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Let’s say you’re in an unfamiliar town and you want a coffee.

In front of you are two coffee shops.

One is a well-known brand like Costa and the other is an independent brand you’ve never heard of.

There are many factors that’ll influence which establishment you choose to go in.

But one of the biggest is what you think the quality of the coffee will be like.

This is where your subconscious does something weird.

You won’t choose the place that’s likely to have the best coffee.

You’ll choose the place that’s least likely to serve you shit coffee

And in this situation, that’s Costa.

Your brain is naturally risk averse.

There is a good chance the independent shop will serve a better coffee than Costa. But there is also a chance it will be worse.

So, your subconscious goes with the safe option.

Your brain might even justify you spending more on the coffee by telling you it’s the best.

But that’s not the real reason you bought it.

This phenomenon is one of the reasons decorators (and trades in general) get so much repeat business.

There might well be cheaper and better decorators around, but a homeowner will always choose someone that has worked for them before because trust has already been established.

Most people don’t want to risk being ripped off by a cowboy for the sake of potentially saving a bit of money.

They’d rather spend a bit more to go with the safe option.

So, if you want to charge more money than your competitors, you don’t necessarily need to be a better decorator.

You simply need to build a good reputation as being a reliable and trustworthy decorator.

This should happen naturally as your business becomes more established over time.

But don’t forget that part of building trust and reputation comes through your marketing. And a great way to do this is via social media.

Start sharing who and what you are. Use social media for what it was designed to be. Social!

Post regularly and engage in conversations.

Get on local Facebook groups and offer advice to people about your field of expertise.

And make sure people can see your face! I know most people are naturally camera shy, but it’s far easier for potential customers to trust you, if they know what you look like! So suck it up and do it!

The fact is, the more often you pop up in people’s inbox and on their feeds the more familiar you will be to them. Pair that with taking time to help people out as much as you can and you will quickly find you have a reputation as a trustworthy and reliable decorator.

Lots of people trust Costa coffee because they see them everywhere.

With the use of social media, everyone in your local town will see you everywhere. And with that will come trust…and ultimately more customers for your business!

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