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Trust. It’s such a small world, but its ramifications for your business are enormous. Now more than ever, trust is an extremely precious commodity for businesses when it comes to engaging new customers. While retaining your existing customer base is an affordable and effective way to build your reputation and keep your operation afloat, you know that the best way to grow your business is to keep existing customers engaged while reaching out to new prospects.
That’s why businesses invest so much time, effort and capital in reaching out to prospects who fit their intended customer profiles and expanding on their consumer base. But in an age where most consumers meticulously research the companies that they’re thinking of buying from, you may yet be a way off earning their trust. Especially at a time when many are feeling particularly guarded. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why prospects might not trust you enough to buy from you yet…
Your customers aren’t incentivized to leave reviews
No matter how confident your content marketing efforts or how ingeniously placed your targeted ads, consumers will always take everything that you say about yourself with a grain of salt. After all, today’s consumers have been screening out marketing bluster all their lives.
However, when prospects see earnest and honest reviews from genuine customers, this can speak more eloquently than even the best-written marketing copy. So make sure you give your customers a good reason to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, Trust Pilot, and all the other relevant places.
They can’t see every link in your supply chain
In this age of digital transparency, you not only need to think about what you’re doing, but about every other link in your supply chain. Consumers want to see quality baked into the very crust of your operations. And that means using the right materials from trusted suppliers. Even a skilled dentist, for instance, can’t produce great work without quality materials from a trusted dental supply store. Today’s consumers are also highly ethically motivated. Especially the millennial generation. They want to do business with companies that care. And they’re prepared to pay for the privilege. So make sure they see quality and equity in every link of your supply chain.
Your employees aren’t as happy as they should be
Speaking of ethics, prospects also want to see that you treat your employees well. They want to know that you pay them well, treat them fairly and give them sufficient motivation and compensation to deliver excellence. As part of their research, they may well look on sites like GlassDoor to see what your employees are saying about you. And if what they’re saying is less than flattering, they may give you a wide berth.
You’re not responding to what they say online
Finally, many prospective customers will attempt to engage with you on social media before they commit to buy. And if you don’t respond to them in a timely manner, this can make for a very poor first impression. Respond quickly and decisively to comments, questions and queries on social media. Many younger consumers will likely try to engage you there long before they consider picking up the phone.
