This is my 80-year-old late father on a Go-Kart? “I wanted to show my grandchildren I could be a daredevil,” he explained. It was his label for being unexpectedly adventurous through risk-taking. And risk-taking is the foundation of customer trust.
We all live our lives on promises. From the time a child can grasp the concept of “cross my heart and hope to die,” there is a forever realization that anxiety can be only reduced through proof of trust while waiting for a promise to be kept. The customer trust gap—the emotional space between hope and evidence, between expectation and fulfillment—is bridged through actions that communicate care. But here is the secret to customer loyalty. The more the service provider uses obvious risk-taking to bridge the trust gap, the more it amplifies the customer’s devotion.
I was taking a fast-paced walk in my neighborhood. My route included passing the local grocery store we frequent. Remembering a few grocery items we needed, I interrupted my walk to shop. When the clerk rang up my items, I realized I had no credit card or cash. Almost instantly she said, “That’s okay. I see you in her often, I’ll just put the receipt in my cash drawer, and you can pay for it the next time you are here.” A daredevil move. Result? I would never shop anywhere else. Be a daredevil on behalf of your customers.