RealitySells

Trust Me by Andrew Corbus

I’m smiling today, and my toes are tapping a bit.  I’m not being smug, but I am having a little personal celebration with some new statistics.

Over the past several years Bill Guertin and I have been studying the concept of Authenticity in Business. We recently published what we discovered in the book Reality Sells.

We really believe in what we wrote about, but have always wished we had good statistical data to support our claims.  Sadly, this kind of research was way beyond anything we could afford.

However, the good news recently arrived, and that’s why we’re smiling.

The Better Business Bureau and Gallup International joined forces to survey American Consumers about trust in business, who they trusted and why. 

The survey found that nearly one in five people say that their trust in the businesses they deal with has gone down in the last 12 months. The survey also found that just under half of Consumers would say they have a great deal or quite a lot of trust in businesses they regularly do business with. This wasn’t a big surprise given all the headlines. 

What excited us was this:

When asked about the companies they trusted most, eight in ten people strongly agree that the company:

Provides Dependable and reliable products and services
Stands behind the quality of it’s products and services
Is responsive to customers’ needs
Stands behind what it says in its advertising
Delivers on its promises

Sounds a lot like Authenticity to me.  The first couple of responses seem pretty obvious, it’s the responses on advertising and promises that are what stands out to us.  Slick sales pitches and unsupported promises aren’t working like they used to.  Businesses with simple honest messages are gaining trust. Interestingly, younger respondents were less trusting than older respondents which leads me to believe Authenticity is here to stay.

Heres some ideas on how to be more trustworthy.

Tell Your Genuine Story
If you tell the story no else can tell, you align consumer expectations with who you really are.  Too many businesses advertise the story of who they would like to be, or the story a competitor is telling.  The story that customers want to hear is the one that makes you unique.

If who you are isn’t what customers are looking for, than it’s time to readjust your strategy. But if customers like you, your unique story is the key to future success.

Make Things Right
A real test of any business is what happens when things go wrong.  Make every screw-up the chance to create a faithful customer.  The more rapidly and sincerely a problem is handled the better chances you have of being recognized as a trustworthy business.  Empower as many people on your staff as possible to fix issues with customers on the spot.

Earn It
People simply won’t believe you if you tell them you are trustworthy.  If you claim low prices, and don’t have low prices people won’t trust you.  If you claim to have great customer service, and don’t people won’t trust you.  The greatest compliment you can get is from one customer to another. You simply have to give them something to talk about. And if you can make it fun, it’s all the more memorable!

Combine Your Advertising and Your Customer Service Training
Put your advertising message smack in the middle of your customer service training. Make sure everyone knows just what it is you are promising.  Teach staff how to respond to questions, and ask questions to better serve customers. Treat each and every advertisement as an invitation.

In business the concept of Authenticity, and being trustworthy needs to be a key part of your strategy. Being known for something is critically important.  To learn more about Authenticity view a video at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=656QXBJRHK

For more on the book visit www.realitysells.com