How to Build Trust With Customers: The Complete Guide

"How do I build trust with customers for my glass business?"

You've launched a business, and sales are coming through the door. But you've got a problem: none of those customers are coming back.

"Why?", you wonder. Bad news – they might not trust you (yet).

The good news, however, is that there are plenty of ways to keep customers coming back. Keep reading, and you'll find out how to grow a loyal audience.

1. Grow Your Online Presence

Having a strong online presence allows you to build trust because you can solve your customers' problems even if they aren't ready to commit to a sale yet. You should be demonstrating your industry knowledge through regular free content like blog posts and videos.

Every business should also have an active presence on social media. You don't need to create accounts for all of them; pick one platform where your audience is most active and focus on growing your profile there.

By providing free value, customers will choose you over your competitors when they're ready to buy. Being online also allows you to be more personal, making customers more open to engaging with you.

To build an effective online presence, listen to what your customers are talking about on social media and search engines. Then, do some keyword research and create content that answers their questions.

2. Publish Customer Reviews

To build trust with customers, you need social proof. Online reviews influence 67.7% of buying decisions, and a product with at least five reviews is four times more likely to be bought.

You can add reviews to your website's testimonials page, show them on Google, and even create social media visuals.

Encourage all customers to leave reviews, either on your website or in Google Reviews. You can do this by sending a follow-up email after completing a project.

As counterproductive as it sounds, bad reviews are just as important as good ones. Customers will question whether or not reviews are genuine if there isn't a balance.

3. Communicate With Speed and Transparency

Your business must have clear and consistent communication with its customers if you want to build trust. There are numerous ways to do this; effective CRM systems, automating common responses, and hiring an efficient customer service team will help.

You should also be honest about what you can and can't do. If you're unable to offer a particular service, recommend someone who can.

It's also important to share all information. Even if you feel it'll damage your reputation, hiding something will only make customers see you as untrustworthy.

Make sure your replies are fast and that you respond to everyone. If you receive negative press, point out what you did wrong and how you plan to improve. This will show customers that you care about them and make them less likely to leave.

4. Consistently Deliver An Excellent Service

The only way you'll attract loyal customers is if they know what they'll get from you every time they use your service.

To provide a consistently excellent service, you must have clear customer-focused objectives. You also need to have an effective strategy, with all of your employees knowing what needs to be achieved.

Measuring your progress is also essential for delivering consistent, high-quality service. Sales numbers and marketing analytics should both be checked regularly.

It's also worth under-promising and over-delivering. Say that you'll achieve a 'good' result but come back with something excellent. Customers will both keep coming back and recommend you to others too.

5. Be Proactive

Instead of waiting for customers to come to you with a suggestion or complaint, reach out and see where they need help. Ask for feedback on what's not going well, as well as what is, then improve your offerings accordingly.

You should also ask customers about their biggest future fears, which they may not yet be talking about online. Think about how you can solve these worries and what extra services you may be able to provide. Consider the types of content you can create to help them, too.

As well as getting direct feedback, you should also keep on top of industry news and trends. Think about how buyer needs may change in the near future, and look at what your competitors are doing too for more ideas.

It's also important to assess your annual goals every three months. Look at what is working and what isn't, and make necessary tweaks to your strategy. This will build trust with customers because they'll be able to act on possible problems before they happen.

6. Publish Case Studies

While reviews provide a brief overview of how you made a customer happy, case studies go deeper into a specific project. They highlight what the goals were, how you achieved these, and ways your client is now benefitting.

Think about why you may want to create a case study. Are you looking for more leads, would you like to boost your customer's online profile, or are you looking to grow brand awareness?

When you've answered this question, decide whether you want it to be a blog post, video, or something else. Then, find a fitting client and get working on it.

Aside from providing social proof, case studies can also help to improve your SEO. You can also use these as marketing materials for possible buyers and share them on your website and social media channels too.

Build Trust With Customers Through Openness and Communication

Great businesses keep customers coming back by providing free value and showing off their successes. To build loyalty, you need to show that you're worth trusting through sharing helpful content and delivering consistent service.

Learning to build trust with customers also needs honesty. Reply to all feedback, even if it's negative. Think about how you can use negative comments to improve your offerings and show what you're doing to solve the problem.

Are you looking for more insights to build a better glass business? Check out our blog for more tips.