Trust, the long way home

We’re seeing today that one of the most important things you can lose is your customer’s trust. You don’t have to be a management guru to know that right now we’re facing a trust crisis. As a result even companies with decent products, who always communicated openly and transparant with their customers feel them becoming more and more skeptic.

It takes a lot of time to earn trust, but you can lose it in a split second.

trust As a result, every company that’s looking for a quick fix faces certain punishement. With a bit of luck, they’ll manage to stay on top for a few more months thinking all is well, but in the end, they didn’t answer to the question at hand and that’s how to rebuild trust.

How are you rebuilding trust?
· It’s why small mistakes are forgiven. Ever heard about that road of success and how it’s paved with failure? It’s because people accept that failure as a part of growing as a company.
· It’s your competitive edge. Trust 101. If I trust you, I’ll do business with you. If I don’t, I’ll go somewhere else where I at least think there’s a fair chance of being treated with respect so trust can be earned.
· It’s the basis for any good relationship. Whether in business or in life, trust means you believe another person will do everything in his power not to fail you. He might, but not by choice.

That’s the most important thing. Not by choice. People don’t mind other people failing them, as long as it serves a purpose and as long as it’s done with the best intentions. And it’s difficult to define what has purpose and what hasn’t. Just like every customer is different, so are their ideas about how you can fail them and whether or not they trust you.

Rebuilding trust means you have to work even harder, more and the results won’t be as spectacular as they once were. Be prepared for even more failure, disappointement and stress. (There’s a happy ending, no worries)
· Talk. Most customers are adults who know the value of a good conversation. Try to really listen to them and try not to go in defence. It’s important to admit mistakes, even if you’re not completely responsible for them. Understand that in the customer’s perception, you’re the reason he left. Not someone else. He projected all his anger towards you.
· Underpromise and overdeliver. If you get the chance of rebuilding a lost relationship. Start overdelivering!
· Really build a relationship. The most basic relationship between customer and company is one of ‘need’. The customer needs a product and the company needs to sell to earn money. Though there’s nothing wrong with such a relationship, the customer’s not having a very good reason to stay when something goes wrong does he? He might stay of the relationship is more profound. I’m working on a new series of blogposts about networking and building relationships… every Thursday it’s Networking Thursday.

Feel free to share every possible tip you got… let’s make Thursday a enjoyable, relationshipbuilding day!

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