The Complex Challenge of Repairing Customer Trust

Changing the Relationship for the Better

The goal is transforming the customer/company relationship from an adversarial one into a true partnership. "Trust is the feeling a customer gets when [he knows] that a person or a company can follow through on promises and is dedicated to doing so," TransPerfect's Cochran says.

To do this, Kroghurd recommends that businesses clarify their goals internally in the following ways:

• Have a clear brand promise for your customers.
• Measure your ability to live up to that promise across all relevant channels.
• Act on things that are not working.

Essentially live up to the implicit contract your brand and company has with its customers.

Customers want to feel safe and secure. "Companies need to take the risk out of doing business with them for the consumer," The Futures Company's Smith says. "They need to guarantee that every transaction with them will end up being successful."

Going the Extra Mile

Simply responding to a problem in the traditional manner is no longer good enough; companies must be proactive and take the extra step. For instance, Specialized Bicycle Components, a designer and maker of bicycles and related equipment and apparel, received an alert from its social media monitoring software that a customer had posted a complaint because his local bike shop was going to take three weeks to fix his Specialized bike. Specialized stepped in, contacted the irate avid cyclist, phoned the repair shop, and was able to return the bike to the rider the next day. As a result, the customer pledged his loyalty to Specialized.

On Amazon.com, the system automatically notifies consumers whenever they order a book for the second time. Virgin Mobile gives customers the option of opting out of their cell phone contract if they lose their job. "The customer wants to feel that the company is truly on their side," Smith says.

This emphasis extends to the contact centers. Customers have the ability to communicate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via multiple channels: email, phone, chat, and social media platforms. "New platforms offer businesses an opportunity to build trust, but they also are places where they can breach customer trust either by being nonresponsive, unavailable to respond on the customer's preferred channel, or unable to communicate in their native language," Cochran says. "Ultimately, superior client service is what truly allows you to gain trust, and therefore retain clients."

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Paul Korzeniowski is a freelance writer who specializes in technology issues. He is based in Sudbury, Mass., and can be reached at paulkorzen@aol.com.

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