Before customers make a purchase from you, they need to be able to trust you. They need to trust that your messages are accurate, that what you’re selling matches up to what you say it is and that if anything goes wrong with the transaction, you’ll support them.
The problem is, trust can’t be established quickly or through gimmicks; companies that have lost consumer trust know this all too well. As they try to repair their image, they realize that a handful of advertisements can’t undo the negative associations in people’s minds. Trust can’t be forced down people’s throats, and it can’t be tricked out of people.
Instead, you have to earn consumer trust naturally. But how can you do this?
1. Improve your security.
First, make sure your customers feel safe when they shop with you. Even if you aren’t selling your products through an ecommerce platform, customers will still be visiting your website, and the amount of safety they feel while there can play a significant role in how much they trust your brand.
For example, if you spam them with advertising or maintain a checkout process that is clunky and hard to follow, customers may suspect that your platform is unsafe. So, beef up your security with basic SSL protection; use trusted payment options; and display your trust badges proudly — trust seals are the single greatest on-site factor that increases consumer trust.
2. Be socially active (and visible).
Being active on social media helps you in a number of ways: You build visibility for your brand, you attract more followers and you find that the followers you do attract have a better feel for “who” your brand is. The more frequently you expose this side of your brand, the faster you’ll be able to build that trust.
One of the strengths of building visibility via social media is the amount of flexibility you have there: You can spend your time syndicating onsite content, engaging with new and previous followers, posting images and video or updating customers with news and information. The key is to be active and present on a social platform.
3. Under-promise and over-deliver.
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