How to build trust and customer loyalty

There are, when you think about it, two contrasting approaches to business.

There is the ‘tourist restaurant’ approach, where you try to make as much money as possible from people in a single visit.

And then there is the ‘local pub’ approach, where you make less money from people on each visit, but where you will profit more over time by encouraging them to come back.

The second type of business is much more likely to generate trust than the first.

Neither is inherently wrong, but I suspect that most people reading this are aiming to build the second, not the first type of company.

So what’s the secret to building trust?

Well, according to advertiser, author and renowned speaker, Rory Sutherland, it’s about “small acts of discretionary generosity”, which make no sense in a single transaction.

For example:

• A free chocolate at the end of a meal that’s already been paid for;
• A free upgrade;
• An email or call, after you’ve bought a product or service, to check that you’re satisfied (because we know that good customer service costs money).

What kind of business are you building?

If it’s the second one, I’d love to know in the comments what you’re doing to build trust.

I’ll add some examples of what we’re doing too (but I won’t add the first comment, as apparently LinkedIn penalises you for that!?)….

P.S. Rory Sutherland points out that this is true in interpersonal relationships too, and it’s why I make a point of working with polite people and avoiding impolite ones:

“Being rude isn’t so different from being polite, but it requires less effort. Politeness demands that we perform hundreds of little rituals, from opening doors to standing up when someone enters the room, all of which are more effortful than the alternative. By such oblique means we indicate that we care about their opinion and about our reputation.”