Reasons People Don't Trust Companies

Building trust may be the most important way to gain customers. And yet, many companies come across as untrustworthy, without knowing it. From Hubspot, here's a list of 21 ways that companies get in their own way by appearing untrustworthy.

Erratic Website Design
Messy sites are perceived as symptomatic of a messy company. Distracting, cluttered or slow loading sites can also evoke fears of viruses.

No Way to Contact Someone
Not offering contact information gives the impression that you're willing to take a customer's money, but not willing talk to them.

No Pricing Information Available
Give visitors at least a general idea of the cost of your products or services. Otherwise, customers will assume you are only trying to sell to them.

Vague Copy
If customers don't understand what you're trying to say, they will assume you are being deliberately evasive.

Spelling/Grammar Errors
Spelling and grammar mistakes indicate a lack of professionalism.

Writing for SEO, Not for People
Search terms used in writing need to make sense to actual humans.

Lack of Thought Leadership
Build credibility and authority through quality content.

Bait and Switch
Represent your content and offers fairly and accurately.

Overly Personal Form Fields
Don't ask for personal information from leads unless the reason is apparent.

No Visible Privacy Policy
Let leads and customers know that you won't share their information with third-parties.

No Organizations Vouch for You
E-commerce sites and service businesses need to demonstrate legitimacy via third-party badges like BBB, VeriSign and TRUSTe.

No Customers Promoting You
Customer testimonials can convince leads and prospects that you're safe.

Bad Online Reviews
Monitor and address negative online reviews.

No Social Presence
As social media has become ubiquitous, companies with no presence don't look savvy or organized.

Not Engaging in Social Media Conversations
Maintaining a social media presence means answering questions and having conversations.

Defensiveness
Take an apologetic approach to social media disagreements.

Emailing People That Didn't Opt-In
Avoid being seen as a spammer by only emailing leads that have requested emails from you.

Unsubscribing from Email Is Difficult
"Unsubscribe" buttons in emails are a legal requirement. Make them easy to find and make sure they work.

Poorly Targeted Email Content
Poorly targeted email content makes people feel like a sales target.

Emails That Always Trigger SPAM Filters
Make sure you're optimizing your emails for the inbox.

Be Excellent to Others
Build trust by proactively showing customer, fan and employee positive feedback.

View Original Article