Customer Trust, Are You Building It?
What does it take to build customer trust? Loyalty is a different story; it comes after trust.
Every day in my inbox I have email from people asking if I want some help with my website. In some instances, they are insulting, stating elements or factors that should be corrected to honor the SEO gods.
I’ve often wondered, why would these marketing hackers choose to insult a website in order to hopefully attract a new customer? What if their prospect is the website builder? What if the recipient has spent many pride-filled hours cleverly crafting the content and images?
The truth seems to be that the marketer doesn’t really care. They are merely spraying and praying. Spraying a bunch of form letter style email blasts and praying that they get a bite.
Is this anywhere close to a trusted relationship? No way!
Customer Trust
It is no wonder trust is lacking.
Building customer trust is more about gaining permission, be invited to interact, and solving a problem for an expressed need.
Consumers and business contacts are growing increasingly tired of the hustle, the bait and switch, and the violated privacy.
What is amazing is that many businesses have an opportunity to build trust but they blow it through the hustle.
Marketing budgets are spent on email or snail mail campaigns, they are spent on clever videos and fancy websites, and lastly, they are spent on push items in the hopes of creating pull. Then, when a potential customer reaches back to make contact there is no one there to build a trusting relationship.
Seems silly, doesn’t it?
What happens when the website doesn’t feel intuitive, when the auto attendant phone system doesn’t have your menu option, or when the on-hold queue lasts more than 15-minutes?
What often happens is, nothing.
Trust is about engagement and relationships, not a one and done.
Trust scales slower, but lasts longer. It seldom builds by chance.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
