How Building Or Rebuilding Trust Online Can Help Your Business

There’s a saying that goes: “It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.” This statement is even more relevant with the rise of social media.

A company’s social presence can say a lot about how the organization is run. Customers use social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to share their experiences with their favorite brands. Whether they loved a commercial, tried a restaurant for the first time or had a horrible experience at a store -- the general public has now turned to the digital atmosphere as a way to share their opinions.

Mashable shared a list of four steps to cultivate online trust. It suggests staying proactive and facing challenges head on is the best way to maintain your brand’s reputation. If a company ranks low with a lot of negative feedback, how can they get back into consumers good graces?

In the eyes of the customer, the service they receive both online and offline goes a long way. As brands continue to expand their business on the various social networks, their customer service also needs to expand. A select number of individuals – this can be one person, depending on the size of your business – should actively monitor the social sphere and engage with consumers.

If a customer received bad service and turned to reach out to you via Twitter, respond timely and appropriately. Additionally, if there is an issue with an online contest you are running where customers are having issues submitting the form, blast an apologetic message out expressing that you’re aware of the issue and are working on resolving it. Once the issue is fixed, send another message updating your customers. Additionally, a courtesy tweet or simple “thank you” goes a long way in a customer’s eye. Happy customers see how the unhappy ones are being treated; these small actions help build trust and brand reputation.

Here are a few tips your company can take to either bring back disappointed customers or make new ones:

• Admit to your faults. Admitting strengths and weaknesses is a proactive the only way you can start to fix the problem to repair a company’s reputation.  Are you not responding to emails? Tweets? Is there a site set up for people to complain about your products? Research your company’s reputation and what customers are saying on social networks. Then, assess the situation and what you can do to change what people are saying about your brand. Find out about your online reputation and assess your situation and its needs.
• Reach out to those past customers who have been wronged. Email, tweet, message or call them to see what exactly set them off went wrong to upset them.  Approach them with empathy and humility.  The more your business seems like a human – the better!  Apologize on the company’s behalf Say you’re sorry and ask how you can bring them back to your good graces.
• Set up a customer service Twitter, Facebook or blog. Give customers a place to complain or praise you.  You can respond to them directly through this on social networks and create a relationship or presence with them.  This not only gives you good press, but you can see weaknesses and confine your bad press to one site.  You may not be able to control the message, but containing it is equally important.

• Send a courtesy tweet. A simple “thank you” goes a long way in a customer’s eye. Happy customers see how the unhappy ones are being treated; these small actions help build trust and brand reputation.

• Have fun with it. If customers come to you with ideas worth implementing, you can promote them on your website and possibly start a wave of customers offering tips.  Have a contest for the best picture with a product of yours.  Set up a Pinterest board that people can pin whatever tickles their fancy when they think of your product.  The possibilities are endless to keep customers happy and thinking about your brand or business.

How have you built online trust with your customers? Share how your company has built online trust among customers. Interested in building or rebuilding your online trust? Let’s chat.

About the Author Core3 Marketing

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