Unless you’ve known someone for a long time, the words “trust me” probably throw up a massive red flag. There are very few people who inspire trust right out of the gate and there are even fewer brands who can receive consumer trust without earning it through tireless efforts. The more obviously a company tries to earn your trust, the less likely they are to earn it.
Of course, just like a relationship requires trust to keep it healthy, so does the consumer relationship – especially now that more and more people are completing the entire purchase cycle online, without ever seeing a person. Even Uber and Airbnb all began requiring consumers to place a high level of trust in their effectiveness as a business. Even new businesses need to be able to build some goodwill with potential clients and there are some pretty easy ways of building that bridge.
Storytelling
Of course, every business needs to tell their story simply and effectively. Leadership guru, Simon Sinek, believes that the best business stories start with the why, famously saying that people don’t buy what you do, but why you do it. That may work to an extent, but never forget that as a new business people are going to seek you out for what you do. Start your story with the why, but never forget about the what.
Testimonials
Start off the with the simple. Encouraging the people in your life, friends and family, to leaving glowing reviews for you on all of the relevant channels. For most businesses, Google and Facebook are the ones you really want to send your network to. As you start getting happy clients under your belt, encourage them to tell their friends about you and leave reviews.
Once you have accumulated a solid base of reviews, put them to work for you on your website with a testimonials section and highlight them over social media.
Social Media
People often think of social media as this huge conversion tool. Sure, it can be, but it is one of your most valuable storytelling tools to help build that trust. This is where you can show your audience why, what, and who has benefited.
It is also the best place to take your product to social media influencers that already have a trusting relationship with their audience, allowing that same audience to build trust with your business. It’s one of those win-win situations.
While this is a good start, it is not an exhaustive list, there are tons of small ways you can help develop trust with your target market. Something as simple as using specific colours in your brand and website that are related to reliability and strength can help build that feeling.
Of course, there is never any form of marketing that will be as good as good old-fashioned word-of-mouth and the best way to get people walking you up is to consistently provide the best service, product, or all around experience possible. The better you are at what you do, the more excited you are about it, the easier it will be to build that bridge with your audience.