If I told you that your clients, although they bought your product already, are not taken for granted ? Whatever the cards you attempt to play with, nothing ensures that your clients promise you allegiance.
After all, when we think for a second, how can you blame them ? There are so many choices available to them. So many competitors, ready to satisfy their most inner desires.
A simple annoyance and your customers leave. Sometimes taking great pleasure in damaging your reputation and credibility.
Now If I told you that with nothing much, you could build, much better than your competitors, a solid credibility with your audience ?
Skeptical ?
Tell yourself only one word is shining when building and maintaining your credibility and your capital affection…
Transparency
Let’s put things in context
To better understand the meaning of this article, I suggest putting things in context. Let me raise a simple question. What exactly is going on today for most businesses ?
They made up and follow a logical but simple 3 steps framework :
- They craft a kind of marketing plan in which they define their commercial messages, guess their public behavior etc…
- They sell just enough to get by
- They turn on the “repeat button”
I’m exaggerating of course, yet I think I’m not so far from the truth.
This cycle is fueled by what could be called good intentions. Companies mostly operate under the guise of benevolence, respect, and values, but in reality, not everything is so rosy and sweetened.
In fact, what I’m exposing here is a self-proclamation of foolishness, excuse my language, it’s the only one that comes to mind. What I mean by that is that too often false pretenses emerge in messages, everyone is more beautiful, brighter than their neighbor.
Where is the problem ?
I’m going to tell you where the problem lies. It’s that the communication strategies that are being thought out are of poor quality. Let’s not mince words. And for that reason, and this is the second time I’m using this term, there is an obvious lack of transparency as well as sincerity.
These absences have a greater influence on how your audience perceives you than you might think.
Especially in our era where, once again, the slightest incident with a client or your audience in general can bring you to a point of no return. At least a very complicated one.
It should not be forgotten that technology, of which the web is a part, gives instant access to a myriad of information and possibilities to manipulate that information about you. Your website, the press, forums, social media, video platforms, podcasts, and so on, are all channels that can serve as relays to either destroy or strengthen your reputation.
If a public has any regard for who you are and what you do, you are playing a dangerous game of not being honest.
This raises the question of how to create and maintain credibility by speaking out, frankly and transparently.
How to establish your trustworthy reputation through transparent communication
First I think it’s wise to tell you that communicating with transparency is not a “push the button tactic”. There is no magic in that. Transparency is something that you need to look after everlastingly.
You need to work with consistency on key points that will play a huge role in the relationship you are trying to build with your audience. Which are :
Be clear on who you are
Do you know who you are ? As for business I mean. The more you are aware of your values, your beliefs, your limitations the more you can transform yourself. Don’t urge to answer, everybody has an instinct answer they throw up like a cat vomits a hairball.
This is an important question to raise. Not only to you who are reading but also every person working in your company. You’d be surprise to see that your marketing department has its own view of the company, same for the technical department, the accountability, the sales team etc..
In-house work
The first person you should convince are your employees. Credibility, trust and reputation are made up with them. See your employees as the core of your business. How to convince them ? Create and nurture your own culture, knowing your – true – values, you have the ability to share it with your teams, to bring them together as one strong, dominant and human unit.
It doesn’t make much sense to attempt a policy of transparency with your customers if it doesn’t exist within your company culture. Transparency needs to be top-down. Your employees need management — especially upper management — to be open and honest with them before they feel free to be open with customers.
Talk less, listen more
If you’ve made a habit of shouting that you’re the best, please stop it ! Do yourself this favor. There is so much noise around, nobody hears you. Instead be a bit more quiet and learn to listen.
It reminds me of a customer for whom I worked a long time ago. This guy owned (and still does) an interior design e-commerce. He was a cool guy, joyful yet he used to talk like I’ve never seen someone talking.
Year after year, his business dropped, because of new competitors, yes, but first and foremost because he never listened to anything and anyone.
For him, his business was sinking because of competitors, Google and those [place the slur you like] customers.
As he continued to talk, he kept telling himself that nothing was his fault. While the problem was obvious (his customers were not satisfied with the follow-up of orders, no information shared, often very long delays).
Learning to be quiet and listen more to what is going on around you will help you understand the system in which your business lives. You will be better able to see what’s going on and what’s not, and send clearer, less flashy and more convincing messages to your audience.
Why should you consider working on these ?
Committing to customer transparency is essential for business unification. It’s not enough for executives to mandate transparency, and it’s not limited to customer service. Transparency must be embraced at all levels of the organization.
All team members should adopt an honest and open approach to all customer interactions, regardless of context, to establish a shared pledge throughout the company.
Transparency with your customers can lead to better business performance. When a company is transparent, it becomes more crucial to fulfill orders, resolve issues, and improve the quality of customer experiences. This heightened expectation encourages employees to take pride in their work, leading to greater job satisfaction.
In addition to improving performance, customer transparency can enhance the brand. By establishing trust with customers, a company can build brand loyalty, which leads to a positive reputation in the marketplace.
Finally, transparent business practices can increase sales. Repeat business is valuable, but a strong brand reputation can also attract new customers, leading to even more business opportunities.