Why You Shouldn’t Hide Your Clients - Build Trust With Your Website
Putting ego to one side, you may genuinely be the best around when it comes to your specialist field. The best accountancy, the best coffee shop, the best car valet company – whatever the case, you provide a service that is celebrated by your customers. But what about people who have never used you before, how do they find out that you’re the best? Not only does it sound big-headed when you say it yourself, but half your competitors are probably claiming the same thing. What a pickle. This post discusses how to build trust with your website and why it matters.
Let's start with customer feedback, positive PR and client advocacy. Whilst it’s crucial that your website, email campaigns, social media, printed collateral and advertising methods clearly communicate the nature and quality of your work, the thing that will really get the viewer’s attention is verbatim reviews and professional recommendations from people who already employ your services. This is because as well as giving an insight into what it’s like at the receiving end, customer feedback is also honest, unpolished and straight from the horse’s mouth, making it a highly dependable and useful tool for both you and your audience.So, whilst you may not think that you’re hiding your customers, you may be doing exactly that in a big way. Firstly, do you have testimonials on your website? Whilst this briefly describes the customer’s experience in their own words, a corresponding case study will give details of the product or service delivered; when combined, the two present a clear representation of the relationship. Secondly, are you encouraging customers to review and rate your business on Google, social media and other websites, such as TripAdvisor, that might be relevant? Building up this form of feedback, especially across a range of platforms, will make your business more prominent and trustworthy, helping searchers to get a quick overview of your performance levels before digging deeper to find out more.
It’s not just about kind words and five-star ratings that make you look good: talking about your clients is just as beneficial for the customer as it creates a narrative and can act as organic endorsement. Examples are plugging your clients in blog posts and email campaigns, sharing with readers, subscribers and followers why you’re so excited to have them in your portfolio. Social media particularly opens up a two-way channel for communication and sharing, enabling everything from a simple retweet to an ongoing conversation that can accommodate anyone who wishes to get involved.
It doesn’t have to end there. Talking about your customers and collecting comments from them can take other forms and be used for content marketing, such as videos, infographics, polls and surveys, which can prove very precise and eye-catching. Meanwhile, if you receive critical feedback, make sure to use it to improve your services. Whether it’s positive or negative, always respond in some way, especially if it’s via social media or email; this will show that you care what customers think and strengthen your status as an approachable and reputable company.
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