Just as having a loyal fan base is important in most sports, having a loyal customer base is equally important when it comes to business. In fact, it is the life-blood of any business; and without a loyal bunch of them, making profit from a business might be impossible.
Now, the big question is – How do you get a loyal customer base for your business? The answer to this question is not far-fetched. There are quite a few factors involved in building a loyal customer base, however, for most brands nowadays, building credibility is the key.
“As a signal of product positioning, the most important characteristic of a brand is its credibility. Credibility affects consumer choices through perceived risk, information costs saved and perceived quality in most categories, even those with only moderate levels of uncertainty.” – Association for Consumer Research.
The way customers perceive a brand – whether they’re trustworthy and willing to stand by their promises – has a great influence on the buying decision they make. Be it high-cost or low-cost purchases, the credibility of the brand still remains a big factor for customers.
Sadly, a lot of brands get it wrong when it comes to building their credibility; mostly due to simple mistakes. These habits are common and might not be considered important, but they can easily foil your efforts in building your credibility.
Using Unclear Superlatives
The goal of every brand is to present itself as the best in the business. What better way can this be done than letting your work speak for you. You showcase the best of your works in online portfolios and give details that actually show what your business is all about. Instead, many brands make the mistake of using vague or indefinite superlatives such as “best-quality,” “highly experienced” or “best in the business.”
Using anything vague in your description won’t do you any good and might even taint your credibility. As they might create doubts and insecurities about what your brand has to offer. Try mentioning specific things that can actually build your credibility, such as the number of awards you’ve racked up, the number of years you’ve been doing what you do, and the number of great and positive reviews and satisfactory feedbacks you got so far.
You’ve forgotten about Your Testimonials
A lot of brands make this simple, yet costly mistake; they totally neglect the testimonial page on their websites. Customer reviews can greatly improve or hinder your ability to attract new customers. However, many brands do not care about this and they leave it all to third-party review website. Without testimonials on your websites, building your credibility might prove to be a lot more difficult to accomplish.
You’ve failed to Humanize Your Brand
With the amount of fake websites in the internet nowadays, customers are extra cautious about trying out a new brand.
Unfortunately, a lot of brands, especially small businesses – while trying to maximize the use of their resources, fall into the trap of adopting generic ‘About’ page and stock images on their websites. This might save money and time, but it might also send a wrong signal to potential customers about the legitimacy of your website.
Instead, try humanize and personalize your business by filling up the ‘About’ page with unique and personal details about your brand and using actual pictures of your workers and your workspace. This can significantly help to prove your legitimacy and credibility.
You’re Relying Too Much on Chatbots
No matter how simple and informative the details on your website are, it definitely won’t answer every question your potential customer has. Chatbots and emails have proven to be effective, but sometimes that’s not enough. Creating a means for your customers to be able to communicate with a real human being will greatly help to prove your brand’s legitimacy and credibility.
You’re Over-Using Smart Words
In the process of building your credibility or running your brand generally, you’ll need to showcase your skills and services through blogs, write-ups, facts and tips. This will help to communicate your business to customers and improve your SEO rankings.
The mistake a lot of brands make is using smart words excessively when writing about their businesses. Using words like “pervicacious” (meaning willful or resilient) or “obfuscate” (which means to confuse or make unclear) may make you sound more authoritative or intelligent, but they do more harm than good. A very important way to boost your credibility is to prove to your audience that you know what you’re talking about. Excessive use of smart words will only confuse them and they might end up not purchasing from your brand.
It’s best to keep it simple and make sure that all your brand-boosting efforts are communicated in an easy-to-read manner.
These mistake are simple and common, but making them might have a great deal of bad impact on your brand’s credibility. Try to steer clear of the bad habits and work on correcting them will be important for your business. In the process of doing this, you’ll find it easier to build a strong and credible reputation with customers which will generate more sales for you and improve your business.