How to Build Trust for your Online Business

I’m a big fan of the book “The Speed of Trust” by Stephen M. Covey. One of the basic principles of the book is that trust makes business go faster and less expensive. In business, offline and online - trust matters.

When you’re a new ecommerce store, or when a visitor comes to your site for the first time, you are unknown and unproven. You have little trust built up with customers. In the offline world, trust is built by your storefront, merchandise, staff, and other cues. People know what to do to return an item and someone is there to answer questions.

Online a customer must rely on pictures of products. You can’t see the staff. Your customer has to pay for the item before they actually get it. They probably have many questions - like when their order will arrive and how to return things.

According to surveys these are the top concerns people have when visiting your ecommerce site:

• Is my personal information Safe and Secure?
• Can I Trust the site and the information on it?
• Does the site have a good Privacy Policy?
• Visitors to your site want to see an email address, street address, and phone number (we recommend a 1-800# with a service like MyAnswering).

Here are a few ways to improve trust on your ecommerce site

1. Add Pictures

You

Research has shown that adding a picture of a person helps sales for unknown brands. And don’t use that canned shot - people want to see real people. Put pictures of your staff with their names or even of yourself. This site does a good job of applying this principle: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com. Not only are their pictures of the owner but he invites you to read his blog. Another site that effectively uses this principle is www.DVO.com (notice how he uses video also).

Your Products

The more expensive or technical your product the more your customers need to see the details of a product. Post shots different angles and important details of your products. See this example: http://www.cot-tents.com/tents/Original-Tent-Cot_1.html

2. Post a Clear Privacy Policy

Visitors to your site want to know that you won’t sell their email address for any reason and that their credit card and other information will be kept private. This is especially important for email newsletters and at checkout.

3. Add Customer Reviews and Product Testimonials

Consider adding customer reviews or questions to your site. Even negative reviews give authenticity and credibility. Your visitors want to know what other shoppers have experienced with your products. If your product has an affiliate program you can use PowerReviews free.

Either use stories or reviews of your products submitted from your customers or quote reviews you find from other sources (like http://wize.com). Don’t stick them on a page by themselves. Instead, incorporate them into the product pages and home page. Amazon.com is one of the best example of using customer reviews to sell products.

Here is a site that lets customers add their comments to the pages of your site: http://www.instacomment.com

4. Incorporate Seals and Logos

Adding logos of trusted companies and seals can build trust. Trust Guard is an example of adding a seal to build trust with customers, so is Trust-e. You can even make your own seals saying, “Low Price Guarantee” or “100% satisfaction guaranteed.” Look at all of the ways this site: www.MyWeddingFavors.com uses logos and seals to build trust. Adding logos from well-known brands also lends trust to your less-known site.

Incorporating information about your store and your products is a great way to build trust with the people who come to your site. Apply these principles to help boost your sales and credibility online.

by Janet Meiners