Labels

9 Steps to Build Business Confidence and Credibility


Why people do not buy from small businesses – Lack of Trust

 

Scams / Fraud Statistics: The 2018 ACFE’s Report to The Nations reported more scams / frauds originate private companies and small business. In fact the fraud frequency at 42% compared to large corporations, government, and non-profits. No wonder people are leery of buying from small businesses. Especially if they have been ripped off in the past.

 

This means it’s your job to build trust about your business in the community. Trust is grounded in the belief that someone else is dependable and will honor their commitments. In the buyer-seller relationship. Researchers have found that trust consists of three dimensions—competence, honesty, and acts of kindness.

 

Here is how to build trust with your customers:

 

1.      Stand by your Word

The foundation of a business’s credibility is trust. Without trust, your company will never build up credibility. And if you want to build up your business’s credibility, you need to lead by example. In short, you must practice what you preach.

Nobody is going to trust your business if you are saying one thing and doing another. To boost credibility, you need to be honest across the board. That means being transparent with customers, employees, vendors, and investors.

Manage your business from the highest integrity. When we have integrity, we gain the trust of our leaders, our colleagues, and our team. (“How to Preserve Your Integrity - From MindTools.com”) We are dependable, and, when we hold ourselves accountable for our actions, we become role models for others to follow. All of this, in turn, directly impacts our success in life.

2.      Be Consistent with Your Business Messaging

As with many things in business, consistency is key. Your business’s website should be consistent. Your ads should be consistent. Your tone should be consistent. One message. People get confused easily. That is what makes branding so important.

You do not just want customers who recognize your brand and use your business once — you want to create customers who continue to come back. With good branding, you can give your brand a more human side, which your customers can relate to more than a company that is strictly all business. (“The Importance of Branding in Business - Forbes”) To do this they need to know who you are and where to find you across all social media platforms.

3.      Maintain Objectivity

What is your value proposition of your business?  Why is it important to understand to communicate your business value proposition? Your business value proposition is telling your potential and current customers why they should do business with you rather than your competitors and makes the benefits of your products or services crystal clear from the outset. Here are a few examples of other companies’ value propositions:

  • Examples: Uber – The Smartest Way to Get Around
  • Apple iPhone – The Experience IS the Produce
  • C2 Your Health Women’s Initiative Inc. - Gain access to opportunities and through mentoring that cultivates women's confidence in an often still male-dominated business environment.

4.      Showcase Your Achievements to the Community

The bottom line is that certifications, credentials, training, education classes, certifications and degrees can help you open the door to get a job or contract that would not have been available to you otherwise. They highlight a certain skill level that you have that can beat out the biggest competition. They also help you build valuable skills that will prove the claims stated on your resume and demonstrate you are dedicated to growth and development in your field. Being seen as an expert comes with a new level of respect and trust from the business community and your customers. As you achieve this list them on your website, business resume and on your marketing materials.

Be sure to list on your business resume courses and certifications such as C2 Your Health Women’s Initiative Inc. Women Entrepreneur Excellence Course & Certification, Hustle SBE, Allied Entrepreneurship Course, Ivy Tech Community College Entrepreneurship Course, Notre Dame Entrepreneur Boot Camp, SPARK etc.

As a business owner, you are going to experience small (and big) “wins” along the way. (“6 Powerful Ways to Build (And Maintain) Your Business’s Credibility”) From serving your first customer to winning an award, you need to celebrate and recognize your achievements. If you want to build your credibility, highlight your wins.

5.      Use Testimonials to Your Advantage

One of the easiest ways to build your business’s credibility is to use your customers’ words to your advantage. One of the biggest mistakes is not asking for them. If you have happy customers ask them for their review or testimonial about their experience, then don’t sleep on them.

Use your customers’ testimonials to boost your business’s credibility. Collect testimonials from online reviews, social media, and surveys. Use positive feedback from your customers to help build up your business’s credibility. (“6 Powerful Ways to Build (And Maintain) Your Business’s Credibility”) And use any negative feedback to improve your business going forward. 

Share the glowing reviews as much as you can. Email marketing campaigns, your business website, social media, and print marketing are just a few great ways to spread what your customers have to say. 

"Maybe you’ll devote an entire page on your small business website to customer testimonials." (“6 Powerful Ways to Build (And Maintain) Your Business’s Credibility”) Or you will sprinkle reviews in email campaigns. Either way, incorporate customer reviews as much as you can to help build credibility in the business community. 

6.      Offer The Best of The Best of Service and Products

If you want to build up your business’s credibility over time, you must develop and offer the best of the best (e.g., top-tier products or services). No business can build up their credibility with weak products or services and negative customer reviews.

If you want to be a credible business, you must work for it. When it comes to your product or service, make sure it is top of the line. If there is a customer complaint or issue with your offering, address it ASAP. Listen first. Then respond. Remember “the customer is always right” even when they are wrong. If a customer is happy, they talk about fifteen of their friends. If a customer is unhappy, they talk about two hundred of their friends.

7.      Start a Blog That Demonstrates You Are and Expert

Want to be seen as an expert? Start a blog, give expert advice, opinions and share thoughts. Post them then email your blog out to your customers. When you are trying to build up your credibility, exposure on the world wide web is your golden ticket to success. If you want to become more credible in your industry, start building business relationships with the online crowd. So, how do you do that? Well, invite them to be a guest on your blog, of course! "Plus, guest blogging can give your brand’s reputation a boost." (“6 Powerful Ways to Build (And Maintain) Your Business’s Credibility”)

8.      Involve Your Audience Get Recommendations

You do not run your business in a bubble without any outside interaction, so you cannot build credibility entirely on your own either. (“How to Build Small Business Credibility and Why You Should”) (“How to Build Small Business Credibility and Why You Should”) Ask your customers for feedback, collect and share testimonials and use the feedback you receive to improve your business. 

You can also involve your audience and boost credibility by sharing your expertise to help others. One easy way to do this is through social media. Sharing content, answering questions, and engaging your audience on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can help establish you as a credible expert in your field. 

Today, a large part of small business credibility is built -- or destroyed -- online through the company's Internet presence, online reviews submitted by customers, and social media. This means you need to be consistent in building your brand credibility both online and off. (“Secure your startup's place in the market: 4 cool ways to build ...”) Once you can establish your brand as credible and trustworthy, you are on your way.

9.      Become a Member

Consider joining an organization to help others see you and your company are trust-worthy. The ones I am familiar with are the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Business Associations, business certifications, and organizations such as Women-Owned, WBENC,  WMBE,  and C2YHWI Certification.

 

 Stay Healthy. Stay Connected. Stay You.





 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts