Companies who are able to create authentic connections with their customers have a strategic advantage over those who don’t. What exactly does this mean? We’re glad you asked because in today’s RIG94 Lab we’re diving headfirst into why building trust could be one of the absolute most important things that your business accomplishes with RIG94 as your marketing department partner.
“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” —Zig Ziglar
Companies who are able to create authentic connections with their customers have a strategic advantage over those who don’t. That connection provides a foundation for long-term support and loyalty that stands out amongst even the largest competition. When you make trust a priority your customers see and feel the difference when working with you.
But, how exactly do you build trusting relationships that last?… That is the question.
When you look to build trust online with someone you’ve actually never met in person, establishing a meaningful relationship with said consumer can be somewhat of a difficult task. You might think it’s just a matter of having integrity, but there is a lot more to that complex relationship. In fact, honesty is something your customers are already naturally expecting from you, so you’ll need to go ahead and plan on going beyond that. So what are some of the best ways to go about building trust?
Listen and Engage
Are you actually opening up the airways with clear call-to-actions with your followers? How are you engaging with them to let them know you’re there and actually listening?
Your customers don’t need to hear you. In fact, you need to hear them. Social media is about creating a connection by engaging, communicating and letting your customers know you’re all ears for what they have to say. There can be valuable lessons to learn that otherwise wouldn’t have come up without your audience and their open and honest feedback. Give them an outlet to do so by opening up the airways to gain their trust. Ask them questions then open the flood gates for their responses.
Be Authentic and Transparent
Do your customers know what your values are and what you stand for? Do they know where you started?
People love to see where something began and how it’s grown. Inject the human element into your brand to better connect with your audience. …They’re human too, after all. Spotlight your team members, share behind-the-scenes content and take your audience through your day to create a sense of real connection beyond the screen.
Social Proof & Reviews
What are your customers saying about you? Are they providing testimonials that you can use for social proof?
This goes back to authenticity. Do this by displaying subscribers, followers, collecting reviews and testimonials or collecting user-generated content through featured spotlights from their own experiences with your business.
Consistency
Is your communication consistent?
Do all of your channels drive home the same point? Ask yourself if your voice and tone are consistent on all of your channels and if it’s representing you in the manner that you’re aiming for. Once you’ve figured this out, share your content on a regular basis staying front and center in their feeds. If you say you’re going to post weekly updates to your page, follow through with consistent weekly updates. Get where we’re going with this?
Providing Valuable Content
Where are you getting your content? Is it from a trustworthy source? Why should your audience trust the information you’re putting out there for them to consume?
Share useful information on your pages to guide your audience down the right path and be sure that the content being shared is from valid trustworthy sources.
Bottom line:
Follow through on the promises you’ve made to build trust. Authenticity and transparency principles go a long way when promoting your company values so be true to those standards and don’t stray away. Let your audience in and at the end of the day, they’ll thank you for the honesty and your pathway to building trust with them will forge its own way from there.