How to Build Customer Trust: 12 Proven Ways

By Brett Farmiloe

In a competitive market, earning the trust of your customers has become more important than ever. From being proactive in communicating with customers to avoiding overhyping your offerings, business owners and marketing experts share their best tactics for building trust and credibility with your audience.

How to build trust with your customers

1. Deliver on promises

"Trust is earned when you deliver what you have promised. For example, if you offer software that promises to eliminate long and tedious processes, original case studies and factual sources should back the product. Customers are bombarded by false claims, so make your product authentic to demonstrate you genuinely care about solving your customer's pain points. Create a trial version of your product to determine its effectiveness. The more you test the product, the more you will know whether it will deliver the desired results."
—Becky Moore, Global Grasshopper

2. Solicit testimonials from happy customers

"Customers have greater faith in each other than in the companies they patronize. Real consumers' experiences are often considered more objective and significant than a company's straightforward marketing. Therefore, it is in your best interest to solicit reviews from happy clients and share their positive experiences attesting to the quality of your goods, services, or customer support. Customers who provide their opinion have nothing to gain or lose. Other consumers are aware of this, so if you can get some positive feedback, you can build trust with your target audience."
—Peter Zendzian, ZZ Servers

3. Be proactive with communication and service

"One of the most important elements of trust is communication. A client or company must feel like they can count on you and contact you whenever they need something or advice, so keeping on top of customer service and modern communication is crucial. Whether it is by phone or email, staying on top of conversations and inquiries will boost trust levels while also ensuring tasks are completed, mistakes are corrected, and any issues are resolved.

"One tip to remember for trust in marketing is to never wait for a client to contact you. Be proactive with communication."
—Annie Everill, Imaginaire

4. Maintain consistent branding

"You can establish a strong brand identity and build credibility with your audience by ensuring that your branding is consistent across all media. Companies must concentrate on maintaining a consistent visual identity and delivering a consistent message across all marketing channels."
—Matt Magnante, Fitness Volt

5. Focus on the customer experience

"The best strategy for earning your customers' trust is to make the website experience all about them. Instead of explaining the benefits of your product, tell them how your product will improve their lives or solve their problems.

"For example, one of my clients provides fundraising software, and their product landing pages do a great job of showing how their products help their customers. With phrases like 'Personally engage 4x more donors to scale your reach + save you time,' customers instantly understand how the product will help them. Additionally, the website shows logos from well-known colleges and universities that have used the product, which further builds brand trust."
—Maureen Darrah, Sixth City Marketing

6. Leverage PR and press mentions

"Trust is one of the hardest things to earn in business. PR is one way to earn trust with consumers over time. By having your business featured in reputable sources like Forbes or the Wall Street Journal, you are earning a level of trust and authority that no amount of advertising dollars can buy. Focus on using tools like HARO to get your business mentioned in press articles, and not only will your trustworthiness increase, but you will see your overall SEO improve as well."
—Joe Karasin, Karasin PPC

7. Elevate your team

"Elevate your team and make them the stars of your brand story. People care about people, and when customers see that a company values its employees and treats them well, they are more likely to trust that company. This is an investment that will pay off in the long run for the team, the customer, and the business."
—Heather Wilson, The Brand Strategy Tank

8. Utilize social proof

"Social proof is one of the most viable and effective strategies for earning trust in today's market. It comprises sharing testimonials, reviews, and case studies to showcase the real-life experiences of your existing customers. This helps potential customers see that others have had a positive experience with your brand, which can boost their trust in your offerings or services, and helps in improved conversions."
—Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team

9. Provide transparent and authentic communication

"Consumers expect brands to be open and honest about their products, pricing, and business practices. Marketers must prioritize transparency, authenticity, and empathy in their communication and actions to win their trust. Building a solid social media presence, using social proof like customer reviews and testimonials, and creating customer-driven content can also help establish credibility and build trust. Committing to social responsibility and ethical business practices can further enhance a brand's reputation and trustworthiness. To earn that trust, focus on building long-term customer relationships rather than short-term sales or profit."
—Ubaldo Perez, Hush

10. Establish personalized connections with your customers

"To earn trust in this hyper-connected market, establish genuine one-on-one connections with your audience through personalized communication. In an automated world, it's easy to lose the human touch, so spending the time to interact with customers and prospects directly can have a tremendous impact and set you apart.

"We prioritize building these connections by actively responding to inquiries and feedback, and consistently sharing valuable, tailored, and localized content that addresses our customers' specific needs and pain points. This approach not only establishes trust, but also helps create long-lasting relationships, turning customers into advocates for our brand. In an era where consumers are inundated with marketing messages, it's the authentic, personalized experiences that resonate."
—Alex Ugarte, London Office Space

11. Embrace social responsibility

"In today's market, social responsibility plays a crucial role in building trust with customers. Consumers are increasingly aware of social and environmental issues and want to support businesses that show a commitment to making a positive impact. By showing that your business cares about more than just profits and actively participates in addressing societal issues, you can establish a connection with your customers that goes beyond just a transactional relationship.

"Engaging in socially responsible practices, such as reducing your environmental footprint, supporting local communities, or donating a portion of your profits to charitable causes, can help your business earn trust and respect from customers. When customers see that your business is dedicated to making a positive impact, they are more likely to trust you and choose you over competitors who do not prioritize social responsibility."
—Marian Martinez, SEO Hacker

12. Avoid overhyped marketing claims

"Sometimes earning trust through marketing is not about what you do, but what you don’t do, and that is why you should be careful not to overhype your claims. Customers are exposed to literally hundreds of promotions a day, and many of these promotions make overblown claims that either seem ridiculous or end in disappointment after the purchase.

"To avoid this, make sure your marketing does not make inaccurate claims and avoids words that can be seen as business platitudes or create an aura of 'too good to be true.' It is important to remember that any overhyped claims you make may provide short-term gains, but will usually end in a negative hit to the trust level of your customers and eventually your business’s bottom line."
—Alexandre Bocquet, Betterly

About the Author

Post by: Brett Farmiloe

Brett Farmiloe is the founder and CEO of Terkel, a Q&A site that converts insights from small business owners into high-quality articles for brands.

Company: Terkel
Website: Terkel.io
Connect with me on LinkedIn.