You know what it’s like when you’re looking to spend your hard-earned money with a new brand. Unless you have someone’s recommendation, chances are you umm and ahh about it or look for social proof that it’s as awesome as you think it is before you commit.
Building brand trust so that potential customers feel safe is essential to creating a strong and successful business. It’s trust that helps convert potential customers into the raving fans who then help to carry that trust torch for you.
Since most potential customers will visit your website as a primary engagement with your business, ensuring that your website builds trust in your brand is integral. So how do you do that? Let’s take a look at the 3 ways that your website can help you with building brand trust.
Prove that you’ve delivered in the past
Nothing builds brand trust like social proof. Short of a personal recommendation, social proof is the evidence that many people need to commit to a purchase. Think about a company like TripAdvisor — it’s built solely around social proof and is often the first-place people will go before they visit a restaurant or book accommodation to see what other people’s experiences were like.
Consider having testimonials on your website to help you to build brand trust in your audience through social proof. It can be helpful then to look for ways that you can capture your customers’ experiences so that you can then offer them up for other people to view. You may like to introduce a customer feedback procedure that helps you to capture social proof data. The other aspect of this to think about is where your reviews and testimonials are located on your page. Since social proof is such a persuasive marketing tool, don’t hide them away at the bottom of your website where they can’t be seen. Instead, put them front and centre and let them shine for you. Google reviews can also be helpful since they usually show up in the search before someone even hits your website and can be the reason someone clicks.
Tell them how you solve their problem
Consumers don’t make purchases in a vacuum, they’re coming to you looking for you to do something for them. Whether they need a new pair of shoes or to sort their finances or convert more customers into buyers — there’s a problem that they’re looking to you to fix.
Your website can help you build brand trust by showing them how you fix their problem. Spell it out and make it as easy as possible for them. Part of this is through social proof (evidence that you’ve fixed other people’s problems before) but it’s also highlighting their problems in your copy and offering up exactly what you do so they make the connection between problem and solution.
Also, don’t create more problems for them by having a website that hasn’t taken into account user experience. Today’s savvy consumers are not interested in waiting for a slow loading page or playing hide and seek with links to get where they want to go. Poor website user experience will hurt trust in your brand rather than building it. Follow these 5 tips for a better website user experience and you should be sorted.
Be transparent with your processes
Knowing that there are systems and processes in place creates a sense of safety. Most people are uncomfortable with the unknown and like to know how to get from A to B. So take this into account on your website to help build brand trust. Explain exactly how your systems can help them to transform their life or their business. It conveys a sense of professionalism while also helping to communicate to them the ‘how’ of your problem solving.
If you don’t currently have systems in place, get them set up! Aside from building brand trust they also help you to scale your business, deliver predictability, direct your marketing approach and set you apart from your competition.
