“We are often told that the Virgin brand is one of the most powerful brands in the world; my current goal is to make it one of the most trusted” – Richard Branson

Getting someone to trust your business is not an easy task – and it can be made even more difficult when you are a smaller brand trying to battle against those who have money to spend on “trust” campaigns. But, there are ways to do it. Richard Branson’s recent article on Entrepreneur.com discussed trust, the fact that it isn’t taught in business school, and some simple ways to earn it.

He concluded that you need to:

1. Hire the right people – people who love and are passionate about the brand make earning trust easier and quicker.
2. Know your brand – when you are secure in the products and services that you offer, then your consumers will trust you know what you are doing.
3. Take risks, but not with your clients – expanding and growing is okay, but don’t do it at the risk of hurting your customers!
4. Keep in touch – check in on your clients often, make sure that if there is an issue, you are the first to know about it. This also helps with repeat business.
5. Be active online – This helps monitor both the positive and negative discussions, and keeps you in the loop in all arenas.

Are you trusted? Do you know?