Good business is built on trust.
Without the trust of your prospects and your clients, positive word-of-mouth won’t spread and people will hesitate to work with you.
But in the same way that that hesitation creates an obstacle for your business, building knee-jerk trust in your market creates a doorway.
The question is… how do you build a memorable reputation in your market so that past clients know you’re the real deal, prospects trust you to treat them right, and people who’ve never worked with you respect your business?
Well, the primary answer is consistency — day-in and day-out, treating your customers right, sharing case studies, engaging in charity, and whatever else will enhance your brand image.
In fact, here are three things to consider doing more consistently in order to build memorable trust in your market.
Find Out How Call Porter Can Help You Grow!
1. Choose a Charity
Donating to charity doesn’t just help you forge a more meaningful mission for your business, it can also help you market your business.
For example, you can celebrate your donations publicly and host events to raise money for local charities. These efforts build brand awareness and trust at the same time.
There’s just something about a highly philanthropic business that feels trustworthy.
(That’s probably why customers are 85% more likely to buy products from a company that is associate with a charity).
Choose a charity that’s in-line with your business’ mission, and then get in the habit of donating. Over time, you’ll build trust with people in your market and prove that you care about more than just making money.
2. Care About Your Clients
This might seem like an obvious piece of advice, but I know how hard it can be to authentically care for your clients when you’re doing the same thing every day.
It’s easy to become callused.
Still, showing your prospects (even the tire-kickers) and your clients (even the ones who don’t accept your offer) that you genuinely care about them is one of the best ways to increase how many referrals you get and how much word-of-mouth you generate.
This is a simple trick, but perhaps the most difficult.
Be kind to everyone. Care about the people you work with. And be generous in how you serve others.
Do that for long enough and people won’t be able to ignore your business’ impact on the community.
Just think of the businesses that you most admire… how do they treat people? What are their values? And how can your business emulate their attitude toward leads, prospects, and clients?
3. Collect Case Studies
People might love you and respect you, but how do they know that your business works? That is, how do they know it can actually benefit them?
To some degree, trusting you is different than believing in the helpfulness or effectiveness of your service.
The best way to prove to your community that your business is the “real deal” — that what you’re doing can actually help people who are trying to sell their home — is by sharing testimonials and case studies from past clients.
This includes publishing case study content on your website, sharing reviews on your social media profiles, and telling stories of people who you’ve helped in the past.
Don’t undervalue the impact of telling stories to build your business’ reputation.
It’s extremely powerful.
But enough from me…
How do you guys build a memorable reputation in your target markets? Let us know in the comments!