Businesses that focus on earning their shoppers’ trust, amid the cost-of-living crisis, stand to generate stronger loyalty, footfall and sales, new research has revealed.
Trust “held the key” to maintaining customer spending in the current challenging times, with 64% of customers willing to spend more with businesses that they trusted, the study by The Institute of Customer Service showed.
With customer confidence at a “historic low of -19%,” the poll of 1,000 customers found that 81% held trust as a “very important” factor in deciding whether or not to use a business, while 95% said they were “likely” or “very likely” to remain a customer of a business they trust.
The top drivers of customer trust in organisations are that products and services are good quality (61%) reliable (56%) and that prices are transparent from the very beginning (46%).
In addition, 82% of customers also reported that they would be more likely to trust an organisation that gave them better customer service.
The Institute of Customer Service CEO Jo Causon said: “The appeal for businesses is clear – providing better service increases customer trust, and in turn customer retention and recommendation.
“In the face of a challenging economic environment, maintaining consumer trust can mark the difference between success and failure. But more than that, given the connection between satisfaction and trust, organisations with poor customer service place themselves as risk of wider reputational damage.”
