About Time You Got a Handle on Your Business’s Trust SignalsBy Angelica Malin
Do you trust brands? If you’re like the majority of the population, you don’t. In fact, trust in business is below the 50% mark, showing that consumers are sceptical of what they are being told. However, this figure can be rectified with another trust signal that many industries are deploying – the fact that we trust one another. Indeed, while 91% of people read online reviews, 84% of people actually trust them as much as a personal recommendation. But which industries are the most transparent with reviews?
The online casino industry benefits from peer-reviews. You can click here to see the range of live casino experiences available online and then see how they rate against one another through independent reviews. Some sites offer a wide variety of games, from poker to roulette, and score highly, while others offer only the basics, so come slightly under the average. As CasinoGuide shows, there are ways in which potential players can investigate the general attitude towards a site to decide which one might be the best for them to play on. For instance, some are praised for the mobile-friendly versions of the site, while others are commended for a wide range and variety of games. Some are marked down for unresponsive customer service and others for restricting players from certain territories. Whether favourable or not, the very fact that the site is reviewed honestly helps.
Social media can be a valuable asset for business owners and entrepreneurs. Indeed, as founder of The Social Element Tamara Littleton shows, there are ways in which social can be used to solve a business’s problems. Social can allow for issues to be mitigated against before they are committed to a negative review. For instance, your Facebook presence comes with a review section, which happy customers can use to recommend you, while those less pleased can vent. But, you can also use the opportunity to fix issues and show transparency as a business owner. How many people do you see using Twitter to complain about companies, which the company then uses as a learning experience for those viewing the tweets? They can show potential and willingness to change the general consensus for a company and where you might be perceived as failing. For instance, it’s become a brand trick now to take negative reviews online and broadcast them – Carlsberg, KFC, and Head & Shoulders have all done it to some degree.
If you’re a business owner, it’s important you are coming across as transparent and giving trust signals to potential customers that what you promise them, you can deliver. This can be done well through aggregate reviews that are seemingly out of your control. It can also be done through social media campaigns and customer service which aims to highlight successes but also shows that you are dealing with issues. Choose one that might not be too negative and reply that you are dealing with it and thanks for bringing it to your attention. Your customers will thank your transparency through their purchasing power.
