Techniques For Building Client Trust

All relationships thrive on trust. Without trust, there is a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of question marks over many things we do, no matter how good our intentions are. Thus cultivating a high level of trust with the clients and businesses we deal with is a must for the survival of any business

Building client trust must be seen as an on-going business 

Building client trust must be seen as an on-going process and should be pursued on a daily basis. Below are a number of methods we can use to enable us to cultivate a high level of trust with both our existing and new businesses we deal with.

Building client trust - some recommended strategies

Do not promise what you can’t deliver:

In order to “keep the client sweet”, you could fall into the trap of agreeing to any request and or promise to deliver without seriously considering whether what the client is asking for can be achieved or delivered within the time frame. It will be better to make it clear to the customer if a particular request will be difficult to achieve than to promise to deliver and fail.

Deliver what you promise

It is always good to make sure you fulfil whatever promise you make.  If you promise to complete a particular task on a particular day and time, make sure it happens. This is very important as your clients may rely on your word to enable them to meet the requirements of their customers. Breaking your promises would end up breaking the trust of your clients and could put your contract into question.

Let the customer know how you do things

While we all like to protect our trade secrets, it is sometimes necessary to make some of our clients understand the way we do and go about things. This is particularly true in cases of outsourcing, for example, to car cleaning contractors, maintenance and IT contractors, web design and Internet marketing firms and even general cleaning contractors. This will give them an insight as to what to expect and the time frames.

Don’t give your clients false hopes

It is necessary to set boundaries, especially when negotiating the contract. There is the tendency to say yes to anything in an attempt to win the contract only to start dragging your feet later. It will be good to let the client know what is chargeable and what is not, right from the word go, rather than springing unexpected invoices on the client

Let your clients understand your plans and strategies

Keep the client informed of how you intend to execute a particular project. If as a a car valet company, you have 100 car valets to complete for an auction on a particular day, keep your client assured by keeping them informed of how you  intend to meet the deadline. This will give the client more confidence and raise the level of trust, especially if you are able to deliver as planned.

Set boundaries

It is good to let both parties know and understand what is expected of each other. This will avoid stepping on each other’s toes and creating misunderstanding. Make the client aware of what they have to supply or provide to enable you to fulfil your part of the contract. If provided facilities are not adequate to enable you to carry out the contract to the best of your ability, it may be necessary to make the client aware and where possible work with them to put the right facilities in place, or extend the hours required for the completion of a particular task

Keep the client informed of problems

Problems do occur and are sometimes unavoidable. Make sure you inform the customer as soon as they happen, instead of waiting for the customer to stumble upon it. Keeping the client informed will build trust better

Make the client feel valuable

Never make the client feel stupid under any circumstances. Choose your language carefully and control your thoughts. If you start thinking negatively about your client, it is bound to show at some point. It is very important to always cultivate good thoughts about your clients and it will show in your actions, your services and your relationship with your client.