After introducing my model of helping businesses go BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION™, one question (issue) keeps coming up over and over in my discussions with Business Owners, CEOs, Presidents, and other Business Leaders. That question is…
“Why don’t our customers trust us?”
It is a complex question with several answers. It’s hard to know where to start answering this one as it is large and complex. While doing some “root cause analysis” will help identify specific issues in different business areas, it doesn’t uncover one single cause.
I’ve studied this for years and helped many companies build more trust with their customers (and employees). And after all these conversations and work, there is one common thread and one issue that is the root cause of the lack of trust.
And if we listen closely to our customers, they tell us…almost shouting at us…the answer. Unfortunately, we are usually too busy selling to them to hear it. But it becomes evident once you understand what they are really saying. And it is one of their top issues when I ask them what they think about a particular company…one primary issue.
Here’s the primary reason customers don’t trust your business, employees, and leaders.
CULTURE
If you just read that word and immediately want to dismiss the rest of what I have to say because you think you have a great one, you have this issue. Or if you read that word and think it is just a “motherhood and apple pie” word, you have this issue. I can safely say both of these because, by far, most companies have the issue of a lack of trust.
If you’re still reading, you’re in luck. I will help you see why this is such a paramount issue and give you some ideas to consider so you can start moving forward and get past it.
Without question, the number one reason your customers don’t trust your business and your employees is that they don’t keep their PROMISES. And before you try to justify that you do, my suggestion is first to ask your customers. I talk to many customers, and it is, without question, one of the biggest thorns in their side about most businesses.
When promises are made and not kept, there is zero chance of building trust.
When promises are made and not kept, there is zero chance of building trust.
No, having the same sentence here twice was not a mistake…it was meant to drive the point home that this is a massive, critical, paramount issue with most businesses. They don’t keep the promises they make to their customers.
Sometimes it is intentional, and other times they are made inadvertently. And still, other times, they may just be inferred or implicit promises in the customers’ minds. Regardless of how they are made or implied, the customer hears the word PROMISE and expects it to be kept.
There’s much more I can talk about concerning this issue of PROMISES, but that’s not the point I want to make in this article. The point is this…
WHY AREN’T THE PROMISES BEING KEPT? CULTURE
There’s that word again.
If the organization’s CULTURE and CHARACTER aren’t built around keeping the promises you make, they won’t. The culture of the organization is what sets the tone for how people act.
KEEPING PROMISES IS CULTURAL…NOT TRANSACTIONAL.
If leadership hasn’t built this into the CHARACTER of the organization’s VALUES, it won’t happen. Keeping promises is a way of life, not something you have to think about doing. It needs to be “just what we do” as an organization. And it needs to be “just who we are” as a group of employees and leaders. This is why it is CULTURAL, not transactional.
Look at it from the customer’s perspective.
If you, as a customer, always wonder whether an employee will keep their promise, you don’t trust them. How can you? You never know if they are going to keep their promise or not. The uncertainty of knowing if this will happen will never build trust with a customer. Would it be with you? Of course not. If we’re always left wondering whether or not a business will keep its promises, there is no trust.
Here’s a simple example everyone reading this can relate to at some point in their life.
You are going out on your first day with someone you like and want to keep seeing them. So you decide to be honest with them from the start (always a good idea). So during dinner, you tell them, “I just want to be honest with you…I only keep about 60% of my promises…and I’m not sure which ones they will be.” (I use 60% because that is generally the average number an excellent business will keep). Your date’s response will be one of two things. Either they will get up and leave right away, or they will finish the dinner and let you buy and then leave…never planning on seeing you again.
This is a simple example, but isn’t that also what our customers do? When they see us not keeping our promises, they leave when there is a better deal in the market because they have no loyalty to us.
This is why KEEPING YOUR PROMISES is paramount and absolutely critical if you want to BUILD TRUST. And the only way to ensure your employees keep their promises is if you HAVE A CULTURE WHERE THIS IS JUST WHAT WE DO.
Ask yourself the tough questions…
Gut check time. The answers to these can change your business forever…guaranteed. Now you have to ask yourself if you are willing to transform and create a new CULTURE OF BUILDING TRUST.
Companies that GO BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION™ have this culture…it’s who they are.
What To Do Next...
If you want to know more about how to do this in your organization, start by reading more articles/posts on my website. It will be a great way to better understand how this works and help change your thinking to being CUSTOMER OBSESSED…which is the foundation for making this happen in any organization. And always, if you have a question, call or email me…I’m happy to give you more guidance along your journey (always complimentary, of course).
