How Local Businesses May Develop Trust with Consumers
Local businesses must keep in mind that there is more to marketing an organization than placing ads and social media. One of the most effective promotional methods, for instance, is just gaining the trust of your clients and local community. As a result, doing this is actually quite simple.
You Should Not Berate Competition
It seems like making your competition look bad would be a great thing, but it is important not to do this by being negative. As a substitute, show consumers why your product or service is better. Avoiding negativity shows people you are willing to stand on your triumphs rather than the failures of others, and this is a great way to gain consumer trust.
Build Actual Associations with Customers
A few marketers consider posting to social media an effective way to build relationships with clients. While this does give people a sense of what the company is all about, you will need to go beyond this and let consumers know that it is real people behind the company profile.
One simple way of doing this is answering comments and questions on social media. Another way to do this, while also showing that you really care, is to respond to online reviews. Yelp once reported that 1.1 million business pages had been claimed on their site, yet there are over 18 million businesses.
Without claiming a small business page, it is impossible to respond to reviews, so a large percentage of companies are obviously failing here.
Be Transparent About Mistakes
Every small company will make mistakes, both in the offline and online worlds. When these happen, you should own up to them. Whether you have a single negative review online or an idiotic server garnered negative media attention for the company, simply make sure you realize the mistake and explain what is being done to make certain it never happens again.
