As a business owner, you know that one of the most critical parts of your company is your customers. If they are not happy with the way the business is being run, then they will shop elsewhere, and with no customers, you have no business. After all, your customers are the people who bring in a profit to your business, and they are what keep your doors open for many years. It’s for this reason why companies all over the world spend so much money attracting customers to their business and why it’s so important that you have a strong brand behind you. Building customer confidence in your brand can take time but there are a few ways that you can start to develop a winning strategy, as outlined below.
- Use People Where Possible
If you have ever been in the position when you’ve had to contact a company’s customer service, you will know how difficult it can be! For the most part, companies tend to use automated systems for customer service, especially when it comes to choosing who you want to speak to. However, there are some companies who take it a stage further. Instead of being able to talk to someone in person, they simply give you a list of options and then direct you to the website or one of their help guides. While these companies might think that they’re helping, and at the same time, saving money on hiring customer service personnel, these are often one of the most complained about services by customers. If you want to build a brand that people trust, you need to have excellent customer service, and that means having someone at the end of a phone.
- Go Beyond Profits
It might sound an odd way to do business, but if you try to go beyond your profits, you’ll find that your customers will respect you more and trust your brand. For example, if you have promised your customers that your products are high-quality, then that is what they expect. However, if it later turns out that your products aren’t high-quality, then that damages your company and your brand. Another way that you can build your brand by going beyond your profits is by being honest with your customers. You might think that telling them, for example, that looking at mobile phone screens too long can cause eye damage would lead them not to buy their mobile phones. However, they will still buy the phone, but they will be pleased with your honesty and trust the brand more because of it.
- Be Consistent
If you are operating many stores, you will understand how difficult it can be to ensure that the same message is being portrayed across your whole estate. It means that if, for example, a customer goes into one of your stores and ask for a particular product, it’s essential that every employee can give correct answers. It means having a system in place so that whoever a customer approaches for help, the information will be the same. There are many companies who can help you with this, such as this app from Foko Retail which can give you a connected network.
- Use Social Media
These days social media is one of the fastest growing ways to communicate. There are billions of people all over the world absorbing vast amounts of information via their social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. With so many people having access to one platform, it makes it much easier for you as a business to connect with your customers and build relationships and trust in your brand. The vital thing is that you don’t only post about your products or about the special offers you have; you also need to post about things that interest your customers and encourage them to engage with and reply to your posts. If you can engage with your customers in this way, they are more likely to take a look around then.
- Security
One of the significant concerns that customers have is how well companies are protecting their personal data. With so many scandals regarding breaches of information in the past, this is understandable, so it’s crucial that you are honest and open not only about the data you’re keeping but also what happens to it. Most important of all, if you discover any kind of breaches of your security, it is imperative that you make it known to your customers as soon as possible so that they can take action themselves to protect their data. To be sure, many companies employ experts who test their security to ensure that it meets standards. Anything you can do that protects your customer’s data will also help to build trust between customers and your company.
- Complaints
Hopefully, if you’re doing the right things, you won’t get many customer complaints. However, if you do, then how you handle these complaints will be critical not only to your own credibility but also in the loyalty of your customers. The most significant issues that customers have with companies is how they deal with their complaints. In many cases, customers get upset that the complaints are either not correctly dealt with or that they are simply ignored. It’s something you want to avoid. Otherwise, you risk losing customers and your reputation that you spent a long time building. The important things to remember are that you need to give your customers a timescale for how long you will take to deal with the complaint. You also need to keep them informed along the way and tell them of any action you will be taking. Every company makes mistakes, but it’s the way you handle them that will determine whether your customers forgive you or not.
Building a brand that customers love and trust is essential in any industry. That is why many companies will buy older brands because they have ready-made confidence and relationship with their customers. If you can build this type of trust with your customers, then you have a loyal base on which to build your company.
