Use Trust to increase customer loyalty

Over 9 million times every month, someone does a Google search on the word “trust”. Google Trends shows a steady upward trend in the word “trust” used in media stories since 2004. We hear the word every day. Many of of use the term daily. Some more than others.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t even offer you this car if it wasn’t in perfect condition. You won’t be sorry!”

But do we really know what the word “Trust” means? More importantly, do we truly understand its value?

Trust can help us do our jobs better. And, when baked into an organization’s culture, trust can boost revenue, profits and sustainability.  Trust expert David Horsager says…

“Trust is a quantifiable competency that brings dramatic results.”

His book The Trust Edge tells why trust is such a valuable trait and offers 8 ways to build trust.  Horsager considers trust a key trait in successful and effective leaders. And he believes having trust offers leaders advantages like enjoying “better relationships, reputations, retention, revenue, and results.”

I was chatting with some friends recently about this word. One of the guys grabbed a dictionary and shared the definition with us. I’ve always had a gut feeling for what trust means. But hearing the dictionary definition helped clarify how important trust is. The most common theme in the definition is confidence.

As in:

• Confident expectation of something

• Confidence in the certainty of future payment

• To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something

• To expect confidently

So, when you trust a person (or an organization) you have confidence they will do something. You have faith they will treat you in a certain way. And when you are a customer, to trust a company means you have confidence they will help you accomplish what you want. In short, you have certain expectations and a belief they will come true.

Trust in a company equals confidence in your expectations about that company.

This makes it easy to understand how to build trust with your customers. Help them develop an expectation that matches what you do and how you do it. Then live up to that expectation.

You can see how your brand relies on trust to be effective.

Your brand will attract or repel customers, based on how it matches their world view, their goals. If a person believes your company can and will help them accomplish what they want, then you have a strong match. They are likely to become a customer. And it’s their trust in your brand that attracts them.

You can also see how it easy it can be to destroy trust. Create an expectation and then abandon it. Fail to deliver on what your customer expects and their trust in your company will melt faster than a Shamrock shake in July.

I agree with David Horsager. A high dose of trust is a valuable asset for people and their companies. It can make you a more valuable and effective employee or leader. And it can help your organization be healthier and more sustainable. Oh, and one more thing, it’s free.

How could you increase trust in your product, service or organization?