Leading companies plant seeds of trust
Bombarded by thousands of product claims each day, we’ve become jaded. While we consider genuine those recommendations we get from people we know, most of us don’t believe ads and find salespeople only moderately trustworthy. According to recent studies, we rely on our own experiences, doing business with brands we know, like, and trust. And when we find a vendor we like, we tell others. The lesson is clear. Instead of saturating the airwaves with marketing messages, companies should focus on systematically proving their claims, thereby cultivating trust, repeat buyers and loyal advocates for their brands.
I don’t believe you
In a recent study, only 31 percent of consumers believed what marketers said about their products and services.[1] Rather than accepting company assertions, people these days tend to look to others for “social proof.” Nielsen finds we rank product recommendations from friends and family most trustworthy, and regard opinions from complete strangers about as authoritative as a vendor’s official website.[2]
Personal company interactions do garner trust, albeit modestly. Car salesmen still have a ways to go (a Gallup poll found people trusted them less than members of Congress),[3] but studies show that sales reps have a small, positive influence on building our trust.[4] Still, a firm’s reputation, established when the brand consistently makes and keeps its promises, carries more weight.
Studies suggest that high levels of trust between customers and suppliers equates to high loyalty.[5] Why? In purchases involving risk, we naturally rely on trust to feel less vulnerable. Sociologists know well that past behavior, and our confidence in using it to predict future behavior, is key to growing stable, long-term relationships both personally and professionally.
The seeds of trust
Neuroscientists have discovered that humans learn to trust in much the same way we learn everything else.[6] Through reinforcement, millions of neurons gradually encode new information. Our brains subconsciously compare expectations with outcomes during each learning experience, summarizing essential conclusions through the process of memory consolidation. Over repeated experiences, increasingly complex neural associations then enable our brains to make nuanced, evaluative decisions such as whom to trust. While our initial impressions are swayed by what others tell us, in the end we rely on our own conclusions more than anyone else’s.
Planting proof points
Businesses tend to overlook the very important and very human process of building trust. For example, most companies fixate on closing orders and then let customers fend for themselves after the sale. Handoffs between Sales and Operations are typically poor, leaving customers deeply unsettled at a time when they are most vulnerable. This experience can quickly lead to customer dissatisfaction and defection.
Leading firms understand that systematically building customer trust is a major factor in achieving high customer retention. They create moments of proof that engender confidence. For example, top software companies make sure their customer journeys feature interventions such as:
- Free trials, allowing customers to see how the product works before buying
- Online tracking of software implementation timeline versus estimates
- Attentive Customer Success Managers whose mission is to help new customers learn the product and achieve early results
- Closed customer-support tickets listing resolution times as compared with promised service levels
- Helpful analytics, triggered e-mails, and formal business reviews showing progress in meeting the customer’s own goals
- In-product messages reminding customers of the benefits they receive from ongoing use
Thanks to these practices and effectively managing other critical moments in the customer experience, high performing organizations proactively show they can be trusted. Nothing is left to chance. As a result, customers stick around, buy more, and most importantly, recommend the company to their friends and family. And as studies show, these “proven” recommendations are where the seeds of loyalty sprout and grow.
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Sources:
[1] Insights in Marketing press release, May 21, 2014, accessed July 18, 2015
[2] Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in Advertising Report, 2013
[3] Newport, F. (2012) Congress retains low honesty rating. Gallup blog, accessed July 18, 2015
[4] Swan, J., Bowers, M., Richardson, L. (1999). Customer trust in the salesperson: an integrative review and meta-analysis of the empirical literature. Journal of Business Research, 44: 93-107
[5] Ruyter, K., Moorman, L., and Lemmink, J. (2001). Antecedents of commitment and trust in customer–supplier relationships in high technology markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 30: 271-286
[6] Chang, L., et al (2010) Seeing is believing: trustworthiness as a dynamic belief. Cognitive Psychology 61 pp. 87–105