How confident are your customers with engaging with your brand?
With everything currently going on in the world, people are more uncertain than ever, taking great steps before making decisions. This applies more and more in their shopping and purchasing decisions.
And with consumer confidence in Australia still bouncing back from the effects of the pandemic, it is now incredibly important for you as a business owner to be doing everything you can to nurture and foster that customer confidence.
Here are 10 tips that you can start doing today to help build consumer confidence and increase your business’ profits and sales.
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 1: Be Human
Building trust and confidence between you and your customers starts off with being human. People feel more comfortable engaging with brands that sound like humans instead of a corporation. You can present your brand as more human by being authentic and genuine, and by caring and valuing for your customers. Even small things like posting photos of your staff on your website or social media platforms go a long way in creating that human connection between you and your customers.
Software company Atlassian does a great job at humanising the company with plenty of photos of their staff on their Instagram. Source: @atlassian
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 2: Be Available
Another way to build consumer confidence is by being available. And as often as the quote ‘availability is the best ability’ is used, it’s still very true and valuable to modern day businesses. You want to be there when your customers are looking for help or answers.
24/7 help desks or prompt responses to emails are a few ways you can be present and available to your customers. Try also being present by regularly communicating with your customers through social media or website updates.
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 3: Be Transparent
Noone likes being lied to or misled, so why do it to your customers? Customers are naturally curious and will go to great lengths to understand everything about your business, product or service. So be sure that all of your presented information is completely transparent.
Need concrete proof that transparency is key? Consumer behaviour studies have shown that 94% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that commits to being completely transparent. So blow off the smoke and take out the mirrors, your customers will be more thankful for it.
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 4: Follow Through
It’s good to dream big and set lofty goals for you and your business. But don’t fall into the trap of not following through with any promises you make to your customers. Failing to meet expectations and promises is a bad look and discourages consumers from buying what you’re selling.
Under-promising, over-delivering – that’s the key to good customer service and good business in general. And if you’ve made a promise that you look like you can’t keep, be honest with your target audience and own up to your mistakes.
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 5: Own Your Mistakes
Speaking of owning up to your mistakes, being able to do so greatly builds consumer confidence. It may be a bit embarrassing or might garner bad publicity in the short term but being unable to identify and rectify your business mistakes only causes consumer confidence in your brand to drop. When you do apologise, do so with class by being serious and honest in your message. We don’t recommend apologising through a throw-away Instagram story or on a web page hidden on your website.
A great example of owning up to your mistakes from airBNB. Source: Google
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 6: Create Goals Beyond Profits
People love supporting a good cause. And this is backed up by studies and stats, with recent research showing that consumers are 4-6 times more likely to champion a brand that supports non-profits and communities. Even the simplest of things like donating a portion of every sale to a charity or donating products to a volunteering event goes a long way in creating a good brand image in the minds of your customers.
Burger chain Grill’d is famous for their charity efforts. Source: Grill’d
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 7: Harness the Power of Testimonials
Everyone knows the power of a good customer review or testimonial – but just how powerful are they? 72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business. Additionally, 88% of consumers say reviews influence their online purchasing decisions. If that isn’t enough reason for you to think about sharing your own businesses’ customer reviews! Adding a Review section on your product page or sharing some reviews on social media can increase consumer confidence and encourage sales.
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 8: Ensure a Smooth Buying Experience
There’s nothing that damages consumer confidence and trust quite like a janky, cluttered buying experience. When customers have to jump through hoops just to buy your product or service, they’ll leave dissatisfied. And through the power of word-of-mouth they won’t be afraid to tell others either!). Make interacting with your brand easy with website design that features zero bugs and errors, aesthetic design and smooth UX. Consider providing top-tier customer service as well!
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 9: Provide Top-tier Customer Service
And to add-on to the last point, amazing customer service usually results in high customer satisfaction and trust! There’s many ways to provide great customer service.
Apart from the previously mentioned honesty, transparency and authenticity, you can set up live chats, 24/7 hotlines and contact forms to create ways for your customers to communicate with you. Good customer service also involves going above and beyond just your typical product or service offering. A little goes a long way!
Consumer Confidence Building Tip 10: Reward Loyal Customers
Building consumer confidence is important but not letting it drop is just as crucial to business success. It’s why rewarding loyal customers is so effective and why many businesses employ practices that encourage customer loyalty.
Accor offers great discounts for their members. Source: accor.com
There are plenty of things you can do to show your gratitude towards your customer base. Some things you can do include the implementation of a customer loyalty program or sending occasional thank you gifts in the form of coupons or discounts. Not only does this keep consumer confidence high but it also provides the opportunity for referral marketing and word of mouth to occur within your target market.
Encourage consumer confidence in your brand with these tips!
Keeping your customers engaged with your brand doesn’t have to be hard. With these 10 tips you’ll be well on your way to creating a trustworthy connection between you and your target audience! Want more articles that improve consumer audience and customer relationships? Find everything you need on the ZipZipe blog – check it out today!
