Like the warm embrace of a loved one, the thoughtful eyes of a loyal pet, or the vibrant solidity of a decades long friendship, trust is earned — both in our personal lives as well as in the brands we identify ourselves with. When customers purchase a certain product year after year, they are demonstrating an unspoken pact between themselves and the brand, that either consciously or unconsciously, they truly believe in the quality of that product. 

As in most elements of life, trust is notoriously difficult to earn, and ridiculously easy to lose. When it comes to products, many consumers simply do not trust a lot of brands. But in my years of research, I have found that what the best companies have in common is an emotional, brand relationship with their customers that breeds transparency and loyalty for years to come. Allow me to explain what I have learned, so you can get started infusing your brand with the ultimate air of trustworthiness… 

Deliver on Promises

Your unfailing trust in your best friend might come from their kind heart, commitment to picking up the phone when needed…and perhaps also their excellent taste in wine. But beyond awareness of your friend’s key characteristics, you expect the best from them because of the trustworthy and reliable brand they have cultivated for themself. Similarly, forming a trusting relationship with customers comes from the promises you make and deliver on. Your audience needs a true understanding of what your company is really all about. Not only what you offer and what it can do for them. 

Customers need to believe in the brand’s mission and promise. So craft your messaging around the values your brand shares with its customers. Get the word out through newsletters, social media posts, website content, and even packaging materials. Be bold with your promises, but be sure that anything you claim, you can support with evidence. Back yourself up with quality reviews and thorough testimonials. Your customers need to fully believe that your product performs better than the rest.

Exercise Transparency

Whatever you do, don’t leave your customers guessing. Keeping secrets breeds distrust, unless of course, you’re willing to share them! As a brand, it is much the same. Be unapologetic about what you are offering. Lay it all out there. Customers respect when a brand takes the time to reveal the scribbles in their journals, so to speak. 

So, work on cultivating a friendship with your audience. Use your platforms to your advantage. Practice social media listening and be willing to answer questions, check in with your audience, and see how they are feeling. Be prepared to answer them with transparency. Most people are comforted through understanding. So, whenever possible, use science in your marketing materials to explain why your product truly works. To take it a step further, reveal a few hints to your “secret recipe,” what makes your product tick, to let your customers feel in the know.

Provide Insights

One of the most effective ways to gain trust is to show your cards. Let your customers get to know your brand, your mission, your message, your company culture, and your take on the industry. Tell a wonderful, and true, story! It seems like a tall order, but there are a few ways to implement content marketing strategies that, over time, make providing insights easy. 

Start with high quality social media accounts that are regularly updated with infographics about your product or the industry, and of course, pictures of your employees cuddling up to the office dogs wouldn’t hurt! As you continue to develop your content, start posting monthly, twice monthly, or even weekly blog posts that teach your audience something new or give them a peek into a fresh narrative. The more you share with them, the more there is to go off of when building a flourishing relationship.

Stay Consistent

An unfortunate fact of life is that no matter how much you show up, the time that people remember is the one where you were missed. Trust comes from consistency and reliability in both personal and brand relationships. When necessary, a rebrand, a new look, or a shift in ideas is okay, it can be wonderful even. The best brands can adapt to the times and circumstances, growing with customers by shifting values together. 

So, consider green marketing and social corporate responsibility initiatives that align with your, and your customers’, philosophies about the world. Update your app logo or web design to be more modern, sleek, or user friendly. As you go through this process, remember, as much as you choose to change, the core, the very heart of what makes your brand what it is, should stay consistent. So, if you need a big change, use the marketing tools at your disposal to explain it, offer clarity to your existing customers as you reel the new ones in.

Rise to Challenges

Along the way, you might make some mistakes, or somehow let your customers down. Even the most trustworthy do. But when faced with a moral dilemma, answer the call bravely, admit the truth, and work harder to exceed customer expectations in the next round. Whether you need to recall a product, correct an unflattering social media post, or simply respond to criticism, take the challenge as an opportunity to come clean and strengthen the bond with your customers.

To rise to the occasion, send out an email and post on social media to get the word out about what you would like your customers to know. Share your plan to make it right to them or the changes you are implementing to make their experience better. Boost the potential for trust even further by asking for feedback. Handling tricky situations with professionalism and poise is key to retaining customers’ trust for the long haul.

To achieve this intimate, secure brand relationship, the traditional marketing model can only scratch the surface. To truly reach your customers you will need a deeper, bolder approach —  an approach that I call BRANDcebo. This branding model is based on years of my research on the powerful placebo effects of brands. That is to say, a product’s marketing strategy working so effectively that the customer’s life isn’t just perceived as better through using the product, they actually perform better with it, physiologically. To find out how to create this phenomenon in your company, be sure to read BRANDcebo, here.