Creating an Authentic Brand: Strategies for Building Brand Trust

Written by Canny Creative – regular exhibitor at marketingSHOWCASE events

When we trust someone, we feel safe and secure.

In business, this translates to customers buying from you more often because they know they can count on you to deliver on your promises. If they trust you, they’ll be more likely to purchase from you time and time again, even when they have other options available.

Building trust is important because:

Customer loyalty: When customers trust your brand, they are more likely to make repeat purchases and remain loyal over the long term.
Positive reputation: This reputation can help attract new customers and partners, as people are more inclined to associate with brands they trust.
Higher conversions: When consumers trust your brand, they are more likely to take the desired action, whether it’s making a purchase or downloading an app.
Reduced marketing costs: Satisfied and trusting customers are more likely to recommend your brand, reducing your need for advertising and marketing efforts.
Price elasticity: As noted above, consumers who trust your brand may be willing to pay a premium for your products/ services, which can improve your profit margins.
Long-term growth: Trust can lead to sustainable success and a strong foundation for future expansion.
Customer advocacy: Customers are more likely to promote your brand, defend it in online discussions, and contribute positively to your brand’s image.

How to Build Trust With Your Audience

Building trust with your audience doesn’t just happen overnight.

For your business to build trust with your audience, it needs to have these 3 things:

Reputation – A positive reputation demonstrates consistent quality and reliability, fostering trust in a business’s products or services.
Credibility – Credibility, through expertise and authenticity, convinces the audience that the business can deliver on its promises, bolstering trust.
Integrity – Integrity in business practices and ethics reassures the audience that the company operates with honesty and transparency, strengthening trust.

Know your audience

The best way to gain your customers’ trust is to show you truly understand who they are and what it is that they’re experiencing.

A few ways to get to know your audience include:

Reading past emails with customers and identifying trends. For example, is there a particular part of your product or service that customers are consistently struggling with?
Interview customers and get their feedback on what they like about your brand and what areas they would improve.
Talk to your sales and and customer support teams who have the greatest insight into what your customers are going through.
Read reviews and find out what customers are saying about your company. Are there experiences positive or negative, and why?
Look through your social media platforms to find out what people are talking about when it comes to your brand.

Be transparent and authentic

Don’t make promises that you can’t keep as you’ll only disappoint customers later down the line. This means your sales team has to be upfront about pricing and how your offering can actually help.

Don’t try and deceive people as this will weaken their trust.

Also, make sure to share both successes and failures as this makes your brand more human.

Create valuable content

To build trust with content, you must be helpful, educational, and consistent. You want people to be able to depend on you for the information they’re looking for.

Get a solid understanding of their pain points and write content that addresses those problems. Understand what your audience’s intent is and speak to it.

Show authority

Check spelling and grammar
Include statistics and research
Include your own experience

Optimise for SEO

Use keywords
Write meta descriptions
Use H1/ H2/ H3 tags
Include alt text on images

Stay focussed

Understand the needs of your audience
Include FAQ’s
Create a blog outline

Make it actionable

Write a concise conclusion
Add a relevant CTA
Include a downloadable resource)

Be consistent in all communications

Consistency in all communications is crucial for brands to build trust with their audience because it establishes reliability.

Demonstrate social responsibility

Demonstrate your brand’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility through actions like sustainable practices, charitable initiatives, or partnerships with socially conscious organisations.

Utilise your website

To build trust, your website must make a good first impression otherwise no one is going to stick around long enough to find out what you do.

Clear call to action buttons – A call to action (CTA) helps guide people through the customer journey and advise them on next steps.
Contact information – Consider using a little personality as well to make your audience want to contact you even more!
Visual branding – Integration of strategy, messaging, positioning, and brand is so important for a business to build trust.
Video – Video allows you to give people a real sense of who you are, what you stand for, and let people hear your story.
A list of problems and solutions – Identify the problems you solve and make it easy for website visitors to see them.
Social proof – Include testimonials, case studies, client results to show your experience. These are like currency in the trust phase.
Updated content – Show that you care about your own business and publish new content regularly.
Show your personality – This will help to establish an emotional connection with your audience which will make them more likely to trust you.

Show your commitment to data privacy and security

Customers are increasingly concerned about the privacy and security of their personal information.

To build trust in this area, consider the following:

Clear privacy policies: Ensure your website has a transparent and easily accessible privacy policy that explains how you collect, use, and protect customer data. Make sure it complies with relevant regulations such as GDPR or CCPA.
Secure transactions: Invest in cybersecurity measures to protect customer data from breaches. Use encryption, secure payment gateways, and regularly update your security protocols to stay ahead of emerging threats.
Consent and control: Give customers control over their data. Allow them to opt-in or opt-out of data collection and ensure they can easily update their preferences.
Data handling Transparency: Be upfront about how you use customer data. Explain why you collect certain information and how it benefits them or enhances their experience.
Regular audits: Conduct regular audits of your data practices to identify vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with changing regulations.

Stay relevant

Staying updated with what’s happening in your sector, will help you build trust with your audience by saying and doing the right things.

Listen actively: Pay attention to what your customers are saying, both directly and through social media, reviews, and feedback channels.
Adapt to trends: Be flexible and willing to adapt your products, services, and marketing strategies to align with changing customer expectations.
Provide value: Continuously strive to provide value to your audience. This could be in the form of informative content, educational resources, or promotions that genuinely benefit your customers. Demonstrating a commitment to providing value builds trust.
Engage authentically: Engage with your audience authentically on social media and other platforms. Respond to comments and messages genuinely and personally.
Invest in customer support: Provide exceptional customer support. Make it easy for customers to reach out to you and resolve any issues promptly and professionally.
Demonstrate expertise: Share knowledge, insights, and thought leadership via blogs, webinars, or events. Establishing expertise can instill confidence in your audience.
Seek feedback: Use customer feedback to make improvements and show that you value their input.

Build relationships

The more you are able to establish relationships with your audience, the more likely they’ll be to trust you.

Be available

The accessibility you offer to your customers and target audience can significantly impact the level of trust they place in your brand, either bolstering it or hindering it.

Act on feedback

Customers are more likely to place their trust in businesses when they perceive a genuine appreciation for their input.

Maintain the relationship

After a customer has completed a transaction with your business, you need to maintain a connection with them. This ongoing relationship demonstrates to every customer that you value them not just for the transaction but for their long-term loyalty.

How to Measure Trust From Your Audience

Feedback and surveys
Online review
Social media engagement
Conversion rates
Customer retention rates
Complaints and issue resolution
Repeat business
Market research and focus groups
Competitor analysis
Employee feedback