Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
When you first go into business, people don’t know who you are, how you do business, which values and ethics you hold dear, and the quality of your products and services. You need to build credibility as quickly as possible.
There are many ways that you can effectively start to build credibility for you and your business. Some of the changes that you make in that direction will require very little time and effort and others will be a little more challenging.
Offering your products and/or services to a small number of people for a short time: You can offer to let people try your products and services (maybe the first 25 people who respond to you) for a month or two. This will give people the opportunity to get to know your offerings well enough to want to interact with you and to trust that you have some credibility and that you have expertise in that area. Of course, the call to action that you will request from them is to provide you with feedback on your products and/or services. Once you have gotten feedback from those initial 25 people, you can ask them for testimonials, which you can then use when you share your offerings with a much larger audience.
Use statistics and analytics: One of the most critical as well as one of the first things you should do to gain credibility is extensive research. It is extremely important that you gather statistics about your niche and how your products and/or services relate. There should be a great deal of information available online. You just need to look for it and present it to your target audience. It is critical that you identify issues that similar products have and then that you communicate how your products and/or services don’t have those issues. It always comes down to the same thing: the concept of WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). In other words, you need to identify the problems that your audience members have and offer them a solution to their problems. If you can solve their problems, they will consider that you are an expert in your field and that you are credible and trustworthy. All people want the same thing. They want a solution to their problems. It is a basic, human need. If you can prove to them over and over again that you know what you are talking about, your relationship and credibility will continue to build.
Building online credibility: Your professional (and personal) credibility is being discussed here; however, when it comes to building credibility online, it can be even more complicated. An extremely important way to build your online credibility is by sharing a large amount of well-written, well-executed, and appropriately shared content. Having a blog is an excellent way to do this. You should write and syndicate articles on a regular and consistent basis. Additionally, you should interact with other people online as often as you can. Your consistency will allow people to regard you as a subject matter expert and your name will be on the tips of their tongues when it comes to getting answers to their questions and solutions to their problems.
Another very important aspect of online credibility is networking. You need to identify the influencers in your industry and network with them so that you build solid relationships. Those relationships will carry you very far when it comes to your own credibility. Successful online interactions are successful because you put the other person’s needs and wants before your own. If you worry about satisfying the other person, they will, in a lot of cases, worry about satisfying you also.
Always keep your promises: As you are building your relationships (and your credibility), you must always make sure that you deliver on whatever you have promised the other person. If you set the correct precedent right from the start, it will carry you through the entire relationship. If people find you credible and trust you, they will vouch for you with other people also. Successful businesses are very dependent on people telling other people about your offerings, who, in turn, tell other people, etc. You need to make sure that you always demonstrate integrity and sincerity and people will want to do business with you and will keep returning to you over and over again.
Conclusion
You can’t have a successful business without credibility and trust. As you build your reputation as a subject matter expert in your industry, you will also be gaining many other valuable things as the same time, such as strong relationships that last a very long time and that are mutually beneficial. You will also see that people will be willing to vouch for you and your business and they will be happy to refer you to other people because they feel that you have done the right thing by them and made them feel that they really matter to you.
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Hi Carolyn,
Publishing top shelf, usable content persistently builds strong credibility.
People trust someone who knows How To. Persistently show folks How To, and you gain credibility. Your word or suggestion carries more power. Since you proved this with helpful content over a period of time.
Use YouTube video to drill home the human factor. Write a post and shoot an accompanying video. See a living, breathing person behind your blog instantly adds credibility to your brand, because you are real, and videos display your real-ness.
Thanks!
Ryan
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Online Ad Pros-NA
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
Its a pity you missed out on some of the most obvious factors around this statement Carolyn.
Firstly you are entering the world of business because you believe that you can offer an edge over all the others operating in the same space.
Next because you believe this, you are moving into this field as a business owner and would have had a track record in this particular field. Because of this and because you already know people and organizations looking to use your services, hence the move you are making, and you would have built up the initial trust in your brand needed beforehand that would sustain you at least during the initial stages through the good and credible name you have built for YOURSELF during the period leading up to this move.
Delivering on the promise and service offerings you have made would come from the business you do get from those willing to trust your good name, and the building of your business credibility would be reliant on how you manage these initial transactions, would you not agree?
Posted by Raphael
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Marketing Communication
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
Couldn't agree more. I set up my consultancy four months ago. All my clients have come from existing contacts. These are people I've worked with in previous lives and who know my work. I've found trying to convince a cold lead that their business could benefit from my services an uphill struggle.
Posted by Billy
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Group: Social Marketing Group
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
Good article.Building credibility takes time and patient effort.
Posted by Andy
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Group: Consultants Network | North America
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
Your last point is one soooo many do not do….Keep your promises/commitments. IF you are not sure you can do something say no. It is so much better to change your mind and come back to help or show up–nice to pleasantly surprise people.
People remember when you have said, yes and don't carry through. Don't kid yourself that they don't.
Posted by Kathy
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Professional Writers
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
I would say perhaps offer to collaborate with them on a project to help build the relationship. You may have to offer some pro bono services in the beginning to help build your reputation etc.
Posted by CA
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Guerrilla Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Discussion: Building Credibility in the Beginning of Your Business
An excellent list of steps to take. Thank you for sharing it.
Posted by Walter
This is in response Raphael:
I think you may have missed out on the point of the post. It was very well written for the person who is starting out in a new career. You do not have to be a consultant to start a new consulting business. There are roles that people carry out in their current or previous careers that lend well in starting their own business. Some may choose not to or may not be able to go after past relationships. In which case you need to start somewhere. Even if you did, reputation and credibility should be part of anyone's marketing arsenal. Everyone knows Coke and Pepsi, yet they never quit letting you all about who is better.
These are all great tactics for promoting yourself as an expert. A couple other ideas, in line with focusing on a niche, would be to produce white paper or other essential guide(s) to a particular issue or technology, thus establishing your credibility. Another route I've seen people take is to create a website forum for a particular technology (for example, SQL Server Central or OzGrid), although nowadays, you'd need to really focus your niche, and drive traffic to your forum to create a critical mass so that it's self-sustaining.
The overall goal though is to convert your expertise into cash–whether that translates to a higher salary or a business. Personally, I think it makes much more sense to do it as your own business, since there's much more upside:
–>higher income potential
–>more financial security (since your income comes from multiple clients instead of a single employer)
–>more flexibility (schedule-wise)
–>more freedom & potential for expansion/growth
Contrary to what some others have commented, focusing on a niche IS important–even though some technologies become obsolete. However, if you're strategic about picking a niche that's profitable, obsolescence won't be a concern. I have a 2-article series on my blog that shows exactly how to research and identify profitable niches. With a niche you'll:
–>have less competition,
–>have an easier time standing out, and
–>be able to charge more.
Oftentimes, promoting yourself as an expert will lead to freelancing/consulting work. Consulting is a great business model–either as a side business or with the intent of building it into your full-time endeavor–because a freelance/consulting business has:
–>low start-up costs,
–>flexible hours,
–>a high hourly pay rate, and
–>you likely already have the expertise to get started.
I started my own consulting business in January 2007 while working full-time and with 2 kids. I gradually built up a list of a few dozen clients–even during the lousy economy–so that I have a steady workload and income.
Since I started my consulting business, I've QUADRUPLED my former day-job salary, work less, and have a lot more flexibility.