You can have a business, but how will you sell without credibility? Trust is a huge issue for SMEs, particularly in B2B, who struggle to make a name for themselves in a pool of established brands. Take the beauty industry, for example. In 2020, there were over 3500 registered and active beauty brands in the UK alone. That’s not accounting for the fact that many popular brands that have an established online presence, like Sephora, are from around the globe. Sephora didn’t open a store in the UK until 2023. In the B2B world, you have the likes of Microsoft that absolutely dominate their niche in the technology market and the B2C market.
Thus, you need to be able to compete in a national and global market, and sometimes even across B2C and B2B, depending on the business you have – it seems impossible. It’s not, however, if you build credibility. Naturally, that’s not an overnight deal, so let’s explore how you can create the foundation of credibility.
Quality Over Quantity
Quality products and services are essential – don’t burn the candle at both ends by assuming that offering numerous products and services will drive sales and credibility. Your products or services should meet or exceed customer expectations. Focus on delivering a product or service that solves your customers’ pain points, and make sure you deliver consistently. Consistency, you will come to learn, is crucial. Consistency won’t relate to products or services alone – consistency links to branding, communication, ads, communication tone, and the list could go on.
Considering 60% of consumers want brand consistency, you’ll quickly learn it’s one of the keys to success. But how hard will it be, for an SME, to build consistency with multiple products or services? Not to mention, the investment needed is more substantial. Find your feet with one product or service and expand in the future. And, according to McKinsey and the new B2B growth equation, consistent, exceptional experiences are crucial to success.
Loyalty Over One Shop Discount Customers
This entire article could be filled with statistics about loyalty and discounts, so we’ll stick with one. Loyal customers generate 20x more revenue than new customers, and offering discounts to new customers only increases profit by 7%. It’s a no-brainer. But that’s benefiting you.
The credibility comes from loyal customers that are, according to recent research, 92% more likely to refer you to a friend. In comes a consumer incentive programme to save the day. The statistics for these programmes show people signed up for a loyalty programme are 70% more likely to refer to a friend – thus, credibility grows.
Essentially, credibility stems from one person recommending your business.
Networking Over Hiding In The Shadows
Don’t hide in the shadow. Find your voice and network. Not all businesses network, but it is a surefire way to make positive connections, whether it’s with consumers or traders. Tons of networking events will allow you to put a face to the name of your business, and 95% of people agree that better business relationships are built through face-to-face meetings. The better the relationship, the more credible the brand.
Building credibility is a long journey. It’s essentially building a positive reputation that will lead to success, and there are many more aspects to creating a positive reputation than mentioned above. It’s crucial to research all aspects of building a credible business.
