If your business has survived to this point without prioritising the trust of your customers, congratulations, but you’re sure to be in a small minority.
For the rest of us, trust has become an integral part of any marketing strategy. Consumers increasingly view brands as an interactional experience, rather than transactional. This means they expect personalisation, added value, and reward for their loyalty.
If this US survey is to be trusted, 46% of respondents said the biggest driver of choosing a more expensive option is trust. This was up from 30% in 2021 and smashed the next highest answer of reduced shipping costs (30%).
So what are some of the untrustworthy pitfalls to avoid as you build your business? Hopefully we can steer you in the right direction on your hunt for a loyal audience.
If you need any further advice, we’re a white label digital marketing agency with the team and time to transform your public image.
Poorly Presented Branding (UI)
If first impressions are 55% influenced by visuals, it’s vital that your brand puts its best foot forward in the graphic design department.
A poorly designed website with comic sans for the font and an abrasive colour scheme will likely push people away from you rather than entice them to search the site further.
Likewise, messy ads on social media will only hurt your brand recognition and trust, as consumers avert their eyes from your efforts.
Low-functioning Website (UX)
From a poorly branded website to a dysfunctional one. Your bounce rate (the percentage of single-page sessions) is sure to skyrocket if your website is frustrating or hard to navigate.
Marketing guru Neil Patel suggests a few ways to reduce bounce rate:
- Avoid popups. 70% of users are annoyed by irrelevant popups.
- Improve your immediate call-to-action.
- Ensure your landing pages are relevant to targeted keywords.
As for your site’s user experience (UX), an obvious and simple navigation bar, search function, and a logical content hierarchy all play important parts.
If any of these features are lacking in your website, your brand will appear to place less value in its online presence. And as has become common knowledge, a majority of users will leave a website and never return if they can’t quickly find what they’re looking for.
No Customer Personalisation
As marketing becomes more of a two-way exchange between consumer and brand, a personalised experience is an expectation rather than a luxury.
Salesforce has found that 92% of marketers see personalisation as majorly or moderately beneficial to brand building.
An untrustworthy brand is one which still sees the customer as a one-and-done sales opportunity and puts no effort into retaining them.
Options on shipping costs, email subscriptions, and suggested products are all great ways to build trust with a customer. More options gives customers the impression a brand understands their needs and pain points, therefore building trust.
Poor Customer Service
As we’ve touched on, a trustworthy brand is one that can empathise with its customers. If a company isn’t there for customers when they need them, providing useful information and resolving any issues, it risks losing people for good.
Salesforce found that a positive customer experience would influence 89% of customers to make another purchase. Meanwhile, Zendesk found 61% would avoid a company after just one bad experience.
An unresponsive social media profile can surely hurt your brand image, as can an unhelpful automated chatbot on your website. These are both easy things to fix within a business, but the effect of neglecting them can be costly.
Is Your Brand Trustworthy?
If you fit into any of the categories described above, you may be missing out on plenty more customer retention opportunities. But it’s never too late to turn things around.
Let us know if you need support with building a brand and Agency Stack can offer a full suite of digital marketing expertise.