Your customers' real experiences will increase the trust of potential customers in your company. So-called social proof services will make a significant difference in favor of your company against the competition.

We live in a time when a sea of information is available for choosing a service provider. But does that make it easier to choose the right one? There is increasing talk about the paradox of choice. This states that the more information we have, the greater the possibility that we feel we are being misled.

The fear of deception and fraud is strongly present in people. Perhaps there are more scams now than before, or perhaps this feeling is simply a consequence of greater information accessibility. Consumers readily share bad experiences with their social circles and online. Much more so than good ones. However, don't worry. As a product or service provider, you have many opportunities to reduce this fear in your potential customers and increase their trust even before a purchase.

Trust in the provider is a key factor for purchase

Consumers typically gather a lot of information before making a non-routine purchase. In addition to basic information that influences the choice of the product or service itself, they primarily look for so-called trust signals for the provider. Any guarantee that the purchase will bring them satisfaction. They assess the company's responsiveness and transparency of information, and above all, they look for social proof – evidence of how satisfied existing customers of the company have been. According to a **BrightLocal** study, as many as 92% of consumers read about existing customers' experiences before making a purchase decision. Credibility is essential for trust, and customer experiences are the only real, verified, and trustworthy way to build provider credibility. For credibility, it's also important to allow potential customers to see all experiences, even the negative ones. If all experiences are positive, the customer will quickly doubt their authenticity.

Make the decision to improve the customer experience

By obtaining and publishing your customers' feedback, you will reduce the doubts of potential customers and increase their trust in your company. If you encourage them to share their experiences, the average satisfaction as seen by your potential customers will also increase. As we mentioned, consumers are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones on their own. Your customers' experiences also carry important information for you, not just for potential customers. From them, you will identify which improvements you can implement to further increase satisfaction.