The Importance of the Know Like Trust Principle – Are You Building Yours?

Unless you own a bakery that is the local’s favourite, chances are you will need to work pretty hard to get customers to trust you enough to buy from you. The first thing consumers notice before purchasing anything is the brand. Is it good quality? Is it worth the money? What makes them different from their competitors? Do I like their customer service? There are so many questions that your customers will ask themselves before making their purchase decision. This is where the Know Like Trust principle comes into play.  The know-like-trust principle is an unspoken rule that drives the business world. From the moment we wake up and have our coffee to the moment we go to bed, our day revolves around the know-like-trust principle. How is that so? Well, you like to sip on the coffee you always buy because it has proven to be the best and now you trust that brand. You read the news from a reputable portal or magazine that you trust. You go to sleep and wrap yourself with sheets and blankets from your favourite brand simply because you love and trust their quality. And the list goes on. This unspoken rule of know, like, and trust factors is the pillar of a strong business.  Read on to find out why the know-like-trust principle is so important for your business and how to get your audience to trust you, your business and the services or products you provide. 

Connect with the audience

Customers feel a better connection to a brand they can relate to and know it understands their needs. Helping the audience get to know you can be done in many ways. For instance, if you have a website, sharing information on your “about” pages will tell the audience everything they need to know about you and your business. But adding a “why” section is a step closer to gaining trust from that audience. Here they will find out more about you, what you stand for, your value, your personality, and a lot more information than just a logo and a brand name.  Mention the sport you are passionate about or talk about how you came to work. This way, the audience gets to know a different side of you, one they can reach very easily. Because now, they feel they know you and want to get to know you even better. 

Show the audience you are likeable

When your audience gets to know you, you have to show them you are likeable. This can be done in so many different ways, starting with your social media content, podcasting, the language you use in your advertising and more. It is important to use content that is relevant and genuine, as opposed to sending clients emails with special offers.  In our previous blog, Branding in 2021-What’s Changed? we speak about how branding sets you apart from the competition and sparks a connection with your audience. “You must have heard of the expression “targeting everyone is targeting no one.” It’s absolutely accurate thus, creating customer personae is crucial to identify whom to target and target that someone precisely. Also, it will help you speak their language when communicating through content, and this language is also known as keywords.”  On the road to being liked, you also need to prepare yourself to be disliked. Just as you like one brand more than the other, the reverse is also possible. And by no means should you let this stop you from getting the right audience to like you. 

Build Trust

Since people buy from the people they trust, you want people to trust you implicitly. So how do you get the audience to trust you? By being consistent with the know and the like factors of the know-like-trust principle. To help you gain trust and with that loyalty, you need to go back to the basic principles of what makes a great brand. Here are some of the most important ones:

• Communication: daily communication helps people get to know you and your business. The more people know about your business, the more they trust you. When communicating, always be transparent with your answers, as clients will know if you are not telling the whole truth. When they realise you are holding back parts from your answer, they will more than likely turn away from you. 
• Get customer testimonials: collecting testimonials from satisfied customers is an excellent way to show the world that your business works. The majority of customers read online reviews before deciding to make a purchase.
• Compelling content: Ads only will not keep anyone interested, so try to make your content as enjoyable as possible. Keep it authentic, informative and inspirational, and you are one step closer to gaining the trust you want.

Finally, it all comes down to how you are building your know, like and trust factor. Follow these simple steps, and build a strong know-like-trust principle that will surely take your business to the next level. At K&K we help startups and SMEs build their brand on strong foundations with small business legal documents. Having bespoke legal documents to support and protect your business as it grows is crucial. If you’re interested in finding out how we can help you get in touch today. You can also check out our Services page too.