Your brand image is as much about how others see you as the appearance you project. You can offer cues to show customers you’re reliable, but it’s hard to know what sticks and what doesn’t. Fortunately, there are many tactics to create a trustworthy business persona. In this article, we’ll explore the top five strategies that will help you create a trustworthy brand in the digital age.
In a recent Kerney Consumer Institute review of trust issues, researchers found people are about 40% more likely to trust small businesses than the government. Even larger corporations fared better than the government or media. The good news is that if you’re an independent firm, you have a much better chance at gaining your audience’s trust.
Although there are many ways to establish trust with your core market, we’ve narrowed the choices down to five strategies we feel are perfectly suited for the digital age. Try these and watch customer loyalty soar.
1. Share Case Studies Strategies to Create Trustworthy Brand
People are far more interested in what you can do for them than what you have to say about yourself. Rather than sharing all your own accolades, put the focus on your clients. Use case studies to establish what you have already done for others.
Using real stories also makes you seem more reliable. The person can always look up the person in your report and contact them for a referral. They have no reason to trust you, but they may believe what another business owner says.
2. Watch Your Body Language
The COVID-19 pandemic forced people everywhere to switch to virtual meetings and video seminars. You can capture new clients or drive them away simply by your body language.
You can use triggers that tap into the ancient human brain and make people want to hear your entire message. Take some basic training in body language before putting out promotional videos. You want to encourage people to trust you and not make them feel you have something to hide.
3. Establish Your Expertise Strategies to Create Trustworthy Brand
If you want people to take notice of what you say and trust it’s the truth, you must establish yourself as an expert in your field. Learn everything you can about your business. Know your clients’ pain points and how to fix them.
Add content to your own site and as a guest blogger about topics important to your clients. Take radio interviews, television interviews and participate in podcasts. Reach people wherever you can to get your brand name out there as the go-to source for information.
4. Dominate Social Media
According to Backlinko, 4.48 billion people are active on social media, an increase of 13.3% in the past year. Just throwing information on a social platform doesn’t help you establish trust, though. You must work hard to create a relationship with your followers.
Share pertinent content, answer questions, provide links to case studies. The majority of your content should entertain your audience rather than trying to sell something to them. You want a loyal band of followers who become mouthpieces for your marketing efforts.
People are much more likely to trust one of their friends recommending your company, so give them reasons to.
5. Be Transparent Strategies to Create Trustworthy Brand
Don’t try to hide the negatives of your brand. If you make a mistake, own up to it and fix it. If you sell products, share sourcing information.
Have you ever bought something and it says “assembled in the US?” That doesn’t mean the parts are American-made. Marketers often use tricky wording to try to fool consumers. Most people understand their duplicity and don’t appreciate it.
It’s far better to be honest than to try to hide the truth or trick your customers. You might fool them once, but when they discover the truth, they’ll be angry and walk away from you forever.
Be open about return policies. So, pricing, sourcing, and anything else customers might need to know. So, a good way to create a trustworthy brand.
6. Tell Brand Stories
Show prospects real people are behind the company. In addition, share stories about your workers and your founders. Did someone just win an award? Give them some praise.
Talk about the hurdles you’ve had to overcome to take your company to where it is today. Moreover, don’t be afraid to share your struggles and triumphs. Finally, Ideally, your customers will cheer you on.
7. Learn from Feedback
Pay careful attention to what customers say to you. You can likely learn more from negative feedback than positive. Is there some kernel of truth in the complaint? How can you fix the issue so other customers aren’t impacted negatively?
If you want to continue to improve and for people to trust you mean it when you say you care about them, you have to prove it through your actions. A complaint is an opportunity to fix anything that’s wrong. As a result, a great strategy to create a trustworthy brand.
Be True to You
People should trust your brand to stand behind its products or services. So, it means what you say. If you claim to have the best customer service. So, strive to offer quality customer care and fix problems. Go out of your way for your customers.
Word-of-mouth referrals will eventually filter in and your reputation for excellent customer experience will proceed. So, make the small changes each day that impact the trustworthiness of your brand in the long term.
Eleanor is the editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She’s also a freelance web designer with a focus on user experience. Eleanor lives in Philly with her husband and dog, Bear.
