3 Reasons Transparency is Important in Business

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Some companies approach customer service as the tip of the iceberg. Everything happens “under the surface.” Most of the time, this approach works out just fine. Customers usually never know when something has gone wrong (e.g., the item they ordered comes overnight delivery but not early because the warehouse was sold out and they had to get the order from a store location) or they find out after the fact (e.g., a notice that your delivery will be delayed because your item is on backorder). The problem is what happens when they do.

Trust is Key

Even if the company is able to make right on the issue and you still get the item you ordered in perfect shape and on-time, it creates an air of mistrust. Anything could have gone wrong and caused that company to fall short of your expectations. However, if you let your customers know what happened and what you are doing to correct the issue, you can build trust and make your customers feel valued.

People are Cynical

The problem is that people are increasingly cynical. They don’t trust businesses to do the right thing anymore. They don’t believe that companies tell the truth or have their customers’ best interests at heart. Part of it is the problems in the economy while the other side is that social media is making it easy for victims to publicize when businesses let them down. They leave reviews, post on social media, and leave comments that can be seen by people on the other side of the world — people who may not even be in a position to experience the same fate (like avoiding a pizza place because the delivery driver was rude at the Texas location when you live in Maine).

Authenticity is Important

In this climate, you have only two options — become authentic or be at the mercy of your reviews — but it isn’t always that simple. In some cases, the public will have a perception of you that you do not deserve. It could be that a customer didn’t understand one of your policies and felt like they were being scammed (e.g., all sales final, returns must be completed within 30 days) or maybe your company didn’t provide enough details to help customers make an informed decision (e.g., the pants are cropped on the model but too long for the buyer). Either way, the more you can explain these policies and inform your customers, the better. Take Amway, for example. The company was once accused of being an scam. Rather than simply refute those claims, Amway has shared pyramid scheme facts that both explain risks to consumers and illustrate why Amway is not a pyramid scheme.

Moving Forward

Being honest as a company is one of the smartest business moves you can make. In this modern environment, trust is essential, and it is your job to build and foster that connection with your customers. People are inherently cynical at this point, and they need to see that you have their best interests at heart, or at least within reason. Authenticity is important. It may even be the thing that helps your company stay afloat in the face of false allegations or bad reviews.