5 Marketing Strategies that Build Brand Trust

Building brand trust with consumers is more important than ever. It’s not like you haven’t heard that before. But is it really that big of a deal?

In short, yes.

A recent SurveyMonkey study showed that trust played a role for 64% of Americans when making a low-stake purchase (such as shoes), and jumped to 92% when making a big purchase. With percentages that high, your business can’t afford to ignore the importance of building brand trust.

So the question becomes, how do you do it? Here are five trust building strategies for your business.

1. Be authentic

Being authentic means being genuine. It doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be wrapped up in a pretty bow. It just needs to be natural and come from the heart. It makes your brand more human — and more likable. That authenticity can come from you directly, or from client testimonials. As seen here, video can be a powerful tool to tell your authentic story.

See the Entire Love Story! 

2. Listen

Relationships are about emotional bonds and interactions. So it makes sense that to build a trusting relationship, you need to listen. What’s important to your customers? Do you provide opportunities that let them reach out, either through social platforms or through your website?

And if you do, are you responding back in an appropriate time frame?

3. Be transparent

Transparency in business implies openness, communication and accountability.

When my son was younger, he inadvertently purchased $314 worth of “rewards” on a popular online game –which shall remain nameless. To be clear, the site was age appropriate, and my husband and I approved of the game before he started playing. Despite that, he “purchased” game rewards without realizing he (ok, actually me) was being charged for it.

I sent an email to the company explaining what happened, and asked for a refund. Not only did they refund me, but they sent me step by step instructions on how to tighten the security settings in the game. That’s transparency — and good business.

4. Deliver what you promise

It seems that consumer expectations are higher than ever. Certainly higher than when I was growing up. But despite this, you don’t necessarily need to deliver the best product or the best price. And you don’t need to be all things to all people. You do, however, need to deliver what you promise – whatever that promise may be.

So if your promise is to deliver a quote within 24 hours, have sales representatives available to take calls OR have an online system set up to deliver quotes within the time promised. If your promise is to be the low price leader, empower your sales associates to match competitor rates.

5. Be consistent

There is great comfort in knowing what to expect. I love that when I shop at Festival Foods, every associate I pass greets me and asks if I’m finding everything I need. I smile every time I check out at Kwik Trip and they say “see you next time." I love that St. Brendan’s Inn always has Harp beer on tap. (An appreciation for this Irish lager came with being married to an Irishman for nearly 20 years.) All these things make me want to patronize these businesses.

What do consumers expect from your brand? Is it a level of service? Is it being innovative? Is it being known for giving back to the community? Whatever it is, be consistent.

Building brand trust is important. Fortunately, it can be done by applying simple strategies. Be authentic. Listen. Be transparent. Deliver what you promise. Be consistent.

And when you do that, you can also be profitable.