How Customer Reliability Leads to Better Branding

Achieving customer reliability means that the people who do business with you can expect relatively the same results with each interaction. Being a reliable organization for consumers could relate to aspects including:

• Price
• Service
• Availability
• Selection
• Shipping
• User-friendliness

Besides helping you build trust, customer reliability can strengthen your branding. Here’s why that’s the case.

Set Expectations With Customer Service Timeframes

When people encounter problems, they typically want the fastest possible resolutions for those issues. You can focus on efficient customer service, then convey that value in your branding. If people know how quickly they can get assistance, those timeframes could differentiate the business as providing above-average value.

For example, you might create a social media graphic showing how people can get in touch and the estimated associated timelines. Consider if it said that your company answers all email queries within one business day but that people can use the live chat feature and get a response within an average of three minutes.

Alternatively, if someone places a phone call, they’d typically get helped within 5-7 minutes. Questions posted on social media usually get answered within 60 minutes during business hours. That approach lets customers decide how to contact you based on the urgency of their queries. However, remember that customer loyalty depends on prompt resolution rather than just being available for people.

Ensure you can back up those promises of quick assistance. Otherwise, people get let down and experience a lack of reliability. Track metrics to see how often customer needs get fully resolved and how long those interactions last on average.

Use Pictures To Entice Customers

Customer reliability also occurs when people know they’ll generally get the same experiences with your brand no matter where they are in the world. Starbucks and McDonald’s locations usually stay busy regardless of where they are, and a major reason for that is because people appreciate familiarity.

However, you likely operate a less-established business than either of those two brands. So, it may work well to use pictures in your branding materials to show people things like employee uniforms, store layouts, signage, product assortments, color schemes and more. Those details get people more excited to check out your business, even if doing so for the first time.

Use the pictures for inspiration when building your brand, too. For example, if your physical store features a certain color scheme and a particular font on its signs, choose the same hues and lettering style on your website, print ads and business cards.

If your business expands to numerous physical locations, make them all have a nearly identical look while exploring how you could incorporate some local elements. For example, maybe each one has a  mural that says, “Welcome to our [city name] location” and features a landmark or something else specific about the place. The ongoing use of the decorative feature at each company branch strengthens brand recognition, and the customization gives local flair.

Include Data Privacy and Transparency as Company Values

With so many activities happening online, it’s increasingly common for companies to collect significant amounts of data about customers. Most people accept the practice, especially because it’s a necessary part of engaging with the internet.

However, you can emphasize customer reliability by being upfront about the type of data you collect and for what reasons. Go further by explaining how you protect the information after obtaining it. Then, people will feel more comfortable entrusting you with their data, even if that merely means providing you with their email addresses. They’ll view your brand as one that takes data protection seriously.

Highlighting data privacy and transparency also helps some brands stand out if their business practices involve regularly gathering sensitive data. For example, a poll of U.S. and Canadian banking customers asked for their feelings on features that required letting a third party access the bank’s database to provide them. The results showed that 39% of people would reconsider using those offerings.

Giving people control over what data they provide to your company and why helps them perceive your company as reliable due to clarity. Additionally, when people know about instances of outside parties accessing databases, they can make smarter decisions about whether to use a new feature or decline for now. Creating a dedicated webpage about your data protection and transparency practices helps people quickly learn about and assess the details.

Connect Reliability With Access to Services

Your company can also draw attention to customer reliability by reminding people of how you provide seamless access to services. Subbu Palaniappan, the director of India’s Amazon Prime division, spoke of service access and usability as driving forces behind customer adoption rates. People know that Amazon Prime is available for them to use wherever and whenever they’d like.

“As we navigate through these challenging times, over the last year, we have learnt the impact that an offering like Amazon Prime can have on everyday life of members by bringing them ease and convenience as they continue to stay safe at home,” he said.

The leader continued, “Keeping in line with the changing customer habits, we will continue to make Prime more accessible to our customers so they can discover and enjoy Prime’s many entertainment and shopping benefits.”

People who subscribe to Prime in India and elsewhere commonly associate the offering with benefits like quick shipping and exclusive media libraries. They also know that using Prime is generally hassle-free. If they do run into problems, Amazon offers numerous customer service channels to utilize. Think about how your company could provide similar dependability, even without Amazon’s tremendous resources. For example, invest in proactive measures to safeguard against website outages.

Show How Your Business Aligns With Customer Values

Statistics indicate 60% of worldwide customers purchased new brands since the COVID-19 pandemic began. You may think that, during such a time of global upheaval and uncertainty, people would be most likely to solely stick with what they know. However, those findings contradict that assumption.

However, you can increase the likelihood of customer loyalty by highlighting certain aspects that customers know and love. Start by surveying customers to find out what they like best about your company and what keeps them coming back.

They might say things like “I love the company’s outstanding customer service”  or “I appreciate the high-quality, long-lasting products. Those sentiments align with what people expect by doing business with you rather than going elsewhere.

Then, consider running branding campaigns to remind people of what makes your company stand out from others. If many people said they liked the product quality, you might mention how you offer no-questions-asked returns for 90 days. That promise shows that you stand behind the integrity of what you sell.

Demonstrate Your Consistency to Customers

When people choose your business, they want to know that they’ll get pleasant, satisfying experiences. These tips will help you link customer reliability to improved branding. Doing that will strengthen your company, plus keep people coming back and recommending your business to friends.

Eleanor is the editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the director at a marketing firm prior to becoming a freelance web designer. Eleanor lives in Philly with her husband and dog, Bear.