Trust Is A Business Asset You Can Practice with Kitt Letcher

Trust isn’t a warm, fuzzy value statement. It’s a hard business asset that lowers sales friction, increases repeat customers, and gives you breathing room when a project goes sideways. We sit down with Kit Letcher, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Central Oklahoma, to unpack what trust looks like on an ordinary Tuesday for small business owners, leaders, and teams trying to grow in a louder, more skeptical market.

We talk about why small business is Oklahoma’s economy, what’s changing in buyer behavior, and how a digital-first world means customers judge you before they ever call. Kit shares practical credibility checks you can run today: consistent phone numbers, matching website and social details, realistic hours, and authentic photos that reduce uncertainty. From there, we get into transparency and the “no surprise experience” customers want now: clear price ranges, written timelines, deposit expectations, and a simple plan for handling delays without burning trust.

You’ll also hear what BBB sees every day in complaints and reviews, why communication beats perfection, and how to turn policies into a two-sentence script customers can understand. We close with five trust multipliers, including proof of work content, and a mindset shift that makes reviews part of operations rather than marketing. If you want a stronger reputation, better referrals, and fewer avoidable fires, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a fellow business owner, and leave a review with your biggest trust lesson.

Follow BBB Serving Central Oklahoma on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @BBBCentralOK

Transcript

Small Business Drives Oklahoma

Digital-First Proof And Consistency

Transparency And No-Surprise Service

Women-Owned Growth And Referrals

Pricing Labor And Supply Uncertainty

Five Trust Multipliers To Use

Where BBB Fits And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you to the Oklahoma Small Business Exchange for inviting me to participate in today's events. And thank you to every business owner, leader, partner, and advocate who choose daily to build something that serves other people. My name is Kit Letcher, and I'm the president and CEO for Better Business Bureau serving Central Oklahoma. I know the BBB brand means something different to everybody. And for a lot of people, it means the place to go to check out a business, to potentially file a complaint or resolve a dispute between a business and a consumer. And sometimes it means having a really funny story to tell. But at our core, BBB is about one thing. We are about trust. Trust is not a soft concept, it's not a nice to have. Trust is a business asset. It lowers the friction in your sales process, it reduces the back and forth, and it increases your close rate. It boosts repeat business and it gives you grace when something goes sideways. And if you have been in business any length of time, you know things go sideways often. In a presentation like this, it's easy to give you stats and pretty general information from a really high level. But like you, I'm a business owner and I like tangible strategies. I want to make sure that we are offering you the high-level overview and also the strategies that you can take back to your team to make sure that they have real life experience ways to put trust into practice every single day for your business. Now, because trust is not something that you announce, trust is something that you demonstrate and you show on a daily basis. Okay, so let's start with the headline. Small business is Oklahoma's economy. We know from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy that Oklahoma has just under 400,000 small businesses here in Oklahoma. That is 99% of all businesses in Oklahoma qualify as a small business. Those businesses employ just over 700,000 individuals, which means that 50% of our actual workforce are employed by small business owners. So when we talk about small business health, we're talking about really everybody. It's not a niche audience. We're talking about local families, local tax base, and local health of our economy. BBB specializes in small business and we work with business owners on a daily basis. One of the things that I'm most excited about is the fact that entrepreneurship in Oklahoma is growing and it's thriving. We have seen 4,500 new business applicants in the month of December of 2025 alone. So we know that people are continuing to grow and innovate and create new business in Oklahoma. That's not a statistic to glaze over. It's something that's really exciting to know that even with the uncertainty of today's economy, people are still wanting to grow and to build. And the reality is that customers are still buying. They just buy differently, which for some businesses can be scary. Consumers are researching more, they're comparing more, they're waiting longer to commit. And if things feel unclear or inconsistent, it can be really hard for them to verify your business. We're going to talk about some ways in which to transform the uncertainty of your business. Because the third reality that we see businesses facing every single day is that professionalism has moved. And that's not because business has gotten worse. Businesses are doing a really great job, but the market has gotten louder. Customers are asking for more information, more clarity, more transparency in everyday actions. So they want to know: will you show up? Will you do the promises that you've made? Will you actually perform the services that we are expecting? And that leads us to the most important reality of all is that as Oklahomans, we are operating in a trust-sensitive economy. Businesses that remove uncertainty will win faster and often save more money. So how can we transform the current work that you're doing into more and better trusted businesses? And we're living in a digital first world. People are not finding your business by coming in to see you. They're finding your business online. You are being evaluated before you even get the opportunity to speak with somebody. So they're finding