One more casualty of 2020: Customer trust.
Customers don’t trust companies the way they used to. Here’s why it’s important to win back their trust – plus how to do it.
The “trust” factor dropped 10 points in the Forrester Consumer Energy Index, which essentially means customers feel companies are less likely to follow through on promises.
It hurts to say, but customers aren’t optimistic their experience will be as good as you’ve made it in the past. Life in 2020 has made them skeptical of practically everything.
So now what?
“Almost every industry felt the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations and consequently their customers,” says Giuseppe Ficarra, VP of Global Sales at Majorel. “Companies are now faced with the ongoing task of adapting operations to today’s environment and, to ensure customer loyalty during these changes, companies need to focus on building trust.”
Here are three ways to re-build (or build) customer trust in 2021:
Communicate more
“The key to maintaining customer trust is communication with customers. By level setting expectations from the beginning, customer service teams can ensure that promises are fulfilled,” Ficarra says.
Promises made, promises kept – that’s what builds trust.
So Ficarra suggests that while customer service teams solve problems, they give a clear picture of what goes on behind the scenes, ideally including an accurate time frame.
“Start with open and clear communication and trust will follow,” he says.
Give the front line more power
Front line employees who deal with customers every day need the most power and flexibility to help.
“As the first point of contact with customers, they build the foundation for trust,” Ficarra says.
Leaders want to make sure front-line employees have the tools to see complete customer profiles at any time so they have all the information they need to address an issue.
Take steps to cut back on layers of decision-making and approvals so customers get their questions answered and issues resolved faster.
Build a complete customer picture
As you build or rebuild customer trust, beef up your view of each customer. Give front-line employees time, training and tools to add to customers’ history and preferences.
That way, as you interact with customers more going forward you can tailor their experiences to suit what they like.
“Customers are more likely to trust companies who remember their needs and preferences – and treat them as unique individuals,” Ficarra says.
