Building Trust in Your Marketing

If you have ever stopped to think about just what it is that is most effective at building trust with your followers, you may possibly have come to the same understanding that a great many experts in the business have – that it's all about words. When you can speak to readers and followers in their own language, you have a much better chance of gaining their trust, and converting them into a paying customer.Far too many businesses these days simply don't use the language of their listeners, and this is why they fail to develop a trusting relationship with them. The plain fact is that the biggest reason people will come to you and buy your product, is because they trust you enough to give you their money. And the surest way to get to this level of trust is by performing the right actions, and using just the right words.

Trust from emails

One of the most obvious vehicles for building trust through words is in emails which are sent out to potential customers to try to build on sales. The sad truth is that most of these emails won't even be opened, because they lack an engaging subject line which fails to attract the interest of a reader. Only about 18% of all such emails are actually opened, and one of the biggest reasons for this lack of interest is boring or on captivating subject lines.When you make the subject of your email "Following Up With You", you can almost bet that the email will be going straight to the trash bucket, and not a single word of it will be read. Yet that is the single most commonly used subject line of all emails sent out to potential customers. Unfortunately, it's also probably the least appealing, most boring possible line that can be imagined.

Who are you a good fit for?

Most business executives are afraid to specify which prospects their company and their products are not a good fit for. However, research shows that when language such as this is used, it instantly creates greater appeal to those prospects whom you are a good fit for. The problem is that business people are afraid to eliminate potential business by using any language which might be construed as ruling out certain potential customers.

It may take a little courage to do so, but it's certainly worth your while to consider using language in your advertising which identifies exactly who would benefit by using your products or services. Yes, you may lose out on a few customers whom you have identified are not a good fit for your products and services, but you will gain far more, because those people will feel that they have been specifically included as great candidates.And when you make your actual sales pitch, you should not describe your product as the one they have to have, because that implies that you're making the decision for them. Use language which leaves it open to the reader or listener to make their own decision, because they'll feel much better about having done so.

Bias in language

Another way that trust can be built by using the right kind of language is by eliminating bias in the way we communicate with listeners and readers. For instance, a great many businesses will include language on their website about why they're so special and why they're the best choice for you to do business with.But that's not really how most readers think, and it's not what they're asking themselves as they read through your content. All that kind of language is pretty much standardized, and it will pretty much turn off the majority of readers, which means you have to swim against the tide a little and come up with more creative language.

As an example, instead of creating a wall of text describing why your product or service is the best available, why not pose the question to the reader, "is our product really any good, and is it really any different from our competitor's?" What you really have to do is tap into what the reader is feeling, thinking, searching for, fearing, and desiring. One of the most important of these components is the fearing element, and you have to be prepared to address the readers' fears in language that the customer would ordinarily use them self.Any obvious fears the customer might have about a product or service should be addressed right up front, rather than skirting around the subject, and leaving it untreated and unanswered. When you have the boldness to come right out and deal head-on with the topic, that is much more likely to build trust in your readership, than simply leaving it as an unanswered question in the background.

Cringe-worthy language

The boldest business executives and marketers should be brave enough to use language which is cringe-worthy, and which would make a competitor do a double-take or to blush. This means you have to be willing to address a very obvious question about your product, perhaps even something which has been mentioned as a flaw or a weakness, and acknowledge it right up front.You have to be willing to say that your product may not be the best fit for all persons and for all circumstances. While this might alienate a certain segment of your audience, it will strengthen your ties to that segment of your audience which is a good fit for your product or service. This may sound like a great leap of faith, being willing to highlight potential flaws or weaknesses with your product, but research has shown that it resonates strongly with those users whom the product appeals to.The fact that you are willing to denigrate your own product or to point out its weaknesses, demonstrates to users that you are a company which is honest and has integrity. It also shows that you're willing to deliver all the facts such as they are, and allow the user to make a choice based on their best judgment. This will go much further along to build trust with your listeners and your readers than simply trying to issue a long list of appeals and advantages which your product and your company might have. This is one of the greatest ways language can be used to build trust with your audience.