Building trust in business

SOLA ABE writes on ways small businesses can build trust in their clients

People start business because they want to make profit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as most businesses are profit-oriented, except that priorities must be set right.

For a business to be successful, an entrepreneur must have the right mind set such that placing the foundation of his business on credibility must come before profitability.

According to an event planner, Mrs. Bose Banji-Idowu, business credibility is the ability to make your client to vouch for your business as a result of customer satisfaction.

Experts say that customers are aware that the reason for every business is the fight for their money; as a result, they want proofs that they are not throwing their hard earned money away by doing business with you.

Moreover, they want you to show them why it is you and no other business that should have their money, experts posit.

No matter how insignificant your perception of what you are selling is, all businesses need to show honesty and credibility in order to gain the trust of customers because brand trust is required in order to make sales.

According to Banji-Idowu, the foundation of a business is key to the growth of the business.

She adds that a business that is not known for its good reputation will be hardly patronised.

“Credibility is like respect that has to be earned. Since building credibility cannot be earned overnight, entrepreneurs can engage in strategies that can help build the credibility of their businesses,” she says.

There are ways of ensuring integrity in business and they include:

Improve your communication skills

Business consultants have discovered that communication is the basis of establishing credibility.

This, according to them, is because business owners need to make sure they are effectively communicating the vision of their businesses and ensure that their audience understands what sets the business apart from the competition.

In addition, they point out that carrying the brand message, that is, your personal brand and the business brand, through each of your marketing activity is essential.

Banji-Idowu says that credibility is built through effective everyday communication with employees, and it is accomplished by being an excellent listener and keeping the lines of communication open with everyone on the team.

Stay true to your word

According to Banji-Idowu, customers should be able to count on your words.

They should give you jobs to do and be rest assured that it would be delivered at the appointed time based on your words, she adds.

“Do as I say, not as I do, doesn’t work when it comes to credibility. You can’t establish yourself as a credible leader if you’re not willing to walk the talk. Run your business in a way to make people know that you are credible,” she says.

She adds that in order to build your credibility as a small business owner you must be honest.

Keeping all of your communication with customers, vendors, and employees genuine and honest will help you establish your trustworthiness as a business owner, she says.

Be objective

Sometimes, what business owners see as the value their products and services offer is not really what the target audience values most.

Experts suggest that reaching out to your team or advisers on a regular basis helps ensure you stay objective and are honest with yourself, and especially about what your business brings to the table.

According to them, this helps the business manager to remain objective about the strength of his or her expertise because as an expert in the field, he or she still has opportunities for growth.

They advise that it is necessary to admit that there are things you don’t know; express the willingness to work towards finding the answers, with the aim of increasing credibility as someone dedicated to growth and development.

Involve your customers

Don’t run your business in a bubble without any outside interaction, because you can’t build credibility entirely on your own.

The practice of asking customers for feedback, collecting and sharing testimonials coupled with the use of the feedback to improve your business, has been attested to by experts to be relevant.

Business professionals advise that you can also involve your audience to boost credibility by sharing your expertise to help others.

One easy way to do this is through social media.

As is commonly practised by most business professionals, sharing content, answering questions, and engaging people on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can portray people as credible experts in their field.

Banji-Idowu explains that because people think of how much they want to make, they forget that service delivery is key to building credibility. They are conscious of the profit they want to make, not knowing that building credibility comes before profitability.

She adds that a business that has come to stay must build a profile for itself because it needs to satisfy customers and make them happy.

Source: PUNCH.