5 Tips for Earning Customer Trust Over The Holidays
Every brand wants to gain customer trust, no matter the time of year.
But there’s nothing like achieving this over the holidays. These are the times when customers spend more and have a generous spirit to give and support their favorite businesses.
So, failing to win their favor during the most wonderful time of the year is like forgetting to put the lights on the Christmas tree.
Without it, the magic doesn’t feel complete.
So, how can you continue to show your customers they can trust you to meet their needs when it counts the most?
Here’s a complete guide on how to do just that.
How to Win Customer Trust During the Holidays
Customers want frictionless experiences. They value these experiences so much that 50% of them are willing to switch to a brand with less friction in the shopping experience.
That’s what gaining customer trust boils down to—creating less friction throughout the customer experience. But when the holidays come around, there are quite a few points of friction customers face.
They often…
- Worry about increased fraud
- Deal with shipping delays
- Experience long wait times
- Battle with shipping delays
Below, we discuss some strategies to help your business avoid these issues and deliver a customer-centric experience that reduces friction during the busiest season of the year.
1. Address Their Concerns
As we mentioned above, customers deal with all kinds of problems when they’re shopping during the holidays.
So, the number one thing to focus on is reducing this friction. Give customers an easier way to checkout without logging in. If an item is out of stock, suggest similar products.
Can’t get your product to customers in time for Christmas? Offer multiple order fulfillment options like same-day delivery, in-store pickup, or curbside pickup.
Best Buy does this. If a customer doesn’t want to wait for shipping, they can choose store pickup. And their item could be ready within one hour.
Screenshot provided by the author
So, you’ve done all you could do to make the customer experience (CX) more pleasant and less stressful. But unfortunately, you can’t please everyone.
What happens if a frustrated customer comes to you and you fail to alleviate their problems? You lose their trust, right?
Here’s how to avoid that:
- Provide excellent customer service and allow customers to get help through multiple communication channels, including phone, email, live chat, or even social media. An intranet solution can be a game-changer during the hectic holiday season. By streamlining team communication and keeping everyone on the same page, it helps support consistent and reliable service for customers. When your team works smoothly behind the scenes, it builds trust and confidence with your customers, even during the busiest times of the year.
- Give customers your full attention. Listen to listen. Don’t listen just to respond. Let customers explain their concerns without interrupting.
- Show empathy and apologize for any inconvenience the customer has experienced.
- But don’t just apologize. Focus on real solutions, like offering a refund, replacement, or discount. After you resolve the issue, follow up to make sure they’re satisfied with the solution. This shows you care about their experience.
- Be transparent about various aspects of your business. This includes manufacturing, sourcing, product limitations, and pricing.
- Don’t wait until a problem arises. Be proactive about building client trust. Use storytelling, community involvement, and participation in projects so that there’s no question about your mission and values. This will address concerns about ethical practices or corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Speaking of being proactive, blogs are highly effective in addressing customer concerns before they become major issues.
Blogs give customers the information they need to make informed purchase decisions. And even if a customer isn’t planning on making a purchase any time soon, your articles help position your brand as a trusted authority in your industry.
So, when it comes time to buy a product or service, those potential customers are likely to keep your brand top of mind.
Consider this: Let’s say you’re a business specializing in metal building ideas. To earn customer trust during the holidays, you can create blog posts highlighting seasonal solutions.
For example, a post titled “5 Metal Building Ideas to Enhance Your Home This Holiday Season” could showcase uses like creating a cozy backyard workshop, a storage space for holiday decorations, or a sturdy carport for winter protection.
Including real-life examples, customer testimonials, and tips for customizing metal buildings demonstrates expertise and reliability.
2. Engage Through Multiple Channels
Multi-channel engagement is another great way to build customer trust during the holidays. Combining channels like email, social media, and in-store promotions helps you ensure a consistent and cohesive experience.
Consider using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to manage these interactions and create positive experiences that resonate with each customer.
Let’s look at an example of a brand that aces multi-channel customer engagement.
Beaches of Normandy Tours shows how combining discounts, engaging content, and customer testimonials can earn trust during the holidays. The company, which offers historical WWII tours across France, uses over 400 positive reviews from past travelers to highlight the quality of its services and build social proof.
These testimonials add credibility and reassure potential customers about booking their tours.
Beaches of Normandy’s Facebook page engages its audience by sharing WWII quizzes, facts, and blog articles about historical successes.
This content is informational and resonates with its audience, who actively interact with these posts. Pairing this approach with holiday discounts creates a compelling mix that builds consumer trust while encouraging bookings.
By focusing on authentic testimonials, meaningful content, and timely discounts, Beaches of Normandy Tours demonstrates a practical way to connect with customers and inspire confidence during the holiday season.
3. Balance Privacy and Personalization
65% of shoppers check out ads and promotions before deciding to buy something. And personalization can help make these ads more effective.
So, use targeted promotions and unique product recommendations to deliver a personalized experience and show customers you’ve taken the time to understand their needs and preferences. This can increase their chances of making a purchase.
But be mindful of data privacy. Consumers are concerned about how companies gather, store, and use their personal data. In fact, 37% of users have stopped dealing with a company over data.
So, as you personalize the CX with a data-driven strategy, be honest and transparent about how you use data and where it’s going. You should also give customers the opportunity to opt-out, with no penalty for doing so.
4. Communicate Clearly and With Honesty
As customer confidence increases, so does customer loyalty. Think about it. If customers feel secure shopping with a brand, they don’t mind spending money, sharing their personal information, or recommending the company to others.
This is even more important during the holiday season. Consumers are often spending more money than normal. Emotions are high. More and more fraud is happening as customers are in a hurry. So, many people are more likely to fall for phishing scams, fake deals, or fraudulent websites.
And that makes the more vigilant consumers even more skeptical about where they spend their money. So, to stand out in this sea of uncertainty, make sure you’re being transparent about your products, prices, and policies.
If you’re running seasonal sales, be as clear as possible in your messaging. Customers shouldn’t misread your promotions. And they should know exactly how much they save compared to regular prices.
5. Ensure Strong Site Security
In a survey from October 2024, 66% of U.S. consumers said they’d make at least half of their holiday purchases online.
That means most people will browse e-commerce sites to shop for themselves and their loved ones this holiday season. They’ll be creating accounts with passwords and email addresses.
And most importantly, they’ll be sharing their credit card information. Given the threat landscape, it’s important to protect these shoppers’ personal data.
If you haven’t done so already, you should be hosting your site in HTTPS. This makes it more difficult for your site to be the cause of a data breach.
Also, add your security badges, privacy policy links, and customer reviews and ratings on every page of your website. This helps customers feel safe and secure when sharing their personal information.
Look how Zara includes its privacy policy right on its homepage. At the bottom, you can see a message that clearly states, “DO NOT SELL OR SHARE MY PERSONAL INFORMATION.”
And when you click that link, it goes to this pop-up, which lets customers choose how Zara shares and stores their information.
Wrapping Up
Bottom line: Customers spend money with brands they trust.
So, this holiday season, make sure you’re doing everything in your power to earn and keep that trust.
Ask yourself, “Is the shopping experience I provide one that makes my customers want to keep coming back?”
This is a good one, too: “Do many of my customers experience friction?” And lastly: “What can I do to give holiday shoppers peace of mind that my brand is one they can count on?”
Featured image by krakenimages on Unsplash
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