People often say that websites build trust as a community - A new type of relationship, if you will, yet there are still a great deal of businesses owners, large and small, who still struggle to see the true value of a website and the importance of building trust within the online community. Your online audience are not only your customers, they can also serve as advertisers for you, because, let's face it, if you receive great service and great products, you are likely to recommend the company who provided you with such great products and/or services. If your business is trusted, you're likely to receive more custom, more favourable reviews, and more recommendations, all of which are exactly what any business should be looking for. To help you establish trust with your online audience, take a look at these helpful suggestions.Interact with your customers - Remember, as a business, it is your job to establish trust with your audience, and show them that they can rely on you at all times. The last thing you want is to become some faceless corporation that cares about nothing other than profit, as that is a sure fire way of turning your customers off and forcing them to look elsewhere. To help you establish trust with your customers, try to interact with them online. If you have a blog, encourage them to leave comments, and try to respond to as many as you can. The same goes for you social networking pages, take the time to read the comments and interact with your customers, basically treat them as human beings, rather than walking money bags. Be genuine - Another great way of really establishing trust with the online community is to be genuine and straight up. If you have issues with your stock or your site in general, don't try to use technical words to throw people off the scent, be open and honest, explain what has happened, and explain that you're doing all you can to rectify the issues. Above all else, try to be yourself, and let your passions speak for themselves. If you truly believe in your business, let this show with your words. Share ALL reviews and feedback - A lot of businesses are wary of sharing reviews and feedback they've received online, because they're worried that they will receive negative feedback which will then put other customers off. In reality however, if you are doing all you can to ensure your business runs smoothly and efficiently, you shouldn't receive negative feedback or reviews anyways. Encourage your customers to rate you and leave reviews, and leave them accessible for all of the world to see. If possible, take the time to respond to each review personally, either good or bad, and again, show your customers that their opinions matter. Always be professional - Remember, the customer is always right, and if you do find a particularly awkward customer, and perhaps one that has even given you a poor review which was unjustified, resist the urge to get personal and argue/give them a piece of your mind, and instead, calmly and professionally explain the situation, again, using the comments feature, and come across as professional and courteous as you can. You may want to give them a piece of your mind, but that will achieve nothing, other than getting you even angrier, and making you and your business look petty and unprofessional. Category: Design