you in search results, in reviews, on screenshots, from a text, from a friend, and they're evaluating you like in their driveway and on their couch before they ever talk to anybody in your business. So they are coming to you with practical questions that make sense, like is your phone number consistent everywhere? Does your website match your social media pages? Do your service hours make sense? Are these real photos? We've talked a lot about AI, and people are looking at the pictures that you're taking of your business to make sure that they really are pictures that you've taken in person and not something that you've created online. One good tip that we would love for everybody to do is actually Google your business. What does it look like when you bring up the search results for your business? How are you showing up in every single category? The second trend that we're seeing is that customers are really demanding more transparency. And people are not demanding perfection, but solutions. They want clarity. They want to know how much things cost, truly, what's included and what isn't. What's the actual timeline for the services that you're going to render? What happens if things are delayed? Delays happen. Nobody's not expecting delays. But if that occurs, how does your business respond and react to that? And what's unfortunate is most of the complaints and bad reviews that we get don't start with, this is an evil business. I hate them. It starts with, they miscommunicated and I didn't know what to expect. So we would love to see your business create a no surprise experience. A no surprise experience creates things like creating a price range for different services that you may render. And you may not have a specific price point because it might vary, but giving somebody a level of expectation whenever they come and meet with you, putting timelines in writing, make sure that you understand and explain what deposits are going to happen. And if you have any errors that come up, a clear path to ask questions and get a resolution. The third trend that we're seeing, and this is a selfish one, but I'm really excited about it, is that we are seeing an increase in women-owned businesses. Currently, with the small business count that we have in Oklahoma, 44% of those are actually woman-owned businesses. And for us, that's exciting because it means diversified opinions, attitudes, leadership styles, cultures, the way in which business is approached. It also means that we're able to reach markets in a new and creative way. So what we want people to think about whenever we're looking at this is how do you diversify your vendor list? How do you diversify your networking group and make sure that you are being inclusive to be representative of the community in its entirety that you serve? You know, it's a great thing to understand your competition. But one of the things that I really want to highlight is when you understand how you operate as a business and who your target market is for your competition, it can actually create a referral network for you that is really, really important and really impactful because there's a lot of different things that we all do that is very similar. But the way in which we serve our customers looks different. And I'll use banking as an example. You know, most people in the US need some sort of financial institution that they work with, and there are thousands to choose from. And how we interact with them is all very different. For instance, my family, um, my husband's retired military, so we use USAA. The lifestyle of a military family, having really good access to online banking was a high priority for us. And being able to reach them 24-7 anywhere in the world is really important. My mother does not want an online bank. She wants to go into a local branch. She wants to sit down and talk to somebody. And if she has problems with her bank, like she wants them to pull up her records right there in front of her and go line by line and talk to her about that. And we have very different banking relationships, but we both need a bank. So those institutions understanding, you know, who's our target market, who's not, and how do we help them find a solution is important. And that's really what we're talking about when we talk about building trust. Because it's not just about how do I get as many customers as possible. It's how do I build relationships in a way that is impactful and meaningful and grows trust in a way that people will refer business back to us. Because when people say, I need a really great online bank, I refer my bank. And when they say, I'm looking for a banker who I can go and sit down with, I have other resources that I point them to that match their specific requests. So that's where I think it's important to understand your competition. And maybe they're not actually competition. Maybe they're a great referral partner that you can build a relationship with and truly grow our overall economy. The fourth trend that we're seeing that's affecting small business here in Oklahoma is really around economic pressures, pricing, labor, and supply chain unpredictability. Even when demand is steady, the cost of doing business is not predictable in the way that it used to be. And for a lot of small businesses, the pain points look like price increases that hit you faster, customers who are more price sensitive, and want justification and labor shortage. And we've talked about a lot about the unemployment rate and how good it is. But for a business, that means you have to be really competitive and work really hard to hire the right people. Just realizing all of those things affect you. And when you're looking at that compounded with potential supply delays that are out of your control, all of these things can really affect your reputation. This is where I think small business owners in Oklahoma deserve more credit than they get because you're often absorbing those costs, absorbing stress, and trying to protect the customer experience at the same time. And in this environment, the trust builder's not always having the perfect answer, but being clear about what you know and what