{Image from my Mixed Media Art Journal}
Trust me.
Do you trust me just because I tell you to? Probably not. But trust is a huge piece of the buying process. I’d wager that trust matters the most, not only when a customer buys something, but also when he recommends that product to another person.
Before you buy a product or service, you need to trust that you’re going to get what you pay for. Trust can mean the difference between zero sales and LOTS of sales, no matter what product or service you’re trying to sell.
You could sell the most amazing product in the world, but if your customer service sucks and you ship it two weeks later than the customer expects it, he’s going to be disappointed. Your customer won’t pass along the information for the amazing product that he got. Instead, he’ll probably warn people about the negatives.
The best and most effective way to sell without selling is to get referrals from people who fall in love with your product. If a customer trusts you and your company, she won’t hesitate to tell her friends and family members about your services. But, if she doesn’t trust you due to bad experiences she’s had with your company, she won’t. You want people to boost about your products in such a positive way that others have to check them out.
Once you’ve developed trust, you won’t have to worry about selling your product, because other people will do it for you. Pretty cool stuff. You’ll be able to focus on creating new products and improving the ones you have instead of spending lots of precious time on selling.
This probably sounds great, but you might be wondering how to put this plan into action. Follow these 5 steps to build trust with your customers:
1. Be honest about what your customers will get. Some small businesses make the mistake of promising their customers things they can’t deliver. If you want repeat customers, you can’t do this! For instance, if you sell art prints that you get printed on cardstock at your local printer such as Kinko’s, don’t tell customers that they’re getting prints on archival-quality photographic paper. Some may not realize, but others will and they’ll spread the word.
Action: Look through all of your product or service descriptions, and ensure that you can back up every statement that you make.
2. Exceed your customers’ expectations. To get repeat customers, always try to go beyond what your customers expect. For example, you might have a policy that says you always ship within four business days. Exceed expectations by doing your best to ship within two business days. You’re giving yourself a cushion just in case something comes up, but you’re also trying to go beyond what your customer expects.
Action: Figure out at least two ways that you can exceed your customers’ expectations and put them into place today.
3. Offer a 100% money back guarantee. A lot of creative businesses already do this, so it’s something a lot of customers expect. I often see small businesses who won’t offer this, because they don’t believe in their products. If you’re confident in your product, this shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve always offered this on all of my products—online and at craft fairs—and no one has ever asked for their money back. This gives prospective customers a safety net, and they’ll be more likely to buy from you.
This money back guarantee is crucial to creative businesses that do most of their business online. Let’s say you have an Etsy shop where you can give a product description and include five photos. This is often not enough to instill trust for a first time customer, especially if your products are more than $25. They may not be able to tell exactly how long the necklace will be on them or the exact colors of the original art. If they have a way to return the product if they aren’t satisfied, they might take that risk.
Action: Add a 100% money back guarantee to your policy today.
4. Admit when you make mistakes and do everything you can to fix them. If a customer contacts you to let you know that her bracelet arrived broken, apologize, tell her you’ll send a replacement to her that same day if possible, and ask her if there’s anything else you can do. Send a little something extra with her new bracelet. Most of the time, your helpful customer service will override the issue with the product. She’ll let her friends know how fast you responded to her and what a great experience she had with your company.
Action: Respond swiftly to issues and fix them.
5. Try to get feedback from your customers in order to improve your products and services. Contact each customer through email after they’ve received the product. Do not send out an automated message. Type something personal, and ask each customer for feedback. Keep the email short and to the point. Here’s an example,
Hi Sally Joe,
By now your original art entitled, “I love art,” from the I Love Art Company should have arrived. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you again for your purchase and give you an opportunity to give us feedback on your new piece of original art. In order to ensure that every customer has a wonderful experience, we would love for you to fill out our customer feedback form. It takes less than five minutes.
Thank you for your time,
Bonny Joe, Owner
I Love Art Company
http://www.IloveArtCompany.com
In your email, link to a simple feedback form that’s quick to fill out or people won’t do it. Use multiple choice and rating systems. Even if the website you sell your creative goods has a feedback system in place, like Etsy, it’s probably not a very precise one. Come up with your own to show customers that you appreciate them and listen to their advice. If you have a newsletter, include something at the bottom of your email that directs your customers to sign up for it.
Action: Create a hidden landing page through your website that you can direct customers to in order to fill out the feedback form {you don’t want your customers/readers to stumble upon it accidentally}. If you don’t have your own website or you don’t know how to create a landing page, use free survey software such as SurveyMonkey to set up a feedback form. Write a basic email to send to customers after they’ve received your product or service. Decide when you should send it out {i.e. a week after purchase} and personalize it before you send it to your customers.
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