After the social media platform’s scandalous 2018, the trust of the masses on Facebook has declined by 66%. The social media giant owned by the youngest self-made Billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, lost the favor of people when it was revealed that the app was used to gain the personal data of users. This, of course, also showed a dip in business for Facebook. Had it been another company, particularly one not as well-established, it would have been demolished entirely by now.
This reveals the importance of disclosing your privacy policy and taking all proper measures to ensure that your customers’ trust in the company is not compromised. The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that customer trust in businesses has dropped to 48% only. This further stresses on how challenging it is getting to birth customer trust. Once upon a time creating customer trust was about flashy marketing campaigns. Today, it’s so much more than that.
Wondering how to go about nurturing trust among customers? Here are 6 tips that can help your business in building customer trust this year:
1 – Leverage influencer marketing
Your brand is not what you claim it is; it is what other people have to say about it. This is where influencer marketing comes into the picture. One way of building trust with your potential customer base is by collaborating with social media influencers. Stats reveal that 49% of consumers rely on the words of influencers.
However, in 2019 influencer marketing has taken a new turn. With the audience fed up of covert advertising, business have to be very careful about which influencers they work with. The key is to make the influencer’s recommendations come off as authentic. Hence, connect with influencers who have a genuine admiration for your product.
Go for micro influencers as their engagement is higher and they are less likely to have fake followers. Be careful with celebrity marketing as it may or may not work for you. While collaborating with Cardi B worked for Fashion Nova, working with Scott Disick backfired for Bootea.
2 – Hop into video marketing
Video marketing is on the rise. It is a new mode of communication and brewing customer trust. Not only do videos allow you to project your brand’s products, but they also enable you to get your story across. With it, you can showcase what’s happening behind the curtains.
93% of businesses report that video marketing has helped them win a new customer. You can turn viewers into customers by showing them the quality of your products and emphasizing on how your products can be of value to them.
Incorporate video content in different ways. You can crate shoppable video posts, share more stories on Instagram, and also have live video sessions. Moreover, rather than just posting videos on social media, use them on your product page as well.
3 – Be honest and transparent
There was a time when brands focused on posing as perfect. But that is not how it works anymore. Customers look for authenticity which is what you should aim for. Keep in mind that this can be achieved by being open.
Share more about the production process of your products, and which areas you are planning to improve. Tell buyers where their personal information is going. Surely hiding such details didn’t go in Facebook’s favor last year. Also, be honest when your brand errs.
When in January the previous year, an H&M monkey hoodie was taken as offensive by many people, the brand came forward to apologize and hired a diversity leader as well to address the concern of their customers. Later in March when ASOS misspelled a word on its packages, the retailer-owned up to its mistake.
4 – Offer incentives to customers
One way you can ensure that your customers keep returning? Offer them incentives to do so. You can do this by offering loyal customers rewards by getting them onboard a rewards program. You can also offer discount coupons. However, the approach you take to offering discounts should be such that people know you’re providing them something valuable. According to a study, About 42 million Americans make use of coupons with almost redemption of 31 billion coupon codes.
You can offer coupon codes via influencers, coupon websites, email marketing or giveaways. You see, offering coupons is better than simply holding a sale. How much discount you offer depends on the pricing of your competitors’ products as well as other factors. What’s more, timing is everything. Sales expert Dave Brock insists on being cautious with offering discounts. Therefore, don’t offer sales so regularly so as to lower your brand’s value.
5 – Prove yourself
When it comes to attracting potential customers, you don’t only have to prove your brand after the customer has made a purchase but before as well. So, how to tell your customer that your products meet the promises they make? By providing social proof.
About 95% of shoppers go through online reviews before purchasing a product. Take for example, buffer. The app shows case studies of businesses that have worked with it and benefited on its website. You can also put up testimonials with faces of customers to come off as genuine or attach screenshots of positive comments on social media.
Likewise, you can post reviews of customers in picture format on your brand’s social accounts. You can also add a plug-in to your website which shows a popup every time someone makes a purchase. Customers may also look for reviews of your products on Amazon. Trust Pilot is one tool you can use for showcasing customer reviews on your site.
6 – Be visible and engaging
The relationship between businesses and customers is more of a friendly nature these days. Engaging with customers is not limited to replying to customer queries. It’s also about responding to all mentions. Take Grammarly for an example here.
The grammar checking app doesn’t miss a beat in responding to tweets it is mentioned in. When you talk with the audience even when they are not making a purchase in the moment, you win their heart enough for them to want to buy from you. This is because communicating makes you off as alive. It also gives you a chance to personalize your brand voice.
Converse with your customers and touch them rather than always having a sales pitch on the ready. To make your brand more visible employ social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, put up ads, and while at it, do every bit of it creatively. Brand engagement and awareness help foster customer trust.
In short, to build customer trust in 2019 be sure to collaborate with micro influencers who are genuinely interested in your products, utilize video marketing for displaying more about your brand, and exhibit customer reviews.
Over and above that, be open with your audience, and engage with it along with spreading brand awareness. Don’t forget to offer customers incentives to keep them coming back for more.