Top 10 Ways to Earn Customers Trust and Confidence

If you are an entrepreneur you must have heard it multiple times that people do business with people they know, like and trust. How much do your customers trust you to provide you with their personal information like phone numbers and their personal email address?

Why did I ask this question?

Few years back when I started my freelance writing business, one of my clients gave me the login details to his Copyscape premium account so I can be using to check for plagiarism whenever any of my writers submit content for approval to me.

Now, why will someone give me the username and password to his premium copyscape account that he usually funds with his credit card to check for plagiarism?

Trust!

Yes, trust. He must have been studying me and my contents and come into conclusion that I can be trusted. From my end, I was able to build trust and let him know he can have confidence in me when it comes to delivering unique contents.

So, instead of him doing it, he decided that I take over the account and check for plagiarism while he funds it. Till date, I am still using the account even for other client’s work and he doesn’t question how I use it even if he is the one funding it.

All business owners want customer’s trust, loyalty and confidence because it is the promise land in commercial relationships. You know that you are good at what you do, but your customers need to know that too.

Here are the top 10 ways to earn customers trust and confidence drawn from my business experience and studies carried out.

1. Delivering Value
2. Transparency
3. Be Yourself
4. Value Relationship
5. Sincerity
6. Be a Professional
7. Always ask for Feedback
8. Use Testimonials
9. Use Social Media
10. Have a Good Attitude

In details…

1. Delivering Value

Sure, one way to earning customer’s trust and confidence is when you deliver value to customers. You have to deliver value repeatedly and at every opportunity. It is not one action that does it, it is a million little things and it starts in the very first encounter.

One thing I can boast of about my agency is that we don’t work with too many clients. Instead of fighting to acquire new client, we make sure the ones we get come back for more transactions and it has been working for us so well.

Now, how are we able to do that?

By delivering consistent value.

Whether you are a freelance writer, business coach, information marketer or whatever business you do, always be delivering value to your customers either through your products or services irrespective of the dollar price on top of the transaction.

I don’t deliver value based on the price I get from client. I deliver the same value to every of my clients because it is cheaper to maintain your old client than to go acquire new ones. Take it to the bank!

2. Transparency

This is another area to look into if you want to earn trust from your customers. Customers are smart. They know if you are after the money or after meeting their needs. Don’t try to hide or cover your errors, they will know.

Address the issue directly. If honesty is your business policy, they will appreciate and admire you more when you admit to a mistake, rather than playing games.

3. Be Yourself

Rather than acting like a pro that you are not or like someone with years of experience, just be yourself and clients will like you more. Over-corporate voice will kill you.

If you have once chatted with me, you will be able to tell that I am a fun-loving person. I get to talk with you in a normal way your pal with talk with you. And that is the same way I talk with my clients.

I don’t do this ‘we’ thing. It is always ‘I’.

To be too corporate when having conversation with clients doesn’t increase the money they want to transact with you. They will still pay you what is convenient for them. So, be yourself.

4. Value Relationship

This is another thing I do that makes me different from other freelance writers I must confess. Some business owners don’t know how to manage their client because they don’t value client relationship.

If you want people around you to value having a relationship with you, you must truly believe that relationship building is important. I don’t just chat with my clients about business, we do talk other things and these are what bond our relationship.

Imagine a client sharing with me his personal life. See, if you can get a client to laugh at your jokes, you have gotten a business partner for life. Try it.

5. Sincerity

Don’t be ashamed to let your customers know that your product or service may not be the right fit for him or her. Also, for internet marketers, don’t just tell part of the truth in your ads. It will be very bad that you display on your website that your product is free or cost $12 when it’s actually $23 in real sense.

If there are additional enhancement that make the product that amount, let them know on your landing page.

6. Be a Professional

Being yourself doesn’t mean you should be or remain a novice at what you do. Be a professional. Why do you think I am a sought after freelance content writer? Because I am good at what I do when I want to do it.

Customers tend to trust individuals who are serious about what they do. It was after a client preach to me about the important of creating SEO friendly content that I went further to study in details how to create SEO friendly article that I was able to confidently increase my writing fee.

Now, I can boast of creating SEO friendly content for clients and I keep to it and they like me for that.

7. Always ask for Feedback

This has been our business policy. I am never afraid to ask for feedback from any of my clients. Feedback is how we grow our business.

If any of my customers are not happy with any of our content, I don’t mind writing it myself again even if it was written by one of my writers. Yeah, this is one way I build trust telling my client that his or her satisfaction is our priority.

When customers see that you are concern about your delivery, they are more likely to trust and have confidence in you.

8. Use Testimonials

Consumers are always skeptical with dealing with businesses for the first time because they don’t know if the money they are about to spend is worth the risk.

They may doubt the words you are saying but will believe their fellow consumers. So, it is very important you collect testimonials from satisfied customers and display them on your marketing materials or website.

9. Use Social Media

Don’t be only accessible via email. No, it is very bad for business. Connect and build relationship with customers on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Trust is not given, it is earned over time.

10. Have a Good Attitude

Nothing pisses a client off than a bad attitude. In business, having a positive and confident attitude pays dividends over the long term. Your attitude will shine through in everything from your conversation, to your social media appearance, to your marketing.

If you are a business person, I advice you try out these strategic ways to earn customers trust and confidence and I can bet, you customer base will not only increase but you will also be working with happy and satisfied customers.

Will love to read your feedback.

Image: Pixabay