5 Creative Ways to Establish Business Credibility

Big companies like Coca-Cola, Nestlé and McDonald's are well-known brands around the world. When you visit these businesses or buy their products, you feel a certain sense of authority and trust as a customer.

SummaryCreatively configure your auto attendantMake your website more engagingImprove your customer interactionsEngage in corporate social responsibilityBecome a leader in your niche

Why?

Because they are huge, well-established multinationals.

Now, if you're just starting out with your business, you're probably hoping to elicit the same feelings from your customers. In this article, we'll share with you the best tips for building credibility for your business.

Configure your auto-attendant creatively

An auto attendant is a set of voice menus and actions defined by caller behavior. Depending on what you have set, you can connect the caller to an extension, send to voicemail, listen to announcements, etc.

For example, you can assign a voice menu that says, “To reach our sales department, press 1. For technical support, press 2. To speak directly to our receptionist, press 3.”

Even if you're just a two-person business, you can assign yourself multiple extensions so you can handle incoming calls for sales and front desk. This will impress callers and make them think your business is bigger than it really is.

Make your website more attractive

Being stuck with an outdated website design won't do your business any good. Since your website is a reflection of your business, you need to make sure it looks impressive.

Work on the following when trying to make your website more attractive:

• Fantastic user interface. Customers should be able to easily navigate your site. If they don't know where to go after visiting your homepage, you can easily lose them to your competition.
• Attractive color schemes. Some business owners tend to use unpopular colors on their website, while others simply base their colors on personal preferences. It's good to remember that it's not always about you, it's about the audience you're trying to attract. If you don't know where to start, there are tons of online resources for inspiration.
• Effective and readable content. Readability is important to ensure that visitors get the most out of what they read on your site. Put effort into making sure your content is targeted and reader-friendly.

See also:4 ways to make your website an effective business tool

Improve your customer interactions

Remember that you control how you deal with your customers. Be sure to turn every interaction into a positive and memorable interaction for them.

Here are some strategies you can use:

• Cover all your bases. Customers will connect using every form of communication imaginable. They'll email you, call you, record voicemails, send faxes, or fill out a form on your website. Be sure to follow all these forms and be sure to respond to them in a timely manner. If you can afford it, find a good CRM platform that will allow you to centralize and simplify all types of customer engagement.
• Try to see things from the customer's point of view. Treat your customers the way you want to be treated.
• Be transparent with comment management. Be grateful for the feedback you receive, whether positive or negative. By doing this, you will be able to find the things you are doing well and the things you still need to work on. Big companies aren't deterred by negative reviews; they work quickly to make improvements.

Engage in corporate social responsibility

Businesses shouldn't always focus entirely on what customers buy. Several studies have already proven that modern consumers are more likely to patronize companies engaged in advocacy or those that support causes.

Well-known brands such as TOMS and Warby Parker have fully understood this. Although they don't have exactly the best products on the market, they do sell items like pancakes because of their business model.

“Traditional marketing, where cost savings is the main message, isn’t as appealing as it used to be,” says this social responsibility post on the RingCentral Small Business blog.

For this reason, you need to keep up with not just because it's trendy, but because it pays to have a purpose. Additionally, you need to make sure that the cause you are supporting is relevant to your business.

Become a leader in your niche

It would be best to score speaking engagements in industry forums. This way, you will be able to share your knowledge, generate brand awareness and become a leader in your space. You also have the chance to learn from others when you do this.

Spend time building relationships with your audience and like-minded people in your niche. Participate in get-togethers if you can and be active when you attend such events.

Join niche-specific associations or organizations. These will add to your “stamp of approval”. They will help you gain the credibility and trust of the people around you.

The bottom line is that you should get your name and brand out there. You want to be seen and heard at this point.

These are just a few of the things you can do to establish credibility for your business. If you've tried some of these tactics before, let us know how they work for you.

See also:8 Best Small Business Marketing Tips