“Trust is the basis of any customer-provider relationship. Without trust; you have no relationship” – Robert W Lucas

Trust is being able to stand stolid and be able to believe in the capability, word or actions of someone. Without trust most human relationships and interactions would be baseless and meaningless. A customer’s trust is also at the heart of the relationship between the customer and the company they are in business with. It is trust that allows for a customer to part with their hard earned income and invest in your company. Building of a customer’s trust in your service and through your company’s processes is not an easy task and requires an unrelenting and unabated commitment on the part of the company to keep it intact. For the company to start building trust, it is imperative that customers are able to first believe in some things about your company.

– The customer must be able to perceive and be convinced that the company they intend to do business with has their best interests in the fore. The customer must know that their interests will be protected even after they have made the investment and will continue to be so during the entire ‘journey’ with the company.

– A Customer’s trust in your company will come about if they can perceive that you are transparent and honest in your dealings.

– Customers know that the products and or services being provided by the company are of the highest standards, with best pricing and every transaction will be dealt with speedily and on time.

– The products and services are all backed by a robust guarantee and any issues will be dealt with in all honesty and swiftly.

Trust as we pointed out, is not something anyone gains overnight. It must be earned slowly and over time and must be safeguarded zealously. To gain a customer’s trust, every member of the company must work towards gaining it, consistently and diligently. Every contact point provides an opportunity to either gain this trust or lose it completely or partially. With trust, customers learn to appreciate everything your company does and are even willing to overlook the occasional service lapse or human error. However, for customers to be even marginally understanding of the challenges you face as a company, they must have consistently experienced great customer service, high quality offerings and a commitment to resolve any issues or queries that the customer may have had. The more opportunities your company provides for them to be successful, the higher is the customer’s trust in your customer service and the commitment you currently display.

However, some companies tend to rest on their laurels after they may have seemingly gained the trust and confidence of the customer. This is an unwise move since a customer’s trust in your company and its offerings is delicate and brittle. Missed calls, broken promises, inappropriate conduct or tone, lies or half-truths, misleading information or failure to come through for a customer are just some of the routes to damaging the customer’s trust in customer service and overall in your company. When this happens, companies must start the trust building process all over again – sometimes without success.

Companies that are able to gain a customer’s trust can pat themselves on the back for a job well done. It has a number of perks – the company can command a higher price, work around payment and delivery terms and even tweak the products a bit without the customer opposing any of it. A customer’s trust is a powerful and indispensable ‘weapon’ for any company to win the cut-throat ‘market war’. It is quite often that companies gain business from customers simply because the customer felt that they could trust this particular more than others. Companies must become smart in their dealings if they are move to forward successfully by gaining the customer’s trust.

Companies must think of ways to demonstrate their trustworthiness to the customer.

– Display noticeably and proudly any authentication certificates that attest the company’s worthiness and trust factor. Display these in the office reception area or areas that would be frequented by customers, ask your sales representatives to carry copies, post scanned copies on your website and social media landing pages. Gain a customer’s trust through the trust a governing body or association has established in your company.

– Build trust for your company and its offerings through other customer testimonials. Ensure that a separate portion on your website and social media sites are reserved for such testimonies of trust. It is easier to gain a customer’s trust when they can relate to other customer situations and interactions.

– Hire a reputed customer survey company to gather and measure the results and positioning of your company. A seal of authentication from someone in authority on the subject is a quick and simple way of gaining the customer’s trust.

– Do what you say. All the authentications and certifications must be backed by your company’s endeavour to live up to them. Your customer service representatives must be knowledgeable, courteous and helpful. If someone from your company makes a promise it must be delivered on. Problems and issues must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently and your company must do everything possible to build the trust they expect customers to have. Every little bit contributes to how a customer perceives your company. Being on time or calling back when promised are those little bits that when ignored, have the potential to erode some of the trust till there is none left.

– Being completely open, honest and displaying high integrity in all dealings must be the hallmark of your company. Customers are highly perceptive to these traits and if a company is found lacking they will walk away rather than wasting time in confronting the persons concerned. However, they are sure to mention it to their friends and associates or worse still describe the unscrupulous behavior on highly visible platforms. It becomes quite impossible to salvage the situation or your company’s repute or hope to gain another customer’s trust.

– Do not exaggerate your capabilities or that of your offerings. Stick to the truth during promotions or sales initiatives and let the product do ‘the talking’. A more realistic picture will make it easier to gain the customer’s trust.

– There are some industries that are notorious when it comes to giving the customer’s a hard time. If your company belongs to such an industry, you would need to be even more industrious and hardworking to build trust for your company. Adopt measures and methods that will let your customer’s view your company as an entity separate from the ‘troublemaker’ industry. Gain market supremacy and customer’s trust through sincerity and ethics.

– Ensure that any positive media articles about your company are highlighted well enough for your customers and prospective customers to see. Everyone wants to be associated with an entity or person who is credible and is spoken well of by the media.
Gaining and building a customer’s trust work as a lubricant that ensures that your company and business runs smoothly. Customers will turn to you for advice and seek out your brand even if it is higher priced than competition if they can trust you. A doubt and concern free relationship leads to a successful and smooth business for your company. Put your customer’s needs and wants before your company to let your customers know that they can trust you.

Customers have a number of choices in the market today – either you can be their choice by building trust or let the competition have their business. Most transactions and business are just a click away given the serious competition. There are a myriad ways to increase business and profits. Gaining your customer’s trust is probably the surest and best way to do so.

“The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer.” – Thomas J. Watson