6 tips to build trust and create brand loyalty in a fragmented world
Competition for customers' attention is fiercer than ever and there is a growing realisation that brand loyalty is quickly becoming a thing of the past for many businesses, not just publishers.
These days, consumers are better connected and better informed. They are also more ethical – less inclined to be persuaded simply to buy things, and more interested in brands that do things and add value to their lives.
Studies, such as Havas Media Group’s Meaningful Brands Index, have identified a disconnect between consumers and brands. Consumers want brands to improve their lives and the lives of the people they care about. But they don’t believe that brands are actually doing this.
It's clear that to address this – to drive brand loyalty and be a brand that connects with people – brands must focus on increasing relevancy and trust for their customers. Here are six ways that brands can increase trust:
Content
As with any good strategy, content comes first. Nothing speaks to and engages your audience like content and it really does play a massive part in determining the level of engagement and therefore trust for consumers.
Authenticity
Consumers are drawn to brands with an original story, an engaging identity and a clear commitment to deliver what they promise. Authenticity is about unambiguous brands with meaning and sincerity, which allow consumers to feel safe in the choices they make. And, importantly, ensuring that what brands promise and what customers’ actually experience are in sync.
Design
Well-considered and apposite design has the ability to build trust – and this is often underestimated, especially online. Google research into something called prototypicality – where designs look like something you are familiar with or something you already know – shows that the simpler and more familiar a design the more people will see it as beautiful and, importantly, the more people will trust it.
Social proofing
This is when we are persuaded by those around us rather than directly by the brands themselves, and it is one of the easiest ways to build trust online. Some simple examples are: recommendations, likes, sorting by most popular items and ratings. Basically, anything that indicates that other customers use or recommend a service or product.
User experience
Good user experience is really just about ensuring that you always keep in mind the needs of the user as well as the needs of the business. Doing this will mean that consumers feel positively about your brand, which is really powerful stuff and will live long in the memories of your customers. With user experience, little things often make a big difference – and speed is a good example. Digital natives expect things to work instantly – and if they don’t, they just leave.
Service
With consumers’ rising expectations and new technology providing unparalleled opportunities for brands to meet these expectations, customer service is more important than ever before.
By delivering exceptional customer experiences, brands can cut through the noise and drive trust, engagement and loyalty.
Sam Chatwin is creative director at Clock digital agency