Marketing Tip: How do you engender trust?

[Frank Gomez]

Companies all over the world are working to build trust. The subject has been in Business Week, Fast Company and many other magazines recently. Even if you aren't a corporation with a sloppy history (Bank of America - secret bonuses before bailout, AIG, Goldman Sachs, Halliburton and even popular brands of consumer products have "messy" histories).

This morning I was placing an order online and I called the phone number under 24/7 Icon to contact customer service for a technical problem with the transaction. The message was "call back during business hours". So I tried clicking on the Icon that says 24/7 and I got an email form. 3 hours later no one has contacted me. 24/7 means 24 hours/7 days a week. I now have a feeling of mistrust for the company.

How does this relate to you, a small business, entrepeneur or non-profit? Building trust comes into play way before you have a "messy past". Build trust up front and keep it! How?

*Branding - use colors that engender trust (this is especially important for certain industries - real estate, attorneys, mortgage lenders) see my article called "Image is Everything" to learn more...
*Offer a no hassle return or refund policy (be sure to follow up with this in your actions).
*Guarantee Satisfaction (I use this for my graphic design services).
*Answer your phone no matter who it is. If it is someone you don't want to talk to perhaps you should talk to them before they start telling others about your poor service or whatever caused them to need/want to talk to you. Perhaps you can make a difference in how they feel about you by dealing with the issue directly. Avoidance of an issue will make it grow into bigger problem.
*Keep your word.
*Be honest (Don't put 24/7 customer support on your website if it isn't true!)

Have an awesome week!

Frank Gomez is a freelance graphic designer with Frank's Designs in Sarasota, Fl
He can be reached at 941-374-7711 or [e-mail]