As the consumer market continues to be flooded with tech-savvy Gen Y and Millennials, businesses have to continue the search for new ways to engage and keep up with their ever changing demands.

A conference presentation last week highlighted just how much the economy is developing towards a new type of currency; TRUST. Successful companies like Airbnb and Uber have thrived off this notion of trust which has opened the door to this new economy.


How do you build trust?

In order to build trust between your company and the customer, you have to look to reduce the gap between the known and the unknown.

Take Uber for example; you have a need to get from point A to point B. Uber can fulfil this need.

To reduce the unknown factors and build trust in your relationship with the driver, you are told in advance what kind of car they will be driving, the car’s numberplate, a GPS location of the car every step of the way, along with an estimated price and arrival time. You are also provided with a driver rating based on reviews from previous passengers. There are very few unknowns left in this equation. To ease the mind of the driver, passengers are also given a rating so engagement is only made with trustworthy customers.

Bringing this back to your business, start to take a look at the way in which you provide a good or a service and list out the number of unknowns your customers might be facing. Is there a way you can reduce this number and increase trust in your business? If you’re providing a service, do you have a platform available for people to leave comments and feedback?

Providing a channel for feedback, and responding to any comments made, assists developing a trusting relationship.

A few years ago, Quill incorporated Xero software into the way we provide our services to clients. If a need is identified for a new feature or there are questions on functions and use, there is a platform for these to be posted. This platform offers others the chance to answer the questions or request the same features which increases the likelihood of features being added and allows for Xero Support to respond to any questions posed.


What’s next?

The key to moving forward in this new Trust economy is to be transparent. Continue to look at the ways your business can make its processes more visible and respond to feedback in a timely manner to build trust in relationships. The market will soon be flooded with the tech savvy.

The question is, will you ride the wave into the future?