A successful business is built on one of the simplest of business concepts: trust. By building client trust, your clients will most likely be clients for life. The handshake used to be the backbone of building trust and relationships with customers, and in some businesses, it still is. With the expansion of technology, however, many businesses no longer have much or any face-to-face interactions with their clients.

So how do you build trust with your clients in today’s business world? Think of it as the virtual handshake. Businesses need to develop client experience principles that mirror the face-to-face interaction of yesteryear. Following are some things to consider to build trust with your clients.

Building Client Trust with Client Service, Client Service, Client Service

You can’t say it too many times! The service you provide to your client is the most important principle for building trust. Concerto Marketing Group conducted a survey that showed when a client trusts a brand, 83% will recommend that company to others. That speaks volumes about brand loyalty.

Whether you’re an online business or you have a physical office, client service comes in many forms and can be applied to both types of businesses. Consider these customer service standards:

• Transparency goes a long way. Quality companies are always transparent about their products and services. You should never misrepresent the benefits of the product or service you offer because if it is misleading, it will not only cost you that one client, but the others they tell in person or the thousands they tell online.
• Always try to exceed clients’ expectations by providing fast turnaround on inquiries and client services issues. Timeliness and responsiveness shows that you genuinely care about your clients. Even if they have a less than positive experience with your company, your concern to fix the issues will go a long way in making that client happy.
• Be upfront about your terms and conditions. Provide clear information on pricing and fees. Clients will not trust you if they have to dig for this information. It is not only extremely frustrating but it also makes them wonder if you are hiding something. This is also one of the top ten complaints that consumers have about companies.
• Don’t withhold bad news from your clients, deal with it head-on and let them know how you intend to resolve it. Imagine how upset they will be if they find out you have withheld information from them.
• Your website is one of your most important assets and may be the first interaction a client has with you. Make sure it is professional and make things easy for your clients. Provide contact information including: a phone number, email address, physical address and real-time online chat if possible. Provide detailed information about your company in the “about us” section. Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors and that pages load fast. You should also limit the number of pop ups because they can become an irritant if they are getting in the way of obtaining information.

Know Your Client and How to Communicate with Them

If customers feel that you don’t know them or understand their needs, your ability to build trust will be limited. Take the time to really learn about what your customers want and need. Use analytical tools such as Google Analytics or Survey Monkey to learn more about them.

Always communicate with your clients based on their preferences and not yours. Develop a system that will allow you to communicate with your clients in a manner that suits them. If a client prefers email, don’t call them. Use your monthly newsletter to keep in contact with clients and prospects.

Keep the lines of communication open through social media. Addressing client service issues in an open forum can be very beneficial, because if done well, it will also show other clients the lengths that you will go to ensure you have happy clients. Social media also provides you the opportunity to ask for opinions and other things you can provide that would be helpful to your customers.

Encourage your customers to provide reviews on your company, products and service. Research shows that an astonishing 90 percent of Americans say buying decisions are influenced by reviews, because the impartiality is extremely valuable to buyers. Offer customers the opportunity to provide a customer review on your product or other landing pages. Make sure that you include both the positive and negative reviews because customers are less likely to trust a company or product that only has five-star ratings.