Think about a brick-and-mortar shop – a clean storefront, stocked shelves, and a friendly clerk all communicate trust to customers. An unorganized, cluttered, and messy store reads as unprofessional and likely will make customers leave feeling like all the owner cares about is making a quick buck. Your website sends the same message to your visitors, on either side of the coin.
Building trust between you and your customer is essential when it comes to managing a successful brand online. Customers need comfort to buy, and if they have any scepticism about your reliability, then your leads will never go anywhere.
People will only do business with brands that they trust and know well. To get them to trust you, you need a website to convey who you truly are, and what your team will deliver.
If you’re looking for a new website to help build that trust, keep reading for our 5 tips on building up customer trust on your website.
Tip #1: Professional Web Design
If your website looks straight out of the 1990s, your customers will think your business models haven’t changed since then either, and as such, will swiftly click away. First impressions matter, so having an aesthetically pleasing landing page is a critical step in ensuring your customers stay on your site long enough to actually find what they want.
This is especially true for online storefronts — you need to ensure user-friendly navigation and high-definition graphics are present and consistent across your site. If your images are pixelated and your users cannot find the check-out button, they’re never going to believe you’ll send them the right product.
Tip #2: Make Your Brand Human
Your users are more likely to trust your brand if they see the real human value behind it. More than ever, shoppers are interested in learning more about your ethics and your commitment to social causes, meaning your about us page is one of the best ways to convince them.
A good about us page showcases a brief history of your business and what your philosophy is. It can even include information about the people who own and operate a business (you!) to help personify your brand even further and identify with your audience’s values.
Tip #3: Include Feedback
Sharing positive feedback on your website from happy and satisfied customers is a surefire way to ensure your window shoppers actually buy. They will see that you’re willing to share feedback with the public.
While testimonials are often all positive, it could help share reviews from external websites on your website for transparency and show overwhelmingly positive feedback against the minor negative feedback. Not only does this show your browsers that you’re willing to take the heat and that not every interaction is perfect, but you’re willing to show them that and be honest.
If you decide to go the testimonial route and showcase positive feedback from previous clients, make sure to show they’re real: include their name, where they’re from, and especially if they’re someone important in a major company. All of these things ensure your potential clients know your testimonials are real and have weight behind them.
Tip #4: Include Badges
You’ve likely seen badges on many online storefronts and websites. Usually, they’re located at the bottom of a screen and tell your customers that you’re a reputable business. The endorsement that comes with badges like Google Trusted Stores helps say to your clients, in short, that you’re Google-approved.
Because of how famous the Google brand is, ensuring you have badges with popular names helps promote trustworthiness. Your potential clients know you aren’t scamming them if Google backs you.
Including badges that say whether or not your site is secure can be both helpful and hurtful. If you include a badge about security too early, it can actually make customers feel anxious about purchasing. This is because they may feel like you’re showing it to them too early and trying to compensate for something.
Tip #5: Guarantee Your Product
Providing offers about your product’s quality is another way to ensure your customers will trust your brand and back your services and product. Offering free shipping, price matching, free trials, and money-back guarantees can help customers feel less wary about purchasing.
These things are all part of a technique called “risk reversal.” It makes an offer that puts the risk on you, the seller, instead of making the buyer take the entire risk when purchasing a product or service.
If you decide to include these offers, don’t hide them on the item’s page. Display them prominently and make sure that nearly every page has the offer on it to remind your customer about it.
Need a trustworthy website?
If you’re in the market for a new website that tells your customers how trustworthy you are, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Digital Drive. We can help you build a custom website that tells your customers everything they need to know about your brand, and help ensure your window shoppers’ buy-in. Curious? Reach out to us today for more information about how we can get your website up and running.
