Trust is hard to come by, especially when it comes to doing business. Many marketplaces are looking to just make a quick buck instead of looking at the bigger picture. The industry has changed and customers are getting smarter or at least learning to leverage their resources. With the Internet being so accessible, it is easy to look up reviews on a business whether negative or positive. Personally, that is what I do before I decide to do business with a marketplace.

I know I am not the only one, and as a millennial, I have dozens of friends who are just like me. This is where creating the trust relationship with your customers is a vital part of your success. There is an old saying my bosses used to tell me, “1 happy customer may tell 1 or 2 people but an upset customer will tell at least 10 different ones.” With social media being such a powerful tool, you must be careful and pay close attention to your customers. Here are 3 ways to help you create trust in your marketplace.

Credible

Being educated about your product or services is a must. Create a blog, start a podcast series, host a webinar, whatever it takes to help establish credibility within your industry. Having content on your web page will help customers understand what your marketplace can do, but also shows that the business cares more than just making a sale. Educating customers and helping them with their journey can turn a shopper into a life-long client.

Content marketing must be part of your marketing strategy to help build your marketplace, especially in the startup phase. The competition is fierce and will only get tougher as your business continues to grow. Share relevant articles and resources from other companies as well to highlight but more importantly connect with them. This is a great way to get your name on the map by sharing and linking to credible sources such as @TechCrunch or @Entrepreneur. Linking will also help increase your social footprint within your industry.

Responsive

Are you responding to incoming messages, comments, tweets, or shares regarding your marketplace? Many people now simply comment their complaints about a product or service on the page for others to see and if they have similar problems as well. This can have a very negative impact on your business if not handled correctly or simply ignored. Respond to your customers even if it is negative and see how you can turn that around on a positive note. Help your customers whether they are brand new or have been around for years. Being responsive to your clients in a timely fashion just may be the turning point for someone to jump ship to yours.

Reliable

After you have established credibility and been responsive, you must also show you are reliable. No, that does not mean having to be there 24/7 to answer questions or at the feet of every client, but more so to do what you have set out to do. If you have created a daily blog or morning podcast, be sure to deliver on it. Once an audience has been built, people will rely on reading or listening to your content so be sure to have their backs. Establish yourself as an industry leader and deliver to your audience with consistency.

For example, I like to scroll through Twitter on my morning BART ride to catch up with industry news and have my go to lists. I look forward to reading the latest trends and analysis to keep up to date. Now if my list started to skip out on certain days and only post when they wanted to, I would lose faith in that page and no longer believe they are industry leaders. They can’t seem to get their act together so why should I follow them or potentially do business with them?

Remember, trust will not happen overnight. Stay patient and trust the process and direction of your marketplace. Expect plenty of bumps along the road so instill these 3 traits within your employees to stay on track. If you have any questions or need some more advice, simply comment below!