12 Words That Enhance Trust OR Tighten the Relationship with Your Client

Are you coming across to your clients as a trustworthy freelancer? Our friends over at entrepreneur.com have posted a popular article on the importance of trust and how incorporating eleven different words into customer communication will go a long way to demonstrating your trustworthiness. 

Whilst the article is primarily aimed at bloggers (claiming that 68.52% of respondents to a survey agreed that a good blog added credibility to a website), the principles are greatly applicable to freelance translators too, who spend time communicating with clients and polishing marketing text to advertise their services.

This Translators’ Hub post will examine the eleven words from the entrepreneur.com article, noting how freelancer translators can apply each of them to their business. We’ll also contribute a twelfth word that we think is equally important too!

1. Trust
Should I ‘trust’ you? Whilst this seems obvious, using the word ‘trust’ in your correspondence will help validate your service.

2. Fair Price
Clients love to be given a ‘fair price’! Highlight that your translation services are offered at a fair price to stress that your client will be getting good value for money. Avoid using ‘cheap’.

3. Caring
Customers will certainly want to be treated with ‘care’. And the word ‘care’ is good to use not only in relation to how you treat your clients, but also in reference to the manner in which you will work on their documents.

4. Fair Treatment 
Everyone expects to be treated fairly – especially your clients! Mentioning that you provide your customers with ‘fair treatment’ will show that you handle your translation contracts impartially, conveying that you won’t exploit certain types of customer.

5. Quality
Describing your translation business as the provision of ‘quality’ services enforces the fact that you are distinguished from others. This also helps you to command higher rates – people are happy to pay more for quality.

6. Competency
‘Competency’ is a good word to show your clients that you have the relevant experience to perform translation services to the required level.

7. Sorry
Saying ‘sorry’ is important to maintain your client’s trust if you make a mistake when working on a document. Being apologetic shows you’re human, whereas failing to acknowledge a mistake will drive clients away from your business.

8. Change
Using the term ‘change’ to describe differences that will be affecting your business (such as raising your rates or discontinuing a service) allows your customers to acknowledge your growth, development or the influence of outside circumstances.

9. Never
‘Never’ is a strong word, and when employed in the right context it can convey your trustworthiness in a profound manner. For example, stating that you never leave your clients unsatisfied, or that you never ignore customer email, builds a glowing image of your translation business.

10. Always
Another forceful word, ‘always’ is useful to reaffirm your trustworthiness. You could say that you always deliver your work on time, or that you always offer exceptional value.

11. Privacy
When translating documents for clients, you’ll often be working on text that’s not meant to be displayed publicly. Sometimes, you might even have to take on highly confidential documents too. 

The importance of the word ‘privacy’ cannot be understated in these situations. Mentioning that you take every possible effort to ensure your client’s privacy, and pointing to the practical steps you take to achieve this, will be crucial for winning your clients’ trust.

12. Happy
People generally get on better with positive people. If you can show your clients that you’re ‘happy’ to work on their documents and provide your services for them, then it’ll go a long way to strengthening your bond and securing future work from the same client.

Final thoughts

Have you found it easy to maintain trust with your clients? Perhaps you use specific words to do this too? Please do share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!