People do business with people they like and trust. So how can you inspire trust with your current and prospective customers?
Buyers are increasingly turning to real experiences to give them the added confidence they need before purchasing products and/or services and to convince themselves that the business they are buying from will deliver on its promise.
Capturing the experiences of your most successful customers not only boosts your credibility but also educates buyers and shows them the payoff they are likely to get from the solutions you are offering.
Here are 10 ways to build trust with your customers:
- Your website – this is often a prospective buyer’s first impression of your company. Start building the relationship on a foundation of credibility by highlighting your successes right from the homepage and anywhere on the site where you talk about the benefits that customers will get when they work with you.
- E-mail marketing – give your subscribers an idea of how successful you have been with past clients through the distribution of a regular e-newsletter.
- Blog – when making a point in a blog post, use a customer success story as an example.
- Direct marketing – highlight a successful outcome to a customer’s problem in a mailer, either as a complete story or as an overview. Send to both prospects and current clients.
- Case study booklets – create booklets that highlight several of your key successes. You could devote a page of your website to “Case Studies” or create a video. Take a look at this video that highlights the UK-based Pioneer Business Systems partnership with a realty company and how they helped the business reach more clients through Pioneer’s telephone system.
- Press releases – catch the attention of busy editors with a story-focused press release that recounts a problem you solved.
- Sales letters – get the attention of busy prospects by creating a sales letter with a concise story of success.
- PowerPoint presentation – add slides into sales presentations that summarize some of your business successes.
- Contributed articles – submit an article of a customer success story to a publication in your industry or a similar online site.
- Annual report – if these are part of your marketing mix, bring life to your annual report by showcasing the people and companies behind the numbers.
Can you think of other ways to build trust with your customers? If so, let me know in the comments section.