Consumer trust is everything to a small business. If people don’t feel as if they can depend on your business to deliver on its promises, you’re likely to see a significant downturn in repeat business and new customers. Fortunately, maintaining the trust of customers isn’t nearly as daunting as some businesses make it look. So, if you’re looking to win the trust of consumers and set the stage for long-term success, put the following pointers to good use.
Don’t Keep Customers Waiting for Responses
No one finds it pleasant to be kept waiting – especially in customer service situations. So, if you or any of your team members have a habit of placing emails, texts, phone messages, and other customer communiques on the back burner, now would be a good time to engage in some course-correction. The longer you keep customers waiting for responses, the less important they’re likely to feel. And the less important they feel, the less likely they’ll be to reward you with continued patronage.
With this in mind, make a point of responding to all customer communique in a timely and courteous manner. For example, if a message is received during normal business hours, it should be responded to within the same day. Additionally, if you cannot provide a reasonable response, make sure to offer a sincere apology and do everything in your power to set things right.
Be Mindful of Your General Attitude
It should come as no surprise that consumers generally aren’t big on rewarding businesses that are known for poor customer service. If neither you nor your team members are willing to treat customers with respect and dignity, many of your patrons won’t hesitate to give their business to your competitors. Furthermore, poor customer service stands to cause tremendous damage to your business’s reputation, as many modern consumers won’t hesitate to voice their displeasure on social media platforms, feedback sites and other corners of the web.
In the interest of avoiding such outcomes, make a point of being as even-tempered, courteous and gracious as possible in all of your customer interactions. Since some people engage in poor customer service without even realizing, take care to be mindful of your tone, cadence and general demeanor at all times when dealing directly with customers.
Never Offer Deals you can’t Honor
Special discounts, sales events and other promotional offers can serve as fantastic vehicles for generating interest in a small business. However, if you opt to go ahead with such deals, you’d better be prepared to honor them. You’ll also need to avoid attaching ridiculously strict guidelines to special offers or using misleading language in promotional materials. While such tactics may help get people through the door, they’re unlikely to stick around if they discover that they’ve been misled. You’ll also have every reason to expect news of your dishonesty to appear all over the internet.
Furthermore, if you’re found to have engaged in false advertising, you may find yourself facing a host of undesirable consequences. Not only can such behavior cause harm to your professional reputation, it also stands to land you on the receiving end of costly lawsuits. In short, there is simply no upside to misleading the people upon whom your business’s livelihood depends.
Properly Protect Financial Data
When customers entrust you with their financial data and/or other personal information, it is your responsibility to ensure that this info doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Additionally, with hackers, data thieves and other cybercriminals becoming more resourceful by the day, protecting this data needs to be a major priority for every small business owner. Investing in cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions can go a long way toward ensuring the safety of sensitive data. Furthermore, financial institutions and assorted small businesses would be wise to consider purchasing API for financial data.
Fostering and maintaining customer trust should be a priority for every small business owner. In the absence of such trust, any business is liable to have trouble hanging on to regular customers and attracting new patrons. So, if your current approach to trust-building leaves a lot to be desired, take care to course-correct before it’s too late. Luckily, with the tips outlined above at your disposal, getting your trust-fostering efforts back on track should prove far from difficult.
Ayesha completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and started her career as a College Lecturer in 2013. Today, she’s a happy mom of 2 Kids in the field of digital marketing. She loves reading books, spending time with her family, and making delicious food for her husband.
Leave a Reply