Warren Buffet once said, “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Establishing trust between your brand and consumers is critical to retaining customers as well as acquiring new ones. Word of mouth marketing still works. Consumers still rely on review sites to determine the right fit.
Fortunately, it’s easy to build trust in a business relationship. Here are the basic rules to live by in sales.
The Don’ts
- Don’t make impossible promises.
- Don’t spam.
- Don’t be pushy.
- Don’t treat customers like fools.
- Don’t cherry pick. No company has splendid reviews. Everyone has one or two things they need to improve on.
- Don’t forget to protect customer information. Security is of high importance to customers.
The Do’s
- Do reply promptly to inquiries.
- Do genuinely listen to customers.
- Do be transparent.
- Do less talking and more listening.
- Do be fair.
- Do be honest with customers.
- Do give customers time to think and sleep on the information.
- Do do some giving without expecting anything in return.
- Do stop worrying about sales so much and be honest with your customers. Your reputation is at stake.
- Do keep a clean reputation online.
- Do use some form of productivity software to help you manage customers and their accounts.
If we missed an important point let us know in the comment section.
It’s important to meet the needs of your customers, whether they say it explicitly or not. At the same time, you should make sure you are setting realistic expectations. If you’re resolving an issue, be sure you direct your customers through any process and communicate regularly, thanking them for their patience and their business. Building relationships with your customers and managing their expectations takes extra time and effort, but it is rewarded by positive word-of-mouth and loyalty.