you don't know yet, what customers can expect next. So the script we'd love for you to use is you know, here's the current estimate based on what we do know. And if anything changes, I'll tell you immediately and you'll have options working with people to find the best solution for them. You know, BBB has a unique window into the marketplace, and we get to see what happens between consumers and businesses every day. Consumers are looking for what to expect when a business has issues come up. And so they are looking for, you know, what's the process? They're about communication and they're about expectations. So if you can lay all of those things out for them, that really will help build trust and relationships with your consumers. The most common frustrations we hear from consumers is when they say, like a business didn't call me back, the timeline changed and nobody told me. The cost wasn't what I expected. I can't get a straight answer. I don't know who to talk to again because nobody calls them back. So the good news is all of these things are fixable. It's not a rebuild your whole company solution. It's truly operational upgrades that build trust. So moving into that final section, I really want to talk about how do we give you trust builder kind of tools to use in order to multiply trust in your business. So the first one is make expectations painfully clear. And when I say painful, it feels painful because it's something that we talk about on the regular, right? Like it's all the things that you know about your business. But make these things so visible as far as expectations. Make them visible on your website, proposals, invoices, follow-up emails. And it's things like here's how scheduling works, here's what a deposit does and what it does not cover. Here is our typical timeline. Here's what we need from you as the consumer. Here's how we handle changes and delays in any project. Most reputation damage happens in the gaps. It's between what you thought you said and what your consumer thought that they heard. So anything that you can do to make that really, really clear and transparent is truly going to aid your business in working with that consumer. Trust multiplier number two, create a two-sentence policy. Pick your most important policy, refunds, cancellations, warranties, whatever it is, and create a structure around it that says this. Here's what we do and why. Here's what happens if this is an issue. So around your refunds, here's what we do and why. And then if you're not happy, here's what happens if there is an issue. When policies are clear, customers feel safe. When policies are complicated, customers feel trapped and like you're trying to deceive them. Making them as clear and simple as possible will always work for you in the end. Trust multiplier number three is communication beats perfection. And here's the rule that we should all live by. Bad news does not get better with time. If you're delayed, if the scope changes, if the estimate changes, be sure to communicate that early. And you can use this, you know, quick update. Here's what's happening, here's what it means for timing and cost, and here are your options. What options do you prefer? And giving people the choice to make a decision that meets their, you know, the financial needs, their home life needs, whatever that looks like. Trust multiplier number four, build proof of work, not just promises. Customers don't want to be convinced, they want to be shown. So show your work before and after photos, short what to expect videos, team introductions, process snapshots, even a weekly tip that you could do on your social media that helps educate customers on something that you do in your business that they could utilize every day. This isn't about going viral. It's about reducing uncertainty. And our final tip is that trust multiplier number five, reviews are not part of marketing. They are part of operations. A review is a receipt for the customer experience. Create a consistent moment to ask. It has to be part of your everyday operations at completion of a service, at delivery, after a positive service interaction, after a major milestone. Then the trust power move, respond to those reviews. That's really the hard one because this is when we become defensive about our business. So making sure that you have a good way to respond. The way that we do that is acknowledging the review. You know, you're right to be frustrated. I understand. Make sure that you clarify, here's what happened, lay out all the facts so people have are talking about the right thing and we're all on the same page. And then create a solution. Here's what we can do going forward, and by when. So create a deadline and an actual call to action on your side of the business. So the question is, where does BBV fit in all of this? We are one tool in a bigger trust ecosystem, and we're really here to help business. We work on demonstrating credibility through our standards and accountability. We show up with a strong reputation footprint and we resolve disputes in a way that protect relationships. We are here to educate the market on scams and also help them make informed buying decisions. But the truth of the matter is that you don't build trust by joining something. You build trust whenever you practice it every single day and are consistent. We want to make sure that businesses are being transparent in that and that they're working with their teams and empowering them to build trust from the bottom to the top. And everybody's exercising that across the board. It's about daily practice and consistency. Oklahoma is full of business builders, and the best part of this moment is when people want to trust again, they know who to turn to and where to go to find businesses they can trust. They are searching for businesses that feel solid, honest, and consistent. And if you build that and you practice that, you won't just grow. You'll be the kind of business that shapes our community. Thank you for what you're building. Thank you for caring about the state of small business in Oklahoma, and thank you for letting me spend time with you today. I appreciate your time.