all you can to provide consistent experiences, exceed expectations, and deliver on your promises.
Of course, it’ll take work. But the ultimate payoff will be worth it. As you establish more trust in your brand, you’ll see a big difference in sales, brand loyalty, and customer retention.
Related Post: Customer Care: Developing Mutual Understanding
