We all have bought something or used a service we regretted afterwards. As a result of countless negative buying experience, people are sceptical, suspicious about making decisions with products and services except they are certain of its credibility. Building a credible brand is essential to your success.

Today, as a startup it takes credibility for you just to get a client or customer to make a sale. Therefore, credibility has become a yardstick for determining how you fare in the market especially in this economic recession. No one wants to make the mistake of buying the wrong thing at the wrong price.

Credibility is what would set you apart from your competitors.

Here is how to build a credible brand;

You are the key to the success of your company
The first step is understanding that your personal credibility as a founder would go a long way in the overall credibility of your business. Your personal credibility is important and your appearance and personality alone can make or mar your company. Dress well, look the part of a successful entrepreneur and have a positive attitude at all times. This way, people will tend to believe in you and want to do business with you.

Deal with your selling point
One of your greatest selling points is your reputation. Almost 85 percent of a business transaction today is based on “word of mouth”. This means that what other people say about your product or services. It is how your company is thought of and talked about by customers and non-customers in the marketplace. The better your reputation, the lower the perceived risk of people doing business with you. The more people can speak well of you, the easier it is to build credibility.

Testimonials

One good email from a satisfied customer may be all you need to convince another to use your product or services. Make it mandatory to ask for testimonials each time you get a positive comment from a customer. Everyone is trying to get a website for their business these days, make a list of people or companies that have bought from you. Put them all on your website, the longer the list or better known the customers, the more powerful it is on your credibility badge.

Caveat: Some people have bastardized the use of written testimonials as they now conjure names and contents on their own as testimonials. People tend to distrust this but you might want to look into videos of your customers, social media handles of your customers.

There is no such thing as bad publicity
Every brand needs to create a compelling story that will get the customers aroused enough to relate with the brand. An excellent story is one where you match your product or service to the needs of the customer. You show the customer the exact benefits he or she wants are contained in what you sell. Let your story be compelling, concise, truthful and ready to hit the media wave. Get others to tell your story.

The product is all that matters eventually

It starts and ends with the product or service you are offering. Your story can be so good that it demonstrated clearly that the product you offer is the ideal solution to a customer’s needs, and that the value of what you sell far outweighs its price. But if the product is bad, it would tell eventually. If your service is bad, nothing works. All that matters is your product, fix it!

In conclusion, everything listed here counts if you want to build a credible brand. If you have a bad product or service, you can’t have good testimonials, compelling story or rather a trust-worthy personal brand. Everything works together don’t leave anyone out if you desire a credible brand. Get your brand out there as much as you can.

Source:techpoint.ng