Top 5 Trustworthy Ways To Increase Online Conversions

Trust is a valuable commodity in business and especially online where privacy, safety and assurances are considered carefully by many consumers. As a premier website development company, the issue of trust is one we often counsel our clients about especially in how it relates to a how consumers perceive a brand. Today we wanted to share our Top 5 Trustworthy ways to Increase Online Conversions because there is a firm relationship between how much a potential client trusts you and how quickly they will then convert.

Trust and Perceived Risk

The idea of trust in business and online is an interesting one because often it relates to what is considered “perceived risk”. Surveys conducted last year found that about one-third of consumers hesitate when making purchases online because of concerns over data theft.

After data breaches at Target and Home Depot, it is not hard to understand why people would be leery.

There is always a trust factor when you hand over personal data, from simply an email address and contact info to credit card information for a purchase. Many consumers need to feel at least a moderate amount of trust with this faceless company they are about to hand over critical information to because there have been so many causes for concern.

More than ever we perceive risk when we hand over our data to someone we don’t know well or that has not established a track record with us yet. This is why it is vital if you sell goods or services online that you do everything you can to earn trust and show potential customers that you will do everything you can to protect them and their information.

Ways to Build Trust

• Obtain Security Seals and Trust Badges – There are a number of security seals and badges that can be utilized to increase trust with consumers. First and foremost are things like VeriSign, McAfee Secure, PayPal Verified, Norton Secured, Truste Certified and the like. These let consumers know you have well-known companies confirming your protections. Then there are things like Better Business Bureau member icons, Chamber of Commerce icons or things like 100% Money Back Guarantee badges. These types of things show who you are connected to and confirm up front your wiliness to refund if necessary.
• Showcase Real Reviews – People tend to trust feedback from other people and the best way to show this is customer reviews. If you have a Yelp or Angie’s List listing make sure you link to it. You can also use your own review system like Amazon does. Make sure to leave the bad as well as the good because people are suspicious if something is 100% perfect.
• Use a Certified Payment Processor – People want their money protected and tend to value well known names like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or PayPal so make sure you utilize those as payment options. People need to know their data and money is safe so give them peace of mind by using the big payment processors.
• Include Product Videos – People want to see what they are buying and with video being so much easier to integrate it is a top choice for showing off products to consumers. If you are selling bike accessories provide a video showing how to take it out of the box and add it to a bike before using it. Do what you can to offer a full view of a product since they can’t touch it themselves to remove concerns about exactly what they are getting.
• Make Customer Care a Priority – One of the easiest ways to build trust is to simply provide good customer service and be readily available if needed. That means prominently displaying phone numbers, pop up chat boxes or email addresses for questions and concerns. Addresses and company locations should be easy to find as well. Include a Q&A section for common questions and concerns. You want to be ready and able to answer or talk about any concern they might have which could delay or prevent a conversion and the easiest way to do that is by being available.

The bottom line is that trust is fleeting at times especially online. From your very first interaction with a customer you want to do your best to showcase why you are worthy of trust to help build a relationship and increase consumer confidence with your business and brand. Our top 5 trustworthy ways to increase online conversions are things every business should be doing if they want people to feel confident with you and comfortable enough to convert.

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