What an awful feeling! Isn’t it?
When people ask me to name one principle crucial for a business to succeed, I boldly say Trust. I often talk about trust with my colleagues. This intangible and abstract concept has the power to leave deep and long-lasting impressions in the minds of the customers. Falter once and to woo back a dissatisfied customer becomes doubly difficult. Then no amount of glitz and glamour will be enough to win back the attention of the customer.
This doesn’t mean in the least bit that we are devoid of all the razzmatazz. In fact, we are all about quirk and humour. Have you seen our mailers or read our blog? Sitting snug between our jokes and banter is our deep-felt care for the customer. After all, they are trusting us with their money. And we respond with our reliable service—respect for their time and money. Even a minuscule glitch in this transaction can have far-reaching repercussions on the company’s reputation.
No amount of marketing and branding can match up to the organic growth that comes from customers recommending our services. Isn’t it true? Don’t we all check customer reviews before we make an online purchase?
But is maintaining the trust of the customer a job for one person? No, it’s a whole lot of teamwork. It starts within the company—within individual teams, with the very individual—before it can be won from the customer. Without trust, teamwork would be impossible.
So how does one lay the groundwork for first building trust within the company? Well, trust is built on the bedrock of – thought, technology, and teamwork. I fondly call them the three Ts of TRUST. And, it is important that an organisation excels in all three.
Additional Reading: A Leap Of Faith That Paid Off
Now, what has THOUGHT got to do with Trust?
Everything! It all starts with a thought—a mystic once said. Or was it Carl Jung? But, yes, it all begins with a thought. How you think of your customers. Where you place them when charting the mission, vision and strategy of your business.
You might have a path-breaking vision and a disruptive business model, but if customers are unable to connect with it, it’ll not take off. No matter how unique your business model, eventually it’ll get ‘commoditised’ and a new player will find a better way to run it. In such a situation, it’s the trust of your customers that’ll help you thrive. Hence, it’s wiser to keep your customers at the forefront of your thoughts when devising your business game plan.
Research says that more people will come to your stall to make a purchase if you can convince them that you share their belief. One of the best ways to pass this sense of comradeship to your customers is by giving them a seat of honour in your vision and mission statement. This is your resume based on which customers will decide whether to trust you or not.
Customers having belief in your brand will create that virtuous cycle of growth. As Simon Sinek said about beliefs while explaining the golden circle, people are willing to be influenced in their buying choices when they ‘believe’ in your beliefs.
How does TECHNOLOGY come into play?
When you read the word technology, did your thoughts run to the IT department of your office? Ok, let me shake things up a little here. In the context of trust, technology is the application of knowledge to help translate and then ‘automate’ a vision into reality, minimising the cost and effort permanently. What has this to do with trust? You see, your customers trust you because you meet their requirements just like you say you will. But we all know requirements change with time. Keeping that in mind, is your technology flexible enough to adapt to the changing needs of your customers? Or does a simple change send the sirens screeching?
Technology is a tangible representation of your idea and hence a potent force to sustain the trust of your customers. The tech face of BankBazaar is adaptable to change, flexible to expand, and modular enough to allow for quick modification. Making changes to your technology should happen like a play. The actors keep the audience engaged, who watch, unaware of the hustle-bustle backstage. Make sure that your technology is engaging and interactive. We at BankBazaar are able to integrate any new financial partner into our automated and modular system in no time. This type of seamlessness makes us dependable and trustworthy in the eyes of our customers and partners. The more you interact, quickly reply, solve their queries, and ensure you are there to listen, the more you will be trusted.
The S.W.A.T Team
Saved the best for the last. A team is forged when people join hands to work toward a common goal. Will you work with someone you don’t trust? Even the most well-laid plans can falter if there is no trust among the team members. It’ll be chaos! When your employees believe in your vision, it’ll show in their work and hence, reach the customers. Therefore, it is important to nurture a work culture that offers ample channels for an individual to express their passions, creativity and intelligence.
Here, it’s important to note that managers shouldn’t isolate their team from the rest of the workforce. Functional lines must blur to open new channels of communication. This is seen a lot in today’s work culture where cubicles are being replaced with wide open layouts, and old designations are making way for new ones. People who hold their department close to themselves can completely pull down the organisational ability to move ahead and will eventually falter on the promise of the brand. More than being a subject matter specialist, you need to have cross-functional talent.
Additional Reading: Monday blues? Sorry, I don’t understand.
To sum up, a careful, balanced approach to developing these three Ts will go a long way in developing a reliable, trustworthy organisation with a high brand value. To this end, we at BankBazaar are constantly striving to safeguard the trust of our customers—always delivering on our promises.