7 Ways of Building Customers Trust With Your Web Site

When I purchase something from a web site I first check who is behind this site. If there is no contact information or anything about the owner of the site or his/her company I move on.

Unfortunately the Internet attracts some people who are dishonest and prey upon unsuspecting people to make quick money for themselves.

Therefore your web site must put your visitor immediately at ease and convey honesty and integrity about it.

Here are 7 essential ways of building customers' trust:

1. Provide contact information - visitors will easily become frustrated if they have a question to resolve but can't contact you. At least place an email address or contact form on your web site. Some people prefer to talk to a real person rather than use electronic communication so provide a telephone number and even a real address not a P.O. Box number. Answering one or 2 customer question may be enough to win his or her trust before purchasing from your site.

2. Create an "About Us" page - here you can tell a little about yourself and/or your company. Another nice touch is to include a photo of yourself. The more you can establish a personal bond with your potential buyer, the greater your chances of success.

3. Include Testimonials - testimonials is a wonderful way to showcase your product, establish credibility, and improve sales. It takes some work to get them but it is well worth it in the long run.

Here's how to get a testimonial from your customers:

a) If you have a service oriented business, then ask for a testimonial after you have completed the work for them. This is because you are still fresh in their minds and they still have a desire to thank you for the excellent work you completed.

b) If you are selling a product i.e. e-book or software, ask for a testimonial after they have paid for the product. Send a reminder to them 1 or 2 weeks later.

You may even provide an extra incentive by giving away a copy of your product in return for a testimonial.

c) Make sure the testimonial is verifiable - ask them to include their contact information such as an email address or web site address. You may even ask for a small photo to go along with what they have written. Don't just make up a testimonial as this will look false and unprofessional.

d) Testing- try different ways to introduce your testimonials. Sprinkle them throughout your web site content as shown on http://www.isitebuild.com then link to the rest of them on another page. You may also want to strategically place them in your sales letters (http://www.isitebuild.com/web-site-promotion), emails or promotional materials associated with your business.

4. Be courteous - often customers can't communicate exactly what they have in mind because they don't have your expertise. Try to clarify what your product or service will do for them to make their life easier. If you put their fears at ease you will have a happy customer.

5. Use secure transaction - someone sending you his or her credit card number, home address, or other personal information should be able to do so through a secure link from his or her browser to your server. Make sure you use Secure Socket Links or 3rd Party Verification in all information transaction that involve sensitive data.

6. Accept refunds - always accept reasonable return and refund requests. Deal with them promptly and professionally, no matter how the customer acts towards you during the process. It may be a hassle, but this instills a lot of trust. A customer's biggest fear is that he/she may not receive what he wants or may not be able to return it.

7. Provide a guarantee - if you provide a guarantee for your product or service it will place your customer's mind at ease. The longer the guarantee the better. If you have a service oriented business, you might include a statement such as:

"We will work with you until you are satisfied"

If selling a product you may say something like:

"If for any reason you are not satisfied with this product, I will offer you a 90 day money-back guarantee".

Conclusion:

Online transaction and communication can be impersonal because you don't meet your customers face to face. If you follow the points mentioned above, it will quell their fears and allow you to make more sales based on the credibility and trust you have established from your web site.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com - Affordable Web Site Design and Web Hosting. Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for more original articles.

EMailto:[email protected].

Read more of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles

MORE RESOURCES

People Locator find anyone in the USA

RELATED WEB SITE DESIGN ARTICLES: Content - the Key to Long Term Success Every day internet marketers are inundated with the latest fad or must have program. But the one tried and true asset which is vitally important to the long term success of your online business is valuable CONTENT. 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Readers Buying Decision 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying DecisionThe appearance of your web site text can actually increase or decrease your sales. The size, font, style and color of your text can easily affect your reader's buying decision. Choosing A Color Scheme When you begin the design of your Web site, one of the first things you need to do is decide on a color scheme. Although choosing colors seems like a relatively easy proposition, it's not easy at all. Website Checklist 10 Basic Things Your Website Should Have .. Your Website Hurts My Eyes: 7 Reason to Tone Down Your Advertising So you're on the computer, as usual. Your eyes are smarting. The Technology May Change, But Human Nature Remains The Same Let me repeat that.. The Right Trigger Words CNN.com's designers have gone out of their way to make their work difficult. Small Business Website Design - How to Get Professional Results on a Shoestring Budget Just because you are a small business with an even smaller website design budget, does not mean that you cannot have a professional looking website and presence on the web. All it means is you will have to do some of the work yourself instead of paying some design firm to do it for you. Database Driven Website The solution lies in creating a 'Database driven website', through which web pages are created dynamically which further gives a web site visitor an up-to-dated view of information stored in the database. When the information in the database is updated, site visitors will immediately see the changes that have been made. Keyword Density We can't emphasize enough the importance of including keyword-rich content on your site to increase your ranking potential. Simply put, keywords are the words and/or word phrases people use when searching. Tips On Effectively Organizing Your Navigation Not all links are created equal. While all of your links may be important, you must sort and prioritize to come up with an effective navigation scheme. How to Choose a Website Design Company The internet is full of web design companies pleading for your business. They all look great! Not sure which company to select? By following these simple steps, you'll be able to select the perfect designer for your business. Got Web Traffic but Still Low Sales? Ten Ways to Selling Success - Part 1 Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money into your site and are frustrated