90% of new business start-ups fail. That’s right, only 1 in 10 will survive. One factor that affects the survival of your business is finding clients and getting them to trust your brand. A new business in the industry does not have any history or guarantee to give to their clients so people are less likely to trust them, even if what they are offering is good. So for the first few years, you will have to go out of the way to create brand loyalty and a good customer base. Here are a few good tips to build trust with business clients:
Discretion
Clients will always prefer that their business information is kept confidential. For example, there is a lot of sensitive information that, if disclosed to their competitors, can cause major damage to their reputation, profits, or company in general. Hence, if you are a new business with a client who doesn’t know if they can trust you with their private affairs, you should always sign a non-disclosure agreement, which means that you are legally obliged to not discuss any of their confidential information with anyone. By doing this, it will automatically make your client trust you because they will know that you treat them seriously and that they are important to you. This, in turn, will help your business grow.
Always Over Deliver
We’ve often heard the phrase, ‘actions speak louder the words.’ That definitely works in real life, including the business world. The best thing you can do as a new business is over-deliver. This means extra promotions, high sales, even free sample products/offers as much as you can. Nothing will draw clients towards your business as effectively as this does. It is true what they say, to make money you have to spend money.
Provide Social Proof
This is a key factor in gaining your clients’ trust. If you give them social proof i.e. reviews by existing clients that they were satisfied by your services then potential clients are more likely to invest in your business. This technique works well especially for online businesses where there is less of a guarantee that the products/services that they purchase will turn out to be as promised. For example, you run a home-based bakery by selling desserts online. If a potential customer comes across your website and sees good reviews given by clients who have tried your products and are pleased with them, they will be more inclined to purchase your products as well.
Be Transparent
The reason why clients are so hesitant when it comes to new businesses is that many businesses don’t deliver what they claim to. They will often exaggerate what they have to offer and at times even downright lie to attract more clients. It is best not to use such schemes and be completely honest because even though this approach makes it difficult to attract clients at first, it is very beneficial in the long run because once you do land a client, they will trust your brand which will give it a good reputation. On the other hand, using dishonest methods to get clients to buy your product will only be profitable in the short run, until clients realize that your business is fraudulent.
Advise Instead of Selling
Salespeople are often pressured to sell the product/service at any cost, which leads to them hassling clients. This may not be the best strategy because potential clients will not appreciate the fact that you are only selling just to gain profit for yourself, whether they need the product or not. You need to make sure that you make the customer feel as if they are important. Hence, it is a good idea to only advise and help them out with whatever they need so that they trust you. This is a much more effective method as clients are likely to listen to you if they think you have their best interests in mind.
Encourage Referrals
For increasing business growth, you can encourage referrals. Once you have existing clients that are satisfied with your business, you can ask them to refer your business to others, such as friends and family. A satisfied client is always happy to refer your business to others, and those who are close to them are likely to trust their opinion. This technique is not only easy and efficient, but it will also prove to be very cheap as it will help your business grow and increase your clientele without having to advertise, which uses up tremendous resources including time and money.
Gaining trust is an essential factor for the survival and growth of a business in the industry. There are many ways to do that, such as those listed above, but what you really need to do is always be honest in your dealings. Profit is the bottom line for every business, but to make a profit they need to work on building trust and a good reputation.