Building Customer Trust for Your Brand

Introduction

In a consumer poll, 81% of respondents stated that confidence in a brand was of the highest importance in their customer experience. However, just 33% of these polled admitted they have trust in brands they patronize. This demonstrates that consumers not only have difficulty finding trustworthy companies, but they are fully mindful of brand practices that bring trust to a brand.

For startups, this signifies a dilemma on how their web presence, usually the primary introduction to a customer, should be formed to reflect a trusted and dependable brand.

Because many customers continue to purchase brands in which they hold no confidence, it could be simple for brands to ignore the value of trust. But using this mentality, it's a doubtful method to establish repeat customers or to show the public what makes you distinct from your competitors. By committing to a relationship of trust, you'll be investing in satisfied, repeat customers.

The following are several ways to convert your site into one your customers and clients will completely trust and give their loyalty.

Give Your Site a Credible Design

First impressions count, and a professionally designed, contemporary website goes a long way in providing credibility to your site. Giving your visitors the best user experience, with easy-to-navigate information, assures them you value their time in visiting your site.

Become Verified

Perhaps the greatest apprehension customers face is that sites they visit may be fake establishments. Although this may appear a basic concept, it's crucial for a good cause. Since they're shopping on an electronic platform and not at a brick-and-mortar company or holding a tactile brand, they may feel uncomfortable submitting their personal information to a site that has been confirmed as reliable. Here are some things you can do to alleviate this problem at less cost and inconvenience to your brand.

Verify Your Google My Business Profile

No matter how redundant it might seem, a Google My Business verification is a significant step in developing customer trust. In being verified, your business location, website or social media links, customer reviews, and contact data will show when people do a web search for your brand. With such information openly available to consumers, it displays your transparency.

However, a Google search that results in a lack of this information might be interpreted as a warning signal, whether or not your brand has even considered performing a verification.

You can take your verification status even further by having your business verified on social media and any other web presence your business has. It's best to have as much social proof as possible.

SSL Certificates and eCommerce Trust Seals

One more approach for verifying your site is through a security certificate (SSL) and a trust seal. Of the fraud reports received by the National Retail Federation, 30% occurred on eCommerce sites.

By incorporating trust seals on your site, you can prove your site's legitimacy. In addition, security certificates can assure your viewers that their browser has secure access to your site's server, lessening the dangers of a cyber attack. There is great significance in an SSL lock icon beside your URL in a browser address bar, as it increases customer trust in your brand.

Privacy Policy Statements

Besides security certificates, you have to assure your visitors that their private information won't be sold or distributed without their permission, or stolen.

To do this, add a privacy policy statement to your site, with concise information on how customer information is handled on your site. This can be composed on a dedicated page on a website or a few sentences on a checkout page. Privacy policies can boost sales by over 15%.

Physical Proof

Even if your business only has an online presence, displaying evidence of a physical location is vital to prove you have a genuine business.

By providing a contact form or at least one contact email address, you can show your audience that your business is run by actual people who are ready to provide customer service to them.

Likewise, you can incorporate an about-us page with staff photos to prove you have a valid business with actual employees. Linked or embedded customer ratings and reviews are also beneficial in proving that others have interacted with your company. Even negative ratings and reviews can be valuable when you include your company's reply to solve an issue, assuring prospective clients that you prioritize customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

Trust bonds consumers to a brand, turning them into loyal customers. With these guidelines in place, you have the opportunity to establish customer trust while cultivating a lasting relationship that can bring effective results.