Where Does Trust Sit In Your Business?
Trust is an asset. But if it walks out the door when you do, what choice has that trust created for you?
Each time we make a buying decision, we naturally gravitate towards people and brands we trust. We expect these businesses to understand and support our needs, be honest about their products and services and maintain confidentiality. We know trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy. Yet, it’s a topic we see discussed in the media almost daily.
What Trust Requires
Trust must be earned. Every transaction with our stakeholders either builds or destroys the trust they have in us. Integrity and honesty are part of how that trust is earned.
Trust is built in the small things we do - how we show up, being on time, being present, keeping our promises time after time. We could also destroy trust by consistently behaving in ways that undermine it.
Trust requires putting the customer’s interest first. Acting in the best interest of the customer or client builds trust. This could mean saying no to prospective work when the customer’s interest conflict with your immediate interests.
Personal Trust vs Business Trust
Trust in business operates at two levels. Personal trust is valuable. However, it can be both an asset and a business risk. A business may spend decades developing trusted customer relationships, yet if personal trust is concentrated in one person, that can create a dependency. Take service professionals. Clients frequently build relationships with a lawyer, accountant or doctor and, when that person leaves the practice or retires, clients leave looking for others they could build new trusted relationships with.
Can a client expect consistency regardless of who in the business they deal with? If the answer is yes that business has created trust at the business-level. You may have heard reference made to “ask three people in an organisation the same question, and you may get three answers.” A business that gives a consistent answer regardless of who you deal with would rate high on the trust scale.
Business-level trust is deliberately built.
I knew two men who purchased their employer’s landscaping business many years ago. Their employer had trained the two men to deliver a reliable service, and the customers had learnt to trust them. When the business was sold to the employees, the customers were happy to continue with the new owners. The new owners continued to service their employer’s clients and built the business further.
That business owner trusted his employees’ capacity to take over his business. He also allowed those employees the opportunity to earn the customers’ trust long before the sale. That owner didn’t stop at training his staff; he let them deal directly with the customers before they took over his business.
We all have met business owners who must intervene in every activity in their business. Their customers don’t get the opportunity to build business-level trust.
Demonstrating consistent behaviour over time is the best way to build business trust. Here are a few ways to do this.
Maintain consistency in business operations and service delivery
Increase the visibility of the organisation and team
Honour promises consistently
Create controls and accountability
Build the reputation of the business, not just the owner
Start building trust before a transfer is necessary.
Trust doesn’t remove the need for control.
Take, for example, a business with a process for approvals, where one person creates a payment and another approves it. That second approval doesn’t mean the first person couldn’t be trusted. It simply removes reliance on one person and reduces the chances of an oversight or avoidable error. Internal controls strengthen trust.
What happens when something goes wrong?
How we handle mistakes can strengthen or diminish how others trust us. How we take responsibility and ownership, communicate with those affected, respond to the effects of our actions, and take corrective action all demonstrate how much we can be trusted. On the other hand, if corrective action is not taken and the mistake continues to recur, that also demonstrates why we may not be trusted.
Where is trust sitting in your business?
Do you have a way of recognising where trust sits in your business and how you can gradually and consistently move from personal to business trust?
The following three questions may help.
❓Who do customers call when there is a problem?
❓What happens when you are away for a few days?
❓If you stepped away from the business temporarily or permanently, would your clients and staff stay with the business?
You cannot build or transfer trust by simply asking someone to trust the business. You must provide evidence to build trust over time.
Ready to review whether your current business design still supports what you want to achieve? Explore our insights and strategic resources for business owners at towardsgrowth.com.au.
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Towards Growth is a strategic business advisory and mentoring practice.
The ideas, insights and client stories we share come from our own work and practical experience, with AI used for editorial support.
The Revenue-to-Value Model™ is a proprietary framework of Towards Growth.
