Jackson: How to Build and Maintain Customer Trust

The foundation upon which all meaningful relationships are built — including dealer/customer relationships — is trust. It’s a word that’s battered around and referred to ad nauseum, but little has been written about how we can identify or build trust.  The word may seem to stand alone as self-evident, but it’s not. 

Previously in MTD, I wrote an article about why customers choose to stay with a particular supplier, with trust being the key factor.   

The purpose of this new article is to describe what trust looks like, how it feels and methods to build and nurture trusting relationships with your customers. 

Trust is knowing that another person or organization is there for you, without concern for personal interest. It’s a two way street. Trust must be mutual. Both parties need assurance that the other has their back, no matter the situation. Trust is built in stormy weather when a problem needs a solution. Only when two people realize that they will work together to resolve a situation, no matter how ugly, is trust established.  is extends to organizations, as well. Any organization, including your business, has a personality. Customers want confidence that your organization cares enough to absorb their pain or concerns and will meet them with a workable answer. 

An example of this kind of trusting relationship might help paint a picture. My wife died suddenly many years ago. When I called my friend, Tim White, to tell him about the tragedy, he answered, “I’ll be there.” Was he ever! I didn’t see Tim until the funeral, but the funeral director asked me prior, “Do you know Tim White?”  The director told me that without my knowledge, Tim had been managing details quietly for several days behind the scenes, so that our family could focus on grieving.  

Tim expected nothing and had spent time and money being present, though he lived 500 miles away. I did not “owe him one.” The funeral director ended our meeting by saying, “That’s a quality person.” He could not have been more right. Tim White went from being a good friend to someone to whom I knew I could entrust my life. He knows I have him covered, too.  

Trust isn’t only built in catastrophic times of crisis. It’s reinforced in millions of various interactions which convey that within the relationship, we are caring partners in each other’s success.   

These touch points say, “We are in this together, good and bad.” And they don’t set the expectation that someday, we’ll call in “a chip” or expect payback. True trust is not formed under a quid-pro-quo assumption that you are owed something in return. A quid-pro-quo relationship is transactional — “I do this and you do that.” I have been in situations where someone will say, “You’re going to owe me for this.” I have often responded, “Then just forget it.” Both parties realize that a great favor or service is occurring, but placing expectations for repayment runs counter to building trust. 

Here’s the corollary to this concept. If one party is always giving and the other never seems interested in reciprocating in like spirit, it’s a one-sided relationship and not a true, trusting relationship. 

Not all relationships are destined to become trusting relationships. Not all people, including employees and customers, are receptive to — or interested in — building trust. In these cases, we provide good service or help within the bounds of profit margins and physical capabilities. But we will not move heaven and earth for them. 

Let’s examine another example of what trust looks and feels like. In our example Rob is the customer and Dave is the supplier. Rob’s car broke down two miles away from Dave’s shop. Rob walked to Dave’s shop in a panic. He has a critical meeting he’s going to miss, leaving his child stranded at school. Dave gets  

Rob’s keys and gives Rob the keys to his own personal car so he can attend his meeting and pick up his child. When Rob succeeds at both of his tasks and returns to Dave’s shop, Rob’s car is in the parking lot — fixed and ready to roll. Rob, with gratitude in his voice, says, “Wow, how much do I owe you?” Dave, smiling, says,  

“Nothing. It was only an adjustment to a part.” Amazed, Rob says, “Listen, I really owe you.” Dave responds, “No, you don’t. I’m just glad we could help.” 

In this scenario, Dave’s actions qualify him for sainthood — or at least auto service provider of the year. Fast forward three months and Rob sees Dave at the grocery, Dave tells him, “My wife is sick and I’m staying home with the kids. I guess I won’t open the shop today.” Rob tells Dave, “I’ll come get the kids and they can stay with us today. Go open your shop.” (This assumes that the two know each other well already.) 

The above scenarios are exaggerated, but you get the point; a trusting bond is established upon which they can continue to enhance and grow. Both care for each other on a personal level. They are partners in success — in good times and bad. 

Suppose Rob had told Dave in the grocery store, “Ah, that’s tough luck. Hope they feel better soon.”  

The relationship would still exist, but it would not be a mutually trusting relationship. The loop was not closed in that case and the trust remained one-sided. Both Rob and Dave have not proven that they deeply care about each other.   

Rob cares about what Dave can do for him. That’s a higher level of a transactional relationship. In business, we gladly accept this relationship, but we cannot define it as trust. Instead, we’re shooting for win-win, but at a heartfelt level. 

As mentioned, organizations and companies have personalities and must build trust with customers and clients.  

Building a company that customers can trust is difficult because it asks the entire company to deeply care about the customer. Touch points become the key here.  

Whatever functions within a company come into direct and indirect contact with the customer must embrace and display deep caring for the customer and their success. Perhaps the customer service team cares for the customer at a personal level, but if the credit department does not, the organizational personality is not open to building trusting relationships. 

Salespeople are the tip of the spear in a trusting dealer/customer relationship, but all support functions that touch the customer contribute. Consider it like the human body. When the heart — let’s call this “sales” — functions, but the lungs and brain do not, the body will not thrive, let alone survive.  

Organizations must function as a whole, committing to making all touch points an opportunity to build trust. 

Naturally, the customer must be open and eager for a trusting relationship. If the company allows the customer, say, extended credit terms on an order and down the road the customer forgives a critical order that goes astray, then a trusting bond is being formed. Both are working as partners, especially when things go wrong. Both the company and the customer work diligently on maintaining and growing their trust together. 

The skills for building trust between tire dealerships and their clients are the same as between people, with this caveat: ensuring all functions think as one regarding the importance of trust. This is no easy task because the organization has so many people flowing into one collective personality. 

Trust is not guaranteed forever — just ask any divorce attorney. Trust may diminish over time. It requires nurturing, bolstering and reaffirmation over time.  

We can feel and see when trust is weakening. Trust bonds are loosening if the customer begins to seem less-committed and does not interact with your dealership as frequently or simply becomes a ghost. If the customer begins doing business with a competitor, something has diminished the bond of trust within the relationship. 

It’s important to do a trust checkup before you reach this point with a customer. Each tire dealership determines the cadence and method to conduct a trust checkup with its customers. However, the key question you need answered by the customer is, “How are we treating you and are our solutions for you still relevant?”  

Finally, we cannot measure trust in dollars and cents. Trust does not fit neatly onto an Excel spreadsheet. But trust shows indirectly on financial statements. When you care about your customers at a deep level, they tend to spend more money with your company. When you focus on their needs instead of your own needs, they believe in you and reward you with additional business. That you can measure on your business’s financial statements. 

In the beginning, trust is spelled with a small “t” through small acts of caring and fairness. But as both parties up the trust ante, the relationship grows and blossoms.  

When the customer can depend on your company and your company can depend on the customer, trust is driving the relationship.