By now, we all know the Internet is not just a fad. The number of e-commerce websites grows every day. This means that even in a niche market, there is a chance that your competitors are also selling online. With this saturation, consumers are also often overwhelmed and concerned about issues like fraud or security.
So why would someone be compelled to buy from your website instead of another?
Here are ways to build trust with your website visitors:
1. Good web design.
If your website looks like it was designed in one hour by an amateur, it can appear untrustworthy. The same goes for a website built with a very obvious template. A slacking web design can give the impression of slacking product quality. It also paints a picture of common thieves who troll the Internet building “quickie” websites to scam people for a short time before they are shut down, and then they move on to the next “quickie” website scam. When a website looks like it “cut corners” on presentation, visitors may wonder if other important aspects are missing, like the security of their order details.
A great, polished web design gives an impression of the brand. It strengthens your presence as a worthwhile expert in your space. A well-designed e-commerce website reflects a company’s level of care for the business, which will present a sense of quality in the product or service being sold.
2. Clear pricing and product details.
You know that you sell the best quality widget in the world, and anyone who sees it will want it immediately. So the shopper is at your doorstep, they see the photo, and their brain screams, “I want that!”. But wait – how much is it? Where is the price? What exactly does this widget come with? Is there a big shipping charge?
The longer your customer spends wondering and browsing for basic information, the more likely they are to doubt the product and their desire to buy it. Don’t stall – tell them what they need to know to buy.
So what if the product happens to have a large price tag? Or what if it is custom priced? This is a legitimate concern. But you still want to ensure trust with your customer and not mislead them. You can tell them the starting price range of a product. You can share the benefits and the included features with them. You can present the pricing options clearly for them as they select certain options. (In this article we are discussing mostly retail-oriented products rather than custom quoted products.)
3. Payment gateway trust seal.
If you accept credit cards online, you should be using a standard payment service, such as the Authorize.net gateway. Once you have established your merchant account and the payment gateway service, you can include a “seal” on your website which signifies your acceptance with that service and your secure gateway setup. The payment service provider should have a snippet of code available for you to insert into your website to display this type of seal. The seal may consist of a logo image and the date of your account activation or expiration, showing it to be current.
If you use a service like PayPal or Google Checkout, they provide snips of code that will display the word “secure” and some symbols for the credit card types accepted. These types of seals will only display properly if you have an active account with the service provider, so it offers some assurance to the user.
4. Testimonials.
Let your customers sell your products for you. People are more likely to trust the opinions of outsiders who have experienced your products for themselves. This can be done by adding quotes from letters or emails your customers have sent you (but ask their permission to include a full name or company name), by including images of scanned letters that customers have mailed you, by embedding videos of a customer raving about your great product, or by embedding ratings from sources like Yelp and other review sites.