Try being transparent… it might lead to better customer loyalty the cornerstone of staying in business!

What does ‘transparency’ actually mean in a business context?
“Business transparency is the process of being open, honest, and straightforward about various company operations. Transparent companies share information relating to performance, small business revenue, internal processes, sourcing, pricing, and business values. When something goes wrong in business, transparent companies don’t try to hide it. Instead, they’re up front about the issue.” FORBES

What are the benefits?
The benefits are numerous for any business, including employee satisfaction and retention, increasing sales, reputation and credibility.
If your business is honest and upfront, you might find that your customers/clients are more inclined to stick. A NeilsenIQ study in the US concluded that 94% of consumers would be loyal to a transparent brand.

Transparency leads to trust, and many consumers only want to be aligned with companies they trust – this is especially so with the advent of social media.

We are now in such an age of connectedness and competition that if you don’t capture a consumer’s trust early, they will simply move onto a competitor who can satisfy them.

Similarly, who wants to work for a company that is untrustworthy to, and lack transparency towards their customers?
If the company doesn’t respect their customers then they are probably not going to do the right thing by their employees either. Employees want to work for someone they can trust – they want to trust and be trusted.

That trust pays off because employees increase their loyalty, engagement, commitment and advocacy of the business.

Being transparent is not something that you might think about and get to at some stage when it suits you.

Transparency needs to be instinctive and it needs to be every where and every time in your business practices.

It’s not an easy commitment, but it is proven to work and can be liberating for your business.

Tip 1 – Look to your business’s core values with integrity, honesty & transparency needing to be at the forefront. Make sure ALL your leaders and staff are aligned and enshrine transparency as the cornerstone of your business to capture staff and customer trust and loyalty.

Tip 2 – Share information with your employees. There’s not much that your workforce don’t find out about the business over the grapevine, but being transparent about the positive and the negative things that are happening will at least indicate that you are willing to trust them and give them clarity about where the business is heading and how it is traveling financially. The water cooler is not the place to be finding out information about the business you work for. Good business leaders need to be transparent and proactive to take your workforce along with on the journey.

Tip 3 – Be transparent about the prices your business charges. If your business offers value for money then you have no reason to try and hide what you charge.

There is NOTHING that destroys trust faster than a customer finding out that a business has masked what they charge for products or work they have done.

Avoid using confusing language or documentation to hide the truth about your pricing information. If you have higher prices than your competitors be honest about it and justify why they are higher, right up front.

If your product or service is good enough consumers will pay more for it.

Tip 4 – Get to the point… fast. There is nothing like ‘obfuscation’ to illustrate to a customer or employee that you have something to hide.
It is proven that people prefer a business that doesn’t hesitate to share information.

Tip 5 – The truth is out there, so own it. The internet changed the world in many ways – one of which is making just about everything visible. Being transparent about your business (and sometimes personal) mistakes and experiences will ensure that the people you lead, sell to, or work for don’t find out by surprise. Mistakes do not always equate to failure – they can also demonstrate inexperience and being human. It is not the mistake that always destroys trust, it is trying to hide the truth that causes the most damaging disconnect.

Own your successes and failures and you might find that your employees and customers see you and your business as worthy of their trust.

BUT… being transparent should never give up information that is critical to your business’s viability and success – trade secrets, proprietary systems and security. Make sure your workforce is on the same page with you about these issues, otherwise damage might be done inadvertently. Remember the old saying, loose lips sink ships.

If you want to learn about the principles that provide the foundations of a successful small to medium business, we urge you to register for our upcoming Global Business Camp at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Surfers Paradise on 24-26 February, 2024. It provides 3 days of knowledge, skills and learnings that can launch your business to new levels of profitability and success. We have assisted thousands of business over 20 years of events, this could be the best investment in your business you have ever made.

Learn more and register at www.globalbusinesscamps.com.au