There is no miracle formula. If people don’t trust you, they are unlikely to stay with your company. Whether you are dealing with partners, customers, or employees, establishing your trustworthiness is indispensable to the continuation of the relationship. At its core, trust is the ingredient that transforms any relationship – business or personal – into a valuable and meaningful partnership.
Unfortunately, it isn’t something that can be added as an after-thought. It needs to be visible, tangible, and real at every stage of the relationship. Trust is a belief in the truth and reliability of your business. Therefore, it’s in the interest of every company to nurture trust through its strategies and activities. It’s important to understand that trust doesn’t mean that the business is infallible. Mistakes happen all the time. No process is perfect and free of mishaps. But gaining someone’s trust means that they are more likely to forgive shortcomings in the belief that these will soon be corrected. So, how does a business nurture trust?
Communicate clearly and openly about your projects
In a vertical hierarchy model, the communication flow can meet several obstacles. The message is filtered through multiple managerial levels before it reaches its audience. By which point, the communication can feel unrelatable, unnatural, and incomplete. Employees, partners, and customers are unlikely to trust this type of messaging. Developing a culture of open and honest communication is no easy task, but as Bloomsburg University President, Dr. Bashar Hanna demonstrates, it brings the whole organization to life. Every month or so, Dr. Hanna shares insights into the university’s values, its efforts to support students and the community, as well as encouragements and hopes for the future. By driving honest, relatable, and emotionally-engaged communication, the university builds trust from top to bottom.
Make it natural to care
Caring should be part of every business’s DNA. it makes no sense for a company to create a network of customers, employees, or even partners if care doesn’t play any role in its operations. This starts with a trained customer support team, that is comfortable solving problems. The last thing customers want is to reach out to a customer service agent and find no support because their issue doesn’t fit the typical script. But the care culture also needs to exist outside of the customer service. Making helping each other second nature to a company means that everyone is dedicated to looking for a solution. At an organizational level, this could be directing potential partners to the right interlocutor, or mentoring new employees, for instance. There is no secret. The best way to make care a natural behavior is to ensure that everyone in the business feels cared for too.
Embrace collaboration rather than competition
At a business level, caring is about helping those who are in contact with the organization, may it be employees or customers. Translated to a community environment, solidarity brings a new meaning to the business market. In a post-pandemic situation, companies that help each other learn to survive in a collaborative environment. Ultimately, businesses that can preserve the local economy through solidarity rather than aggressive competition build a positive, reliable, and community-oriented reputation.
It’s human nature to seek trustworthiness, even at a commercial level. Trust builds an emotional connection between the organization and its audience. As such, a business that can nurture honest and relatable communication, a culture of care, and a collaborative community approach is more likely to earn the audience’s trust.