6 Steps to Building Consumer Trust Online

All good relationships are built on trust. The relationships between brands and customers is no exception. Building consumer trust online can significantly impact the growth of a business. When consumers trust a brand, they will continue to purchase from that brand and recommend it to their friends and family.

Here are six steps to building consumer trust online.

1. Be Available
When consumers have a question or an issue, they want to be able to get in touch with you. The simple act of answering the phone or replying to an email, live chat or social media outreach help to quickly resolve the issue and earn your brand some goodwill. Chatbots are an EXTREMELY effective tool in helping be responsive 24/7.

2. Take the Good With the Bad
These days, consumers read reviews before making purchasing decisions. Positive reviews certainly help promote your brand. It may be tempting to delete any negative reviews, but leave them. Consumers understand that businesses are bound to receive negative feedback. Negative reviews lend your brand credibility. Curating your reviews to only share the glowing recommendations may look fake and cause consumers to think you have something to hide.

A recent ReviewMeta analysis determined that in March of 2019 alone, Amazon was hit with a flurry of more than 2 million unverified reviews (reviews that were not confirmed purchases made on Amazon) — 99.6% of which were 5 stars.

3. Put Your Followers to Work
Make it a point to highlight when consumers post about your brand on social media. This can be as simple as re-tweeting or resharing the post, tagging users in your posts or incorporating user generated images on your site. These endorsements let your followers see how other consumers are using your products in real life. When consumers receive products for testing from Parent Tested Parent Approved they often post a picture to highlight their excitement. It helps grow the fan base.

4. Be Relevant
Keep your blog and social media feed up-to-date with content that is timely and relevant to your brand. Informative content establishes your brand as a trusted and knowledgeable source and will keep your followers coming back to learn more.

5. Protect Consumer Info
Consumers entrust you with very sensitive personal data like phone numbers, addresses, credit card or banking info, security questions and family related data and more. Data breaches can be a deal breaker. Work hard to protect their information, do not sell, share or disclose data to anyone outside of your brand. But if you do, ensure you take the legal precautions to do so properly and with their permission. Make it clear to your consumers that you take their privacy seriously.

6. Stand Out with An Award or Certification
There are other brands out there offering the same products and services as your brand. Set your business apart by sharing any awards or certifications you have earned. Working with a partner like PTPA offers credibility, consumer trust, empowered consumers, market research, promotional and marketing support.

In Conclusion

Building consumer trust online is possible with some careful planning and coordination. Being available, honest, supporting your consumers, keeping their data safe and providing useful resources can all help establish trust. Making the effort to build this trust can establish brand loyalty and turn your customers into genuine organic brand ambassadors.