Today’s consumer is spoilt for choice due to the numerous brands that are available on the market. For this reason, businesses have to work extra hard to convince buyers that they are worth trusting.
One element that has proven to be effective in driving sales is brand trust. If people are to give you their money, they should be able to trust you. A buyer’s belief in your brand is everything because it gives them the assurance that you can deliver as required.
The result is a loyal customer who contributes to increased sales and, consequently, revenue. However, getting consumers to trust your brand isn’t easy.
What Is Brand Trust?
Before finding the most effective ways to foster faith in your product or service, know what it entails. Brand trust is the confidence or belief that buyers have in a company’s ability to deliver on promises.
When you present an offering to consumers, they have certain expectations. They believe that the brand can fulfil the promises that your company made. The modern-day consumer has a lot of resources to help them make purchasing decisions. Although this has its advantages, it also makes buyers warier.
Customers are increasingly aware of tactics that some companies use to encourage purchases without delivering on promises. Therefore, businesses have to be smart when building confidence in their brands.
Why is it important to Build Trust in Business?
Building brand trust is key as it strengthens any relationship. Deloitte Digital’s completed a study “new measure of trust for consumer industries” and the human experience (HX). The results from the study discovered:
88% People who highly trust a brand have bought from that brand again
73% Tried new products or services from that brand because they trust them.
62% People who highly trusted a brand buy almost exclusively from that brand.
These figures are based on a B2C but can be just as relevant for B2B. Showing how important trust is in marketing, and how critical it is to cultivating its overall business success.
Trust has also been believed to be core to success with Amy Cuddy and Trust Gap In Business.
How Brand Confidence Boosts Sales
Customers often base their buying decisions on more than price alone.
Loyalty is the highest advantage for a company when buyers have confidence in your offerings. If customers can always count on your brand to deliver on their expectations, then the chances are high that they will keep coming back. The stronger the trust, the more loyal buyers become. Each return purchase translates to a sale.
When people believe in your brand, they are likely to recommend it to their friends, family and colleagues. Word of mouth remains one of the most effective marketing tools. As customers turn into your advocates, they contribute to the sales increase. Additionally, you cut some costs on other marketing strategies, thus boosting your profit margin.
Good customers experiences lead to more sales. Over 70% of consumers consider customer experience when making purchasing decisions. Most buyers are to pay more for a product or service in exchange for good customer service. So, spending money on building brand trust and confidence can have better results than some forms of advertising.
Ways to Build Brand Trust
Now you know what you can gain when you create a trustworthy brand. How do you do it, though? Begin by measuring brand sentiment.
Before you can craft any strategy, you have to know what customers think and feel about your service or product. Feedback helps identify a brand’s strengths and weaknesses. You can gauge customer responses through questionnaires, testimonials and reviews.
Customer Focused: For the most effective campaign, put the customer first. If you are to forge a relationship with your buyers that can stand the test of time, give them value. Learn what they need then offer it. Deliver on all those promises that you made. In fact, go above and beyond.
Focus on customer service and customer success as it can impact customer loyalty the most. Do you have processes that offer your customer the best possible service as part of your customer service strategy?
Help and guidance to solve pain points.
Consistency: Continual quality and reliability in your product or service so you are always giving your customers the best. Creating that feeling of being a more dependable brand they can trust.
Consistency is also about marketing and promotion to your target audience. Core messages. Because of the more consistent message.
Develop brand checklist guidelines for both online and offline marketing. Include brand style, and usage guidelines to make sure all impressions, messages and brand assets are on-point and consistent across all channels and customer touchpoints.
Transparent: Be honest with your customers. From the get-go, buyers should be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Show them that you are confident with your offerings, even if they are not perfect. Transparency builds a strong foundation for your relationship. When consumers know that you are honest with them, they will respect your brand and trust your brand more.
Example: Be honest where things are sourced from
Reputation: Business and brand reputation is irreplaceable, so make sure it’s well protected. Encourage customers to leave reviews to help build trust as no reviews can be discouraging to new customers.
Reviews are an important step in choosing a product or service these days and a great way to build trust. Even negative reviews can be turned into a positive with a truthful honest answer. Never delete reviews as that will decrease trust.
Mission and Values: Business ethos, missions and values are a great way to build trust with people who share similar values. Supporting social and environmental issues.
Security: Online website security and data protection are more important than ever.
Trustpilot carried out a survey on what loses trust in brands.
- 77% Outdated websites
- 88.4% Unsecured websites
- 81% No online reviews whatsoever
Example: Are your website secure with a SSL certificate to protect customers? How do you protect personal data?
Trust is Paramount for Business
Brand trust is paramount for any business. When buyers believe in your offerings, then it won’t be hard to convince them to buy. You might not even have to convince them at all. However, building that confidence is not always easy. If you get it right, you can count on their business for the long haul.
Looking at Deloittedigital.com research one thing that resonates in this opening paragraph “Trust is an essential bond that underpins the relationships organizations have with the humans in their ecosystem—customers, workforce, and partners. It’s nearly impossible to build successful, lasting human experiences and relationships
without trust“
Creating trust in your brand and cultivating relationships with marketing campaigns – is the key to increasing profits unlocking company growth.