Build Trust With 9 Small Business Marketing Strategies

Build Trust With 9 Small Business Marketing Strategies

Marketing is all about creating and fostering relationships with your prospects and your clients. A large part of achieving this is that people need to know, like and trust you before they’ll engage in a relationship with you or do any business with you.

Before a mortal will commit to making a buy from you, they need to trust that your products and services will do what you state they are supposed to. Also, if you want to keep your profitable clients, they have to continue to trust that you’ll deliver on your promises.

Trust is the basis of any relationship, be it individualized or strictly business. Take a look at the following ways that you can build trust and credibility into your small business marketing strategies:

1. Provide examples

Give lots of case studies and examples that outline how you’ve helped clients and the difference it has made in their business and their life.

Real examples are much more powerful and credible than simply making claims about your service or products.

2. Seek out referrals

We all ask our friends and colleagues to advocate good places to take or a reliable plumber, because we trust the views of people we know.

It’s the same for your business; actively seek out referrals from satisfied customers. Implementing a marketing system to generate referrals is one of the most overlooked marketing tactics for small businesses.

3. Get testimonials People always pay more attention to what others have to state about you than any claims you make about yourself and your business. Make it easy for your customers to wage testimonials. Create some marketing systems to assist this and then use the testimonials in all your marketing tactics: website, income pages, direct mail, email communications, brochures and so on.

4. Offer guarantees

None of us like “buyer’s remorse” and providing a guarantee of service or results of your products and services will go a long way to help alleviate any concerns people have in handing over money to you.

Make sure you act promptly and with no hassles when you have to fulfill your guarantee. Keeping your word is a large part of building trust with people.

5. Share your contact information

Nothing raises a red flag more with me than when I can't find a business’s contact details – address, phone number, fax, email address, website, study of their assistant, customer service number, etc.

By listing your contact information on all your marketing materials, you go a long way in showing people you exist, you are a real legitimate business and you’re acquirable if they have any concerns or questions.

6. Write articles

Write and submit articles to establish yourself as an expert and to help build a reputation that shows you know what you’re speaking about, you’re willing to share your expertise, and you’re “here to stay” – all components towards building trust.

7. Stay in touch

Regular and consistent contact with people helps assist trust – they know you’re around and interested.

Contact your prospects and clients regularly (via email, phone call, card, etc.) to get feedback, follow up, and wage useful tips.

8. Be a resource

Provide information that is timely and helpful to your prospects and clients. Post articles on your website, send them an applicable, interesting report or entrepot clipping, forward an email with details about a great teleseminar or workshop they might benefit from.

9. Let your personality come through

People do business with people, not companies. Help prospects trust you by letting them get to know you. Share your personality and passion in your marketing strategies and communications – for instance, have a picture of yourself on your website, share some tidbits about your individualized life (hobbies, likes & dislikes, pets) and don’t be afraid to express views in your writing.

Take a look at your day-to-day marketing manoeuvre and determine if you are doing all you can to build trust with your prospective and current clients.

If not, try incorporating a couple of the recommendations above and once they’re running smoothly and are part of your marketing system, then add a couple more. Keep doing this and you’ll be rewarded with long lasting, rewarding and profitable relationships with many people.

Find More Business Marketing Strategies Articles