11 CX touchpoints to create credibility and trust

Building credibility and building trust with customers can build a brand. Don’t you prefer to buy from brands you feel are authorities and trust completely?

Credibility and trust are about more than social media posts or slick websites (although they certainly help). You need to look at the entire customer journey and the customer experience (CX) touchpoints that make it up.

To help you do this, our guide includes 11 essential CX touchpoints with practical tips on how to improve them.

What are CX touch points?

Customer experience touchpoints are the customer’s interactions and encounters with your brand. These touchpoints can occur at different stages, from initial awareness of your brand to purchase and post-purchase, and can traverse multiple channels, online and offline.

You may already focus your customer service efforts on your personal sales or support line, but CX touchpoints help you cover the entire customer journey. Effective management of CX touchpoints is critical to building positive relationships and ensuring customer satisfaction.

11 CX Touchpoints and How to Improve Them

Now that we understand what CX touchpoints are, let’s uncover 11 of them and discuss how we can improve them.

1. Website

Have you ever thought about buying a product but were put off by an unprofessional or difficult-to-navigate website?

Your website is often the first interaction customers have with your brand. A professional and user-friendly website will quickly gain credibility.

Your website should be easy to navigate and mobile-friendly, and should always contain clear and accurate information about your products or services.

What’s more, make sure your online payment system is simple and functional. Including customer testimonials and case studies can also further build trust, so don’t be afraid to showcase them.

💡 Tip: Implement a live chat feature. A live chat option allows customers to get immediate help – meaning less frustration and greater satisfaction. It also provides a human touch to your digital presence, making the interaction more personal and trustworthy.

2. Social media

It will come as no surprise to you that social media platforms are powerful tools for communicating with customers.

Regularly posting valuable content and responding to comments increases your brand credibility. Authenticity is key; share behind-the-scenes views and real customer stories while always putting your core company values ​​at the forefront to build a real connection with your followers.

💡 Tip: Schedule regular Q&A sessions. Hosting live Q&A sessions on platforms like Instagram or Facebook allows customers to interact directly with your brand. This transparency builds trust and shows your willingness to engage and openly address customer concerns.

3. Customer Service

Your customer service team is another critical point of contact for establishing this important trust. How many brands have turned you off for life because of a bad experience with their customer service representatives?

Whether by phone, email or chat, providing quick and helpful customer support shows that you value their business.

Train your customer service team to solve problems effectively and empathetically, turning potential negative experiences into positive ones.

💡 Tip: Implement customer feedback. Actively seeking and implementing customer feedback shows that you value their input. Use surveys or follow-up emails to gather feedback, then share on social media or email marketing how you’re using that feedback to improve your products or services.

4. Experience in business

If your business has a physical location, the in-store experience is just as important as your online presence. It’s the physical CX touchpoint and the final hurdle to lead conversion.

Of course, you need to ensure that your store is clean and well organized. It should be easy to navigate thanks to attractive displays.

But the in-store experience is about more than meeting customer expectations, you have to exceed them. Your store should be staffed by employees who are well-trained and knowledgeable—and, of course, friendly. A positive in-store experience where customers feel welcomed and helped builds instant trust and encourages repeat visits.

💡 Tip: Train staff on personalized service. Equip your employees with the skills to recognize and respond to individual customer needs. Personalized service makes customers feel valued and understood and improves their overall in-store experience.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing enables personalized communication with your customers, even if you can’t chat with them face-to-face. But our email inboxes are easily cluttered with promo codes and sales reminders, so why should a customer open your marketing emails?

Sending tailored messages that meet your customers’ interests and needs shows that you understand and value them. You should include useful content that clearly demonstrates your expertise and brand.

💡 Tip: Use segmentation to personalize your messages. Segmenting your email list based on customer behavior and preferences will help you send more relevant and personalized content, such as cart abandonment emails. This targeted approach can increase engagement and trust as customers feel cared for on a personal level.

6. Content marketing

Publishing high-quality content like blogs and videos establishes your brand as an authority in your industry. Content marketing is essential to building credibility.

This is because providing valuable information without a hard sell builds trust and demonstrates your expertise. For example, if you are in the telecommunications business, creating a guide on how to use a VoIP IP phone system is useful and relevant to your target customer.

Of course, it is important that you ensure that your content is accurate. Do your research and remember to make it engaging.

💡 Tip: Publish case studies. Case studies can provide detailed examples of how your product or service has successfully solved other customers’ problems. This real-world evidence is a great way to build credibility when publishing original, useful content.

7. Sales representatives

Sales representatives are a direct and highly effective point of contact between your customer and your brand. Salespeople are often the face (or voice) of your customer experience, whether you’re calling customers from your B2B contact database or following up with previous buyers.

Sales reps have the opportunity to build personal relationships and solve individual problems in real time – much faster than an FAQ page or self-service portal. This personalized approach fosters customer trust and credibility because customers feel heard and valued.

💡 Tip: Develop a relationship building strategy. Encourage your sales team to focus on building long-term relationships rather than just making sales. This includes understanding customer needs and following up regularly.

8. Online Reviews and Testimonials

Online reviews and testimonials are incredibly important signals of trust.

It encourages satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google and Trustpilot. Make sure you respond to reviews – both positive and negative – in a professional manner to show that you value feedback and are committed to improving.

💡 Tip: Respond to all reviews immediately. Whether the review is positive or negative, responding quickly and professionally shows that you value customer feedback and want to proactively address their concerns. This response builds trust.

9. Customer Loyalty Programs

Implementing a loyalty or referral program rewards repeat customers and those who refer you to friends.

These programs should offer exclusive benefits and discounts or early access to new products. This will help you show appreciation for customer loyalty, ultimately building trust and encouraging ongoing engagement with your brand.

💡 Tip: Customize your rewards. Offer personalized rewards based on customer purchase history or preferences. This personal touch shows customers that you recognize and value their individual loyalty and strengthens their connection to your brand.

10. Subsequent inspection after purchase

It may sound old-fashioned, but contacting customers after a purchase shows that you care about their satisfaction.

Whether through a thank-you email or a follow-up call, this point of contact provides an opportunity to address any issues and gain valuable feedback. It also leaves a positive, lasting impression.

💡 Tip: Send a personalized thank you note. A handwritten or personalized digital thank you note adds a special touch to the post-purchase experience. It shows real appreciation and reinforces a positive impression of your brand.

11. Community Involvement

Our final CX touchpoint that can improve your business’s credibility is participating in community events and supporting local causes. You can interact with current and potential customers and showcase your activism online.

Being active in the community shows that your brand is responsible and committed to making a positive impact. This often resonates with customers on a personal level. Customers increasingly want to see socially responsible brands, and the more specific and local your efforts are, the better.

💡 Tip: Highlight your community efforts. Share stories and photos of your community involvement on your website and social media channels. This transparency of your social responsibility efforts can build trust with customers who value community involvement.

Final Thoughts: Map your CX touchpoints

Every interaction, whether through your website and social media or your customer service and sales representatives, is an opportunity to build trust and demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

You should map out the above CX touchpoints, create a customer journey and create a strategy. And if you implement the helpful tips above for each touchpoint, you can improve the overall customer experience and stand out from the crowd.

About autor

Lucas Rossi – Growth Marketing Manager

Lucas Rossi is Growth Marketing Manager at Dealfront, a leading platform that provides sales and marketing teams with data to close deals in Europe. Lucas plays a key role in refining Dealfront’s approach to data-driven decision making, leading to better lead quality and sales results. Lucas’s approach shifted Dealfront’s marketing position and placed it at the forefront of growth marketing.