When offering services through a web app or a mobile app, it’s difficult to know who you’re dealing with on the other end. Companies understand that people are reluctant to give out much information about themselves, especially if they’re new to the brand and haven’t formed much trust in it yet. Therefore, while companies would like to be sure whom they’re interacting with, it’s a delicate balance to avoid asking for too much information too soon.
How can companies be sure who their customers are while respecting the limits of what people are willing to share?
Will Customers Willingly Share a Phone Number?
In most cases, not right away. People still worry about cold calling, and now, the advent of unwanted robocalls and more. Because of this, they increasingly guard both their home and mobile phone numbers. Usually, they will either only give a phone number out right away if it’s a spare line that they seldom use or answer, or only when they trust the brand or app.
How Can a Company Build Trust with the Business or Consumer?
If the brand is completely new to the business or consumer, then it’s necessary to develop trust from the beginning.
Here are some different examples of how to do just that:
Web Apps (SaaS)
A SaaS is likely going to be a new brand. The design needs to be clean, clear, and easy to use. Companies will often advertise to get the brand in front of the right people. It may encourage take-up of the SaaS, but it also develops familiarity. That familiarity then transforms into trust as they begin to engage with the site and see if it’s well-conceived.
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps offered in the Play Store for Android users or the App Store for iOS users are bunched together with many others. Therefore, they rely more both on customer reviews within the store and third-party reviews that will show up in a good search for “[their product name] review.”
Website
With a website, a combination of professional design, high-quality content, and online advertising goes a long way towards establishing the site as one to be trusted with private information.
Use a Verification Service to Know the Customer
Once the user is accessing an online site or a mobile app, it’s possible to request some identifying information for them. But how do you verify it once you have it? Companies should consider ID and verification screening. They can start with a name and phone number. Services are available, like the one from Cognito, that can verify people based on limited information through an active scoring system. Also, for other businesses, they can be verified too without the need for a manual review process. This saves considerable time.Being able to confirm with a reasonable degree of certainty who the person or company is that you’re hearing from is extremely useful. Whether they are interacting with the business via an app or a website, companies can be more assured in the age of AI bots that they’re dealing with a real person or business on the other end.
