4. Licensed to sell
There’s more to selling on the web than the ubiquitous ‘for sale’ sign. Customers will only buy from you if they think you’re ‘legit’. So show them you’re trustworthy.
We desperately want visitors to our site to trust us and consume, but we have to win that trust. There are some simple tools that can be used to make them consume with trust…
Who Can You Trust?
Web users are becoming ever more trusting and willing to try and buy from new sites, but they will be looking out for some indicators, from you, that this is a safe plan of action. Although ultimately you’ll be judged on the quality of your web site and the information it contains (and, if you’re selling, your service to the door and the quality of the end product), you can help put your visitor’s mind at rest with some simple visual points of reference or anchor points.
How Secure Is Your Socket?
If you’re selling across the internet, you’ll already have an online payment processing solution for e-commerce merchants that allows your site to easily and securely accept and process credit card, debit card and purchase card payments (SSL encryption). But does your customer know this? It’s essential that you reinforce the safety of your site whenever possible. Although bamboozling your customers with needless technical data may scare them off, a simple mention, both in your help pages and during the order pipeline (about the time you’re asking for their card details), is both courteous and sensible.
Courting Consumers
Like them or loathe them, consumer organisations carry clout and influence the buying habits of the general public. Depending on your industry, there may or may not be a specific consumer organisation you could contact, but there are certainly generic groups that are worth getting into bed with.
If you can get a certificate or statement (usually a small graphic that can be added to your homepage) that shows an independent judge or panel has tested your site and is satisfied with how you operate, the user will immediately know that other real people have ordered from you before and have actually received goods for their cash!
Scratch My Back…
If your site is more community focused than commercial, there may be a web ring you can join. These are simply groups of sites with similar interests which agree to have reciprocal links. Although you may lose a few users when they follow the web ring link away from your site, you’ll also be gaining users who likewise pass on to you.
You could contact the owners of sites that are similar to your own, but not competitive. If their information, services or products are related in some way, then mutual endorsement might prove beneficial. With the endorsement, the user will have greater confidence in the site they are visiting, and there will be a highly visible link to the related site.
You Got a Licence For That?
If you have any relevant qualifications, awards or endorsements, shout about it. If your web site is offering users advice or information, spell out why your visitor should trust you (or give you money). If you’re a doctor, mention it; if you have been operating for fifteen years (not surgically; the patient probably wouldn’t survive), mention that. Have you been approved by a governing body? Do you have a licence to practise? Are you a member of a professional organisation?
Spell it out for the user and let them see that you’re no fly-by-night operation or self-styled guru (unless, of course, you are a self-styled guru!). Your web site is your CV and your waiting room – it should contain the same information as the user would expect to find in either (except maybe the ten year old housekeeping magazines).
Communication Breakdown
The old maxim ‘treat others as you would expect to be treated yourself’ really is true when it comes to communicating with your customers – especially if you are taking their money. Although you’ll be sending out a receipt with the products, that could be in a few days or a few weeks. You must, if only out of courtesy, inform customers that (a) you have received their order and (b) their order has shipped (when applicable). Consumers are getting better at trusting internet retailers, but the thieves just find new ways to steal, cheat and embezzle. If you’re expecting consumers to trust your company, at least confirm that you’re legit, on the ball and contactable, by ensuring that your site (or, more accurately, the database) is sending out auto emails whenever an order is received/shipped. Cost of implementing: negligible. Cost of not implementing: lost orders, customers, goodwill, trust…
The same can be said for online forms. Even if it’ll take you days or even weeks to answer the questions, acknowledge receipt of the email or online form with a simple courtesy auto email, thanking them for their question and promising a speedy response.
Can I Get a Receipt For That?
It defies belief that any honest, supposedly reputable company operating above board can still be shipping orders to customers without the inclusion of an invoice/receipt for the products. Not only is this a legal requirement when selling goods or services, it’s simply good manners. Although each country differs slightly, the general rule of thumb is that you should include the product or products that have been bought, the quantity, the price paid, any tax (VAT, state tax, etc.) incurred, a unique reference number, the date, your address and the buyer’s address. It’s really quite simple – and if you have a transactional web site, then this information is all being captured anyway. Provide the customer with it all, or face very expensive and possibly freedom arresting consequences.
How did it go?
Q. Our web site has only been operating for a year, but the directors want to give the impression that we’ve been around a lot longer. What can we do to give the impression that we are established?
A. You don’t have to specify years in business if you feel it’s detrimental. Do include other information though about qualifications, awards, etc. Show how well qualified you all are, and why customers should feel confident and safe paying you money.
Q. Marketing argue that joining a local business directory makes our company look a bit desperate. Is this the case?
A. No it isn’t. It looks like you’re embracing your local community. Granted it may not lead to hundreds or thousands of new visitors, but it will raise your profile.
Here is an idea for you…
Contact your local council and see if there is an online business initiative that you could be involved in. Although initially it may only be joining a list of local businesses in a web directory, it may lead to more in the future. See if they will endorse, certify or approve your site. It’s all free advertising and another way to make your users feel safe.
Defining idea…
‘The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him.’
Henry Stimson
Defining idea…
‘Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath.’
Solon
Defining idea…
‘A person who trusts no one can’t be trusted.’
Jerome Blattner
Defining idea…
‘Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth; the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence.’
Democritus