How to Connect with Your Customer Base

Trust and loyalty in any dynamic are absolutely the foundation of success. From personal relationships to business, we need trust to create anything substantial. Without this essential trust, customers are more hesitant to engage at all with a brand, let alone become a dedicated consumer, and make repeated purchases. You can't build this trust without knowing first how to connect with your consumer base, and that's what we'll go over today. When your customers can trust you as a brand, they will have that undeniable and invaluable confidence in your products or services. They will really believe that the brand will deliver on its promises, because you've proven so. This trust instantly creates that essnetial sense of security and will reduce the perceived risk of purchasing or working with your company.

Loyalty is that special thing that comes as a result of consistently meeting customers' needs when they need you, and exceeding their lofty expectations. Loyal customers will not only continue to purchase, over and over again, from a brand that they trust! They'll also become unpaid brand advocates that genuinely recommend the brand to their friends, family, and maybe even social media followers. They are much more likely to forgive any inevitable mistakes as well, which creates a two way street of trust between brand and customer.

Building trust through social proof and testimonials

One of the ways you can easily build trust with your audience and customer base is by sending them product or offering services for free, in exchange for a review on their social media platforms! Many brands also employ the tactic of UGC (user generated content) to get people starting creative conversations around their product. Because building widespread and essential trust and loyalty will requite more than just offering quality products or services, UGC steps in to tackle two major obstacles: Exposure and consumer base. This is where that essential authenticity comes into play.

So, what exactly is UGC? User Generated Content is authentic and creative videos made by your consumer base, or influencers that you employ to review! Because it's either coming directly from your customers, or someone that has a trusted presence online, people will look to it for the genuine insights and opinions. When other people see UGC, they can more easily relate to the experiences and perspectives that shared by their peers or their idols.

To leverage UGC for authenticity, consider the following:

1. Encourage your customers to share their unique experiences in creative ways by offering incentives such as free product or creating contests for them to participate in. You can make it very easy for customers to submit to UGC through varying social media hashtags, online forms, or even specific and dedicated platforms.

2. Highlight any UGC that aligns with your brands values on your website, various social media profiles, and even your internal as well as external marketing materials. Showcase and highlight the positive reviews, testimonials, and photos that accurately and beautifull reflect the authentic experiences of your customers.

3. Engaging with the UGC made by your consumers is an amazing way to truly connect with them. You can do this by responding to comments, thanking customers for their unique contributions, and re-sharing that UGC on your own social media channels! This personal interaction really demonstrates that you truly and honestly value and appreciate your customers' voices.

By leveraging your consumer base's UGC, you not only showcase true authenticity, but also empower your customers to become your very own brand advocates. UGC is also amazing because it creates a sense of community and encourages your customers to engage with your brand as well as each other, building that essential trust and loyalty.