Few things are as vital to work, business and personal relationships as credibility. From the times our ancestors developed hunter/gatherer groups, humans have sought to associate with people we trust — it is actually a hardwired survival instinct.
Recent experiences with a general contractor working on our home have reminded me of that topic. While they have not broken the letter of the law in our contract, they have broken our trust in their word.
Verbal assurances that have gone unmet and workers who don’t seem to be up to speed on project specifics create tension and distrust. That’s a toxic situation in any relationship.
Respecting people’s instinct to seek trust in relationships is even more important in banking. When assisting a customer, bankers must be clear about what they are going to do for them and when they are going to do it. Then, once those expectations are in a customer’s mind — whether big or small — financial institutions should move heaven and earth to meet them.
Something as simple as following up with a customer on a question or service request in the time frame they’re given can greatly increase or reduce their trust in their bank. When people learn they can trust a bank with small things, they are far more willing and likely to trust the institution with bigger items.
The opposite is equally as true. If a bank shows an inability to keep small promises, customers are highly unlikely to rely on you when larger needs and opportunities arise.
Sure, things don’t always go as we’d hope. If for any reason the expectations or the timeline we set is not met, we must be apologetic and honest when explaining why what we said would happen did not. Customers are not responsible for forgiving their banks, but banks are responsible for giving customers honest explanations and sincere apologies.
This seems like such a commonsense business practice that it would be standard operating procedure. Yet I repeatedly witness otherwise talented and well-meaning people needlessly lose credibility with customers and potential customers.
Most reasonable people realize that sometimes things don’t go as planned. They may not be happy about it, but they are willing to accept that it happens — if they sense that a representative is being honest. What most people cannot accept is when they begin to question the truthfulness of what they are told. When we set expectations in another person’s mind and then do not meet them, we lose something of great value: credibility.
When employees in branches and on the front lines are not up to speed with offers that are being made on bank websites or in marketing materials, doubts about their candor arise.
When banks encourage customers to make appointments in a branch but then make them wait extended periods once arriving, credibility and competence take a hit in their minds.
These types of small missteps are almost always unintentional, but they are not trivial matters. It can be argued that few industries rely on the trust of their customers more than banking. Customers trust the industry with one of the more critical areas of their personal and professional lives — their finances.
No mobile technologies or state-of-the-art branch facilities are more important than customers’ basic trust that we will treat them fairly, speak to them honestly and do what we say we will do.
Depending on the size of the institution, this trust is built or damaged thousands or millions of times each day as customers’ expectations are met — or not.
Promises are kept when workers treat people as they say they will. When bank managers greet customers as warmly in branches as they do in commercials, trust grows. When banks give them estimated wait times and meet them, they build trust. When employees follow up in the timeline and manner they said they would, credibility increases.
When every bank representative a customer interacts with is knowledgeable about the products and services offered, confidence in the institution’s competence improves.
When banks give customers appointment times and workers are punctual, prepared and ready to engage with them when they arrive, credibility rises.
Customers are not lacking in options for the products and services banks provide — the competition has buildings that are likely just as nice and their technologies are as user-friendly and convenient.
In this uber-competitive industry, earning customer trust is one of the last true differentiators. To do that, we do not have to attempt to be everything for everybody. We need to be who we say we are and do what we say we’ll do.
