People wouldn’t get into an Uber, list their home on Airbnb, or hire a babysitter on UrbanSitter if they wouldn’t trust those companies to deliver a high quality and secure service. It seems that one of the main components of developing a relationship with customers and building a community of loyal ones is building trust. 

Nowadays, most companies simply would not work without consumer trust which is definitely crucial to running a successful business. A loyal customer base encourages customers to spend more and advocate for trusted brands. Word of mouth can make or break a brand. A study by Nielsen shows how word of mouth recommendations from family and friends spur the highest levels of action. Capturing this effect online should be one of companies’ highest goals. In sum, having customer trust enables the business to spread influence.

One of the most powerful ways to build trust with customers would be to establish relationships through building community. Without these valuable relationships, customers could become more confident and rely on other brands that are creating better relationships with their customers. The most loyal customers are also the most energized marketers. Engaging with top customers and directing their passion towards growing a community of users is the most authentic way to build trust in a user community.

Here are some initial steps, I find very useful in my day-to-day work, that might help you to build trust and grow your online community:

• Create a forum for customers to speak to each other and answer each other’s questions about a product or service.
• Identify what your user needs and identify your ideal user.
• Take the corporation out of the conversation as the first step in giving your customers the opportunity to speak sincerely, and connect with your brand. 
• Ask your customers what they want from you. Actively listen to their feedback and ideas. Showing that you are considering their feedback and making changes, will show them that their voice matters.
• Let your customers be human. As compelling and comprehensive as an online product can be, it can’t beat the person-to-person connection, so enhancing that wherever possible is always a good strategy.
• Encourage brand advocacy by encouraging customers to get involved with sharing and providing feedback about share brand-related information. Show you are thorough in your knowledge and expertise but creative and unique at the same time.
• Reach out to your most active customers and offer them the opportunity to be more involved. The most important thing you can do is turn a user into a referrer because that means they’ve had the ultimate great experience.
• Make life easier, not just your service. The more creative you can get in your friction reduction, the better. Then you don’t seem just user-friendly, you seem also thoughtful in resolving your customers’ issues.
• Have genuine initiatives toward social responsibility. Do what you can as a company to make the world better through activism– environmental, social, etc. Your customers will notice.

For further reading, I would suggest reading the article How to Build Trust, the Crucial Ingredient of Collaborative Consumption in which UrbanSitter CEO Lynn Perkins explains in detail how her company builds trust among customers by building a collaborative and unique online community.