When your air conditioner stops working in the middle of summer, you REALLY want an HVAC tech on speed dial. We have one (shout out to Leonard!). We got his name from my brother-in-law. The first time Leonard came to our house was on a Sunday (yes, Sunday!) in July. He fixed the problem and earned our trust.
Customer trust is so vital to a successful business that we can sometimes take it for granted. The same way we don’t think about breathing. Earning customer trust creates the opportunity for repeat business. It also opens the door for new business through referrals and reviews. Of course being good at what you do doesn’t hurt, but the number one key in building any relationship – business or otherwise – is trust. Am I right?
There’s no secret to earning customer trust. The components of customer trust are simple: Customer Service, Consistency, and Clarity.
The 3 C’s of Customer Trust
Customer Service
When building customer trust, a great place to start is offering exceptional service. Think about how you would like to be treated if you were the customer. That doesn’t mean you have to work on Sundays. It means you should establish expectations and stick to them. If you tell clients you’ll return calls on the same day, then you need to do that.
Good customer service should come naturally and not be strategically planned, although having guidelines in place for your employees to follow is helpful.
Consistency
If you have systems in place to provide customers with consistent interactions, that will help to establish you as a trusted partner. Internal continuity leads to external results. You should have a process for interacting with new leads, a process for generating and presenting estimates, a process for communicating with your team. All of these processes work together to build customer trust. Employees need to be equipped with tools to provide the same level of service to your customers across the board. And your company should be consistent with the products and services you provide rather than constantly trying new tactics or gimmicks.
Clarity
Honesty is the best policy when it comes to building customer trust. If you make a mistake, address the error directly and quickly. We’re only human. This kind of transparency demonstrates that you respect your customers. They will appreciate clarity and will be more willing to work with you as you correct the issue. And admitting a mistake shows that you value high-quality work, which goes a long way towards solidifying customer trust!
Customer trust is a major factor in growing your business and should be established early on in order to keep current customers and gain new ones. Think about it, is there a business or brand that you return to that you don’t trust?
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