Trust is the foundation of any business relationship. Before a customer decides to use your company’s services, they will determine whether you are worth their time. Get this simple part of your business strategy wrong and you may lose out more than you expect. Within this article, I share how transparency and clear communications can be effective.
Consumers Don’t Always Trust Businesses
When you’re establishing a startup, you want to make sure that you have a loyal set of customers. Without consumers to buy into your product or skills, your business is sure to fail quickly. A massive 10% of startups fail within their first year. While there are plenty of ways that you can establish a sense of honesty between your company and its clients, it’s harder than you think. Many of us make the mistake of presuming customers believe in us.
The stats speak for themselves. 87% of business leaders believe that their customers have trust in their organization, according to the latest PwC report. However, the same report found that just 30% of consumers trust businesses. The gap is hard to ignore. It suggests that — while founders and CEOs may think that their clientbase trusts them — the truth is that many consumers have little faith in the businesses they utilize.
The above is a crucial sign that you need to do more to guarantee that relationship with your clients. The truth of the matter is that you cannot presume that your customers will have faith in you before you have given them reason to. At MAKO Medical Laboratories, we make transparency central to everything that we do on a daily basis. Guided by that ethos, our team is able to work within that overarching framework no matter their roles.
The Value of Building Trust as a Business
You cannot overestimate the power of your customers trusting you. When you’re working with the general public, you need to show them that your business is more than a faceless organization. Nobody wants to support a company that is shrouded in mystery. Instead, the modern-day consumer is more discerning when it comes to the companies that they choose. Since there’s a rainbow array of options out there, many consumers vote with their finances. That is to say that they are selective about where they spend their money.
As a business owner, you have a duty to use that to your advantage. That is not to say that you should use the virtue-washing approach, i.e. try to appear transparent without actually sharing anything of value with your customers. No, you need to ensure that you approach this conundrum with an open and honest strategy. Needless to say, this particular idea could not be more important than in the healthcare sector. Many customers are disenfranchised when it comes to the medical care that they are provided. For that reason, you should keep in mind that there’s a whole load of room for improvement here.
Taking the time to establish yourself as a market leader means offering something new and different. That is exactly what we have done at MAKO Medical Laboratories. When we started the business back in 2014, we were keen to disrupt the healthcare market. Over the years, we have witnessed the disappointingly slow and unclear testing services that are available. We knew that it was time for a positive change. For that reason, we vowed to start a testing and research company that would be 100% transparent for customers.
How to Build Trust with Your Customers
Looking for ways to establish a sense of trust between your business and your clientbase? There are many strategies that you can employ. However, I cannot overstate the importance of being genuine in your actions. Whether you are looking at new initiatives or considering how best to communicate with your clients, you need to have an earnest mindset. As CEO of MAKO Medical Laboratories, I have come up against this issue. For that reason, I want to share some of the ways that you too can start to build real trust:
● Be Intentional in Your Communications
When you’re running a business, you need to communicate well with your customers. However, some CEOs fall into the trap of making noise for the sake of it. Telling your clients the latest ‘news’ is all well and good. But have you considered how it impacts them? Whenever you are communicating with your audience, keep that question in mind.
By ensuring that all of your communications are customer-focused, you can make a real impact on your audience. Share exciting updates with them, the latest information, and inspirational stories whenever you can. However, be sure to consider the messaging that you are sharing with each reader. What does the story tell them about your business?
● Always Be Transparent in the Process
Chances are, your customers don’t understand the ins and outs of your business processes. Why should they? The answer is simple: When you pull back the curtain and share this information with you, it can build trust. Nobody likes being in the dark. It can be especially confusing when you need quick medical testing and you don’t know what is happening. Waiting for those all-important results can be excruciating. Make it easier for your clients by letting them know how long your processes take and how they work.
This is something that we have always done at MAKO Medical Laboratories. Our website and online portal gives customers all of the information that they need when they are using our services. Nothing is left to chance and they are never left without the answers that they need. By using this approach, we have created a robust profile over the years. It is thanks to these efforts and the staff’s hard work that we have expanded so quickly.
The Takeaway!
Winning your customers’ loyalty takes time and energy, however, it is worth it. As I have demonstrated, you need to be sure that your clientbase will stick with you over time. Within this article, we have looked at a couple of approaches that may work for you. Allow them to guide your planning going forward so that you can excel as a trustworthy brand.
About MAKO Medical Laboratories and CEO Chad Price
Supported by a staff consisting of nationally-recognized doctors specializing in methodology development and pathological services, MAKO Medical Laboratories is a community-focused medical brand. It offers patients 100% transparency and speed in their testing results, and is set to revolutionize the world of healthcare.