Trust and Marketing - Shouldn't You Trust Your Firm?

This past week one of our clients explained to me "we work with you because we trust you and you explain everything to us". I couldn't have been more elated when she said that, it is everything that Ignite Media was founded on. Trust and education are two very important qualities when it comes to any business relationship.

What does trust have to do with it?
What doesn't trust have to do with it? If your clients trust you, then you have clients for life, if they are suspicious of you then they are always watching what you are doing wondering if it is the right thing. It's never a good thing when someone is constantly looking over your shoulder to see if you've screwed up, and it certainly isn't a good thing when your clients are doing it.

How do I build trust?
Be Honest and Educate! That's it, if you can do those two things, 9 times out of 10 you will have a customer for life. So many companies out there are afraid of being honest, and telling their client exactly what they are doing. "We might give away the family secret", or "what if they don't want to hear the truth", are two things that cross the minds of those businesses that don't believe in being honest or educating their clients.

Yes, there are times when your client probably will not want to hear the truth, but in the long run you'll both be much better off that they know. They won't have any reason to think that you are playing games with them and you won't have any reason to be worried that they might find out something down the road. The air is clear, the discussions can continue on and most likely the working relationship will be stronger for it.

What do you mean educate?
You don't have to sit down and teach them every aspect of your business, but you should explain to them what you are doing for them. Let them in on your process and why you do things the way you do. I'd even suggest going as far as writing it all out for them and letting them see that you do indeed have a method. "But what if they show that to the competitor"? Do you really think your competitor doesn't know how you do things? Just think about the last employ that left your company, do you think they've never told anyone about how things are done at ACME corporation?

An educated client is a better client because now they are part of the process. They understand what it is they are getting and why you have to do things before other things. They start to realize that the money they are spending is being used in the right ways and that they can feel confident going back to their board members, or partners and explaining what is going on and what will happen next.

For the most part there are no family secrets. I mean you don't want to publish what you are doing for each of your clients online, but as far as a process goes and your methods there's nothing secret about it. Chances are you are just one of 100's of companies that do the same thing, but what makes you different is that you don't hide what you are doing for your client! Now doesn't that sound like a great conversation point with your next potential client?!

Remember: "If you give a man a fish he will have a single meal. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat for life" - Kuan-tzu

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