In an article titled “The Big Lessons From History,” Morgan Housel states there are two kinds of history to learn from, and as we embark on our efforts to win trust in 2021, they are helpful to keep in mind.
The first kind is the specific events and headlines – the happenings – and the second is the broad behavior patterns that keep repeating themselves.
The craziness we call COVID certainly created headlines we won’t forget. But what drives history is how people react – their behavior patterns – to such changes as government intervention, scientist’s recommendations, medicine, media – the list goes on.
The question is
As a small business owner, how do you extract the “two kinds of history” lessons from 2020 to win trust in 2021?
And what do you do with that learning as it applies to your customer?
Housel describes his own strategy – in his case, it has to do with investing – like this:
“More than I want big returns, I want to be financially unbreakable. And if I’m unbreakable I actually think I’ll get the biggest returns, because I’ll be able to stick around long enough for compounding to work wonders.”
Your customers have a strategy for dealing with the massive changes. They, too, want to be “unbreakable.” One primary way they do that is by doing business with people they can trust.
Your customers have a problem
COVID did not initiate this need for trust, but it has certainly reinforced it. To put it bluntly, your customers have ‘trust issues.’ Following are a few of their concerns:
- They feel increased pressure to make sound decisions quickly, and they need accurate information from transparent and sincere sources.
- More than ever, they have a strong bias for reliable partners who do what they say they will do and more.
- They are wary of uniform, cookie-cutter approaches to doing business. Conformity and business-as-usual don’t trend well in such unusual circumstances.
- Finally, the question that is top of mind for those who consider doing business with you is, “Do you know me?” Let’s face it, if they don’t know you know them and their concerns, how can they trust you to understand their problems?
Trust is the foundation of your platform
Addressing the four concerns listed above will help you create a TRUE platform that establishes trust by developing content and connection around:
Transparent – communicating clearly and sincerely who you’re for and what you’re for
Reliable – helping others succeed in expected and unexpected ways
Unique – showing up with a distinctive method and a custom solution
Empathetic – demonstrating the expertise of understanding
Over the next several weeks, we will be digging into what it means to have a TRUE platform and how the job is never finished and never perfect. Creating a true platform is hard work, and it means getting very real (true) about your business.
As Stephen R. Covey put it, “Trust is the new currency of our world today.” The hard work is worth it because as trust declines in society, your customer’s trust in you will be increasing.,
Although we are marketing experts, we believe the TRUE framework applies to much more than just marketing and selling services.
It provides a blueprint for long-term success and a bulwark against obscurity. It’s a noisy world out there!
Our goal is to help you create a business that is TRUE to your customers – to help you win trust in 2021 and beyond.
Sign up now for the TRUE platform series!
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