The "Four Cs" of Building Customer Trust

Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship. It's also a value that customers respect and appreciate. So if you want the relationship between your business and your customers to be a successful one, you have to make trust a priority.

With so many businesses out there for them to choose from, customers can afford to be picky. Which is why, for small business owners, being seen as a trustworthy company is important for gaining a competitive edge. Securing that trust, however, takes more than just telling your customers over and over again how trustworthy you are. You have to be able to follow through on your claim and earn it.

By adhering to these four tips, you'll be able to gain the trust of your customers and then build on it.

Caring

First and foremost you must display a positive attitude toward your customers at all times. A great way to accomplish this is by hiring people, customer service representatives and such, who are willing to show that they care. You also need to make your customers feel like you're putting them first. It's really the little things that matte r-knowing your regular customers' names, immediately helping customers who look confused or distraught, sometimes cracking jokes or making small talk. These kinds of things go a long way in showing you care about them and their business.

Conscientiousness

It's important to be mindful of your own conduct. Sometimes it can be so easy to slip some "fine print" into your terms of service or create bogus deals or promotions that force customers to jump through hoops to actually benefit from them. The bottom line is that customers will eventually catch wind of your shady or suspicious actions, causing any trust you may have gained to be completely lost.

Candor

You must be honest and forthright with your customers. If a problem occurs, be upfront about it. If a customer wants to know how a product really performs, give them the pros and the cons. Customers appreciate candid responses, so much so that they are often willing to ov erlook certain issues they might have with your product or service and opt to go with your business anyway. People feel more comfortable knowing what they're getting ahead of time, and they don't appreciate being scammed or lied to.

Confidence

Be confident (not arrogant) in the products or services you have to offer. By showing that you have a firm grasp of the subject matter and believe in what you are saying, your customers will feel like you really know what you're talking about and in turn feel confident about the products or services you're offering.

Gaining the trust of your customers is only half the battle. The other half is keeping it, which is why I'm going to add another "C"-consistency. Customers can be temperamental, so you have to be consistent in your efforts. Even your most loyal customers will stray after a bad experience. It could be a major issue or just a small slip up; it doesn't matter. All of the work you put in to building trust between your business and your customers means nothing if you can't preserve it.