3 Ways to Build Consumer Trust Online

As a consumer, buying online from a brand requires trusting that business with your personal information, recommending them to friends, and loyally choosing them over a similar brand.

As an entrepreneur in a skeptical market, creating that sense of trust takes an ongoing commitment to integrity because trust is hard-won and easily lost. It is therefore imperative for business to automate its business processes to build trust.

One of the major reasons for the slow growth of ecommerce in emerging countries like Nigeria is lack of trust. More people are careful about what happens to their identity (data, password and information) they make available on the web.  The biggest challenge is the so-called fragility of trust. In such environment,  establishing a core structure is important which involves sourcing and promoting your products, managing inventory and logistics. Also building up dominant market share of your product should suffice.  To build trust, your customers need to believe three things about your company:  You have their best interests at heart, You are capable of delivering on your promisesYou are honest and authentic.

To earn loyal customers who trust your brand and buy from you, try these three techniques:

1. Focus on doing your job well. Spend your energy delivering on the best product/service as possible. This requires being committed to ′walking the talk′ in every transaction. Building trust is not a one-time deal, you have to prove yourself every time the customer uses your product.

2. Be capable of delivering on your promises. Delivering on your promise is your business. People naturally prefer and feel comfortable when you put their needs first.

3. Transparency and stay vigilant over time. Avoid any sense of secrecy or dishonesty as it will undermine the public’s trust. When you make a mistake, own up to it immediately, share what you’re doing to correct it, and follow through. Improving on customer service. Being direct and simple with buyers on issues such as terms and conditions, privacy policy, refund policy, dispute resolution. Trust-building and maintenance take vigilance and sustained effort.

How do you build trust in your business ?

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