When it comes to trusted brands, customers are drawn in like moths to lightbulbs — they come in droves and, if they’re impressed, they don’t mind spending slightly more than average on your products.
These days, many markets are extremely oversaturated, meaning companies are finding it harder than ever to make their brand stand out as the most trusted in their niche. Plus, with so many different business formats around — from online shops to bricks-and-mortar stores — it’s even more difficult.
Because of these hard facts — be it the online and offline world — no matter where you look there are businesses squeezed into every corner. And when you’re competing against businesses that have been around for years, elbowing your way in is even harder.
However, there is one thing that can help your brand stand out — your customers’ trust. By ensuring you’re the brightest (and most trustworthy) lightbulb in the room, you can really get a buzz going around your brand.
Ready to increase consumers’ trust in your brand? Enjoy our quick how-to guide on becoming a trusted brand.
6 Steps to Becoming a Trusted Brand
1. Transparency
Even if you’re only in the early stages of establishing your brand, you should have some form of content on your website. Be it blog posts or an About Us page, it’s important to provide your customers with transparency — a key step to building a trusted brand.
For example, blog posts can keep customers up-to-date on your company’s recent news and your website landing pages can inform them about business operations. Free access to this kind of information helps your brand come across as open and accessible.
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However, communication shouldn’t start and end with your website. It’s definitely worth setting up a marketing newsletter so that you can regularly touch base with customers. This type of communication allows you to be open and honest by giving the public important information about your products and services.
Don’t forget — reliable products drive sales. Your offerings need to be of the highest quality so that they can hold their own when compared to your competitors. If there’s anything about your product that is lacking, there’s a chance your customers might not return.
Plus, poor products and services can put a dent in your customers’ trust. All those ads you’ve released which showcased how great your product was could now be seen as slightly misleading. So, focus on fostering brand transparency.
2. Communication
Another quality that customers appreciate is open, clear communication. There might be a lot of questions about your company and products floating around — especially if you’re relatively new to the market.
Thus, you’ll need to be prepared to answer quite a few inquiries. But don’t see this as a bad thing, instead, consider this your time to shine! If you answer questions asked on public forums and social media well, you’ll make the questioner feel heard and impress others who happen to spot your interaction. Nice!
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But wait — what happens if one of your public communications with a customer turns sour? Believe us, this can happen to even the most trusted of household names!
Whether it’s a negative comment on a Facebook post or a bad review on a comparison website, you should never delete the negative content. Other customers might notice that bad comments and reviews have been disappearing — which is hardly going to fill them with trust.
If anything, it could make consumers think you have something to hide. Therefore, it’s much better to address the negativity head-on. Leave a polite reply to the customer’s comment and try to work together towards a resolution.
3. Accessibility
If your customers can’t get in touch with you, they may well think you’ve gone into hiding. And a company in hiding certainly isn’t a trustworthy one!
Make sure your address, telephone number, and main email address are in a clear and visible spot on your website. What’s more — consider rolling out a live-chat feature on your website so users can have a chat with your customer service team whenever necessary.
4. Trust (In Your Team Members)
It’s pretty simple — your customers won’t trust your company if you don’t. So, you need to work at building trust within your teams.
Without trusting and relying on your team members, there’d be no way any of you would have the time needed to do your jobs well. Thus, it’s incredibly important that you’re transparent with colleagues from your own team and other teams — everyone needs to be on the same page concerning major changes and decisions.
If you leave your coworkers in the dark, it could damage their trust in your company and rumors could develop — and you didn’t set out to create a rumor mill as a business!
Ensuring that all of your colleagues are happy in their roles will also pay off, as customers who interact with them will notice their positive, open approach.
5. Familiarity
When you think about well-known and trusted brands, one thing you’ll note is that the majority of them are household names. This is what you should aim for as well.
There’s a clear path to achieving strong brand awareness and becoming a familiar name — you need to create a brand with instantly recognizable colors and a logo that customers will remember.
If you check out our post about the importance of brand logos, you’ll discover how to create one that will effectively represent your company.
Consistency also plays a key role in increasing familiarity. The more consistent your branding is the more consumers will remember and recognize your brand. The key to achieving this goal? Consistent branding to reinforce your place in the market.
6. Reciprocity
You can’t expect your customers to always give, give, give. You have to be willing to throw them a bone every now and then.
Try sending out the odd freebie or discount code to reward loyal customers — they like to feel apprecaited. And if your business is B2B, consider giving away free eBooks, webinars, or cheat sheets.
Final Thoughts
Trust is the basis of any strong relationship — and relationships between consumers and brands are no different. In order to foster trust in your brand, you need to create a strong relationship with consumers.
By maintaining transparency in your communication, providing accessibility to important brand information, and creating a sense of familiarity and reciprocity with your brand, you’re sure to succeed.
And remember — te competition these days is stronger than ever. Before you even realize it, a competitor might start stealing your loyal customers, leaving you with declining sales and less market share.
So, try out the tips we’ve outlined above and you’ll be sure to improve your relationship with consumers.
