4 Ways To Build Brand Trust

Building brand trust is arguably one of the most important areas of focus when you own your own business. Whether you are just starting your entrepreneurial journey or you are 10 years in, building a strong foundation of trust is what will help your business go from just alright, to something that everyone is talking about. So, how do we do that? Let’s start with the basics.

What is brand trust?

It is how your audience perceives your business, everything from the products you sell to the services you offer. Brand trust is a feeling of confidence when you customer pulls out their wallet. It’s knowing that the thing they are investing in will live up to their expectations. And most importantly, brand trust is the foundation of your relationship and the opportunity to drive future growth, exponentially.

Let’s take a step back and talk about something we all do often… a good old fashioned Target-run! Think about why you make certain at-shelf decisions? Why do you choose one brand over another? (Other than killer brand packaging of course!) Many times we are choosing one brand over another because we trust that brand the most. We trust that they are sourcing the best, highest quality ingredients. We trust that they treat their employees, customers or the environment with the highest standards. We trust that this brand holds the same values as we do. Without even realizing it, this is the brand trust that is driving your every day decisions and purchases. So on the flip side, how do we build that relationship from the other side of the ‘virtual’ shelf?

Why Is Brand Trust Important?

Brand trust is truly so important because it goes much deeper than just looking at the product on the shelf or scanning a collection of online offerings. It’s a trust that goes so deep that regardless of what you create, these customers will support you. These customers are your biggest advocates and cheerleaders. They are here to support everything you do throughout your business’ journey. How nice would it be to know that the next time you drop a product or a new service you have a group of eager customers ready to buy, promote and share? Pretty amazing, huh!? 

Yet with that, it’s important to remember that any deep brand relationships doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t buy trust. It’s also important to remember that you can lose that trust a lot quicker than it takes to gain it. However, we firmly believe, that by sticking to these brand trust building principles you can build a relationship from the ground up and focus on the tasks that matter most.

4 Brand Trust Building Principles:

These four tips for building brand trust are through consistency, personality, transparency and credibility. Although this takes many years to cultivate, by incorporating these steps into your everyday workflows now, you will be climbing the brand trust ladder. Regardless of what stage of business you are in right now, making these four things a habit will only strengthen your relationship with your existing and future clients and customers. 

1. Be Consistent And Dependable

You know that friend that just pops in randomly every now and again to have a good time? Sure you love to hang out with them and make silly memories, but would you turn to them in a time of crisis? Probably not. Now think about those friends that are there for you in happy, sad, confusing and just-because moments. These friends consistently call and check in. They ask about you and actually listen. That friend is someone you can depend on. They are someone you trust. Be that friend, in life obviously, but in your business too!

Consistency goes a long way in showing your audience that you are dependable. Consistency doesn’t mean you have to post X times a day and share every inch of your life on Instagram stories. Consistency is all about setting expectations and sticking to them. It means creating content consistently on your priority platforms whether that be email, social media or blogging. By doing this, you are building a dependable brand that your audience can turn to when the need strikes.

2. Showcase Your Brand’s Personality

Your unique personality is sometimes the only thing that sets you apart from all other companies. So stop trying so hard to be like everyone else. Better yet, stop trying to be anyone else but yourself! Your uniqueness is what differentiates your brand and makes you relatable on an entirely new level. 

Building your brand’s personality starts at the very beginning of any branding process. We start to define these emotions and feelings right away when crafting a brand moodboard. It goes way deeper than just pretty pictures. It’s defining how an audience feels when they see or hear your brand and how you as a brand should speak and act. 

3. Be Transparent 

Transparency will help you be undoubtedly genuine with your clients. Be sure to not just share the happy moments, but the mistakes, lessons and just plain “oops” moments too. We are all human and oftentimes we relate better with business owners who have “been there, done that.”

You know that saying “it’s too good to be true” or “that’s too perfect”. We strive for success and perfection everyday, but that doesn’t always come off positively to our audience. So give yourself a break. Everyone has made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes in our businesses. Yet, we can use those to our advantage in order to find ways to connect with one another. Ultimately, those learnings are what our audience is craving answers and guidance on. So be sure to share the whole journey, not just the happy ending!

4. Show Credibility Through Brand Love

Last but certainly not least, credibility is an extremely important factor when it comes to building brand trust. How do we showcase credibility? Start by sharing customer reviews, success stories and testimonials not only on your website but organically through social media posts and stories. These words are what prove you’re worth every single penny – because guess what, you are! If you aren’t sure where to start capturing this information from your customers, start with one of our favorite tools, Google My Business. 

There you have it, four fool-proof ways to build brand trust in your small business!

Brand trust is the key to building a lifelong relationship with customers and clients. With the help of these four steps, we can’t wait to see your brand transform and your cheer squad grow!

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Psst… Did you know that this weekly newsletter is a perfect example of how to build consistent brand trust with your audience!? Be sure to check it out so you can do it too!