Customers that trust you with their business are the best customers to work with, because they allow you to do what you do best!
Have you ever wondered how some businesses just seem to have their act together? Have you ever felt confidence in a business more quickly than anticipated? Have you ever felt your confidence and trust in a business fade, perhaps without a coherent reason? The causal function of any of these circumstances can often be explained by consistency.
Consistency Builds Trust
Trust is something you continually build. It is never secured. It is constantly earned and renewed. If you are a company that delivers, the quicker you can develop customer trust, the quicker you can accelerate your work and become even more productive for your client. This will allow you to reach the pinnacle of a working relationship with your client, and thus put you in a position where the work is yours to do and the client is yours to lose.
The quickest way to earn customer trust is through consistency. Every point of contact with your customer must set the same tone and same expectations. Whether the contact is through a meeting, the handing of a business card, a customer visit, the appearance of your office, an experience with an employee, a phone call, or even a bill, every discussion is an opportunity to deliver on expectations and build trust.
Delivering on expectations is more than an extension of your brand. It is the foundation of your brand. Without the delivery of your promise, your brand is empty as will be your bank account if you don’t figure this out in time.
Hiccups
When your customer experience has inconsistencies, your customers will take pause. This delays and may even cost your relationship depending on how big a question the inconsistency presents.
If you are a dollar store, it does not matter how much your business pays for a website — it had better look cheap — like a dollar store website! If you are an attorney, and you have walnut desks and Persian rugs, and you hand your client a cheap feeling business card, expect the client to switch their focus to the cheap feeling cards. A doctors office with an unswept floor generates questions of sterility — an expected quality in a medical office. This “hiccup” in the customer experience does not necessarily reflect the quality of your work, just your customer’s focus and perception. A business needs to keep the client focused on the business at hand.
Focus on Predictability
The fastest client path from “I don’t know you” to “Do whatever you think is right” is consistency in all client encounters and predictability in experience. Your client will be able to test their expectations and feel confident in your company’s ability to deliver after a smooth customer experience without hiccups.
When it comes to extending your brand to your logo, website and printed materials, it is critical that those client contacts reflect your business in a consistent way. They are all part of an overall business identity. If any of those items are out of synch, you jeopardize your client experience and will certainly slow down your progress toward a healthy client relationship. Be sure to consider all facets of your business when designing and planning any one of them. You will see and feel the benefit.
Want to build your business?
Consistency = Shortest Time to Client Trust
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Bryan Carter is the Managing Partner at thinkwebstore.com, a marketing and technology company located on Lake Harbour Drive in Ridgeland, Mississippi that helps businesses with branding, websites, graphic design, search engine optimization and social marketing.
