Of all the things that go into developing your brand, TRUST is the most important. If customers or clients don’t trust your brand, it isn’t going to last very long.

But if you can effectively build brand trust, your brand can keep growing and growing and growing … indefinitely.

Need proof? Think of the brands you are most loyal to: Brands like Apple, Ford, Starbucks, Coca-Cola.

What do all of these companies have in common? A raving fan base of intensely loyal customers who would never dream of going anywhere else.

That’s brand trust.

And that’s what you need to build for your business. Here are five ways to do it.

1. Figure Out Your Superpower

Everybody does (at least) one thing really well. For your business, maybe it’s your customer service. Or perhaps it’s product quality. Or deliverability. Or

Whatever your superpower is, once you discover it then that unique quality of your business can become the focal point for your branding strategy.

The challenge for you is figuring out which of all your best qualities is the absolute greatest. Choose only one.

If you focus on too many at the same time, it’s going to be confusing for the campaign and confusing for your customers.

Remember: Simple is always better.

2. Be Confident

Hey, guess what? If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will either.

The people you are pitching your brand to don’t know you. They don’t yet believe in you. They probably are annoyed you are taking up their time.

It’s your job to make it worthwhile. And if lack confidence in yourself, they are going to sense it instantly and click off, hang up, or shut the door in your face.

And you can’t build your brand if you can’t keep prospective customers engaged.

So that means …

• You have to be confident.
• You have to have something to say.
• You need to make your brand unique
• Your brand messaging needs to be instantly engaging

Remember: People DO judge a book by its cover.

So you have to look the look and play the part.

Also, you need to …

3. Walk the Talk

The third way to build trust is to never, ever, EVER betray your customer’s trust. Starting from the very beginning.

This may seem like Management 101 but you would be amazed by how many business owners make this mistake – either intentionally or by accident.

Customers won’t give you a second chance if you make the mistake of misleading them, exaggerating, misrepresenting your products or business, or cheating them. And justifiably so.

Remember: There are dozens – if not hundreds – of competitors out there offering products or services similar or even better than yours.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace there are no such things as second chances.

Instead, you need to build credibility from Day One. If you aren’t sure you can deliver, don’t promise. And when you say something, stick by it. Even if it hurts you financially.

It’s often better to lose a little money to gain trust because TRUST pays more long-term dividends for your business.

4. Get Others to Help You

The next way to build brand trust is to get other people (or documents) to say nice things about you and your business. This is known as third party credibility and includes (but isn’t limited to):

Testimonials – People listen to what other people have to say. So if existing clients, customers, or even just friends say something nice about your business, let people know.

Testimonials are one of the oldest and most reliable ways to build trust. And the bigger the credibility of the people making the testimonials, the more positively influential they will be. Look especially for testimonials from doctors, college or university professors, or experts in your business’s field.

One more thing: Never stop collecting (and promoting) testimonials. It’s a good idea to constantly actively seek them from satisfied customers in every type of format: Written, video, audio recordings, and even in-person.

Formal achievements – Do you have a university degree? An advanced degree? Awards or recognition from important trade organizations or clubs? Tell people. Don’t be shy.

You received these honorifics because you earned them. So it’s critical that you let other people know about them because they aren’t going to seek them out on their own. It’s up to YOU to promote YOU.

Leverage Influencers – Being a successful business owner is about constantly learning. Find a mentor who has already cracked the code in your industry and try to learn everything you can from them.

Building relationships with influencers in your industry also adds credibility to your brand.

So don’t be shy! Network! Make friends! Be open to continually learning new things!

Use Your Press Clippings – Has the local newspaper written a story about your business? Have you been featured in a TV spot? Better yet, has a national magazine or TV show mentioned your business? Have you been the featured speaker at a national conference?

All of these things can be leveraged to build trust in your brand. Spotlight media mentions of your business in your marketing materials. Again, it’s up to you to get customers to trust you. But you can build on every success that has come before.

Finally …

5. Keep Coming Back

Woody Allen famously stated, “95 percent of life is just showing up.”

The thing about brand building is that it never ends. To be a successful business owner you need to constantly fight the good fight for your brand.

Keep coming up with new and interesting ways to tell people about your brand. Then keep drawing attention to your successes and getting media mentions, testimonials, and other third party credibility in front of people.

Remember: Success is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

If you believe in your business and you are sincere about being an evangelist for your brand, people will listen. Maybe not at first. Maybe not even right away. But eventually.

And once you achieve a little success, you can leverage that success into an even bigger success. And then keep coming back again and again to make it better and bigger.

Make it easy for people to choose your business, not hard.

If you are doing all these things and still aren’t getting traction, then Lytron  can help.

Call us today to set up your free consultation. Our expert brand builders can help you define, promote, and expand your brand so that you can achieve the success you deserve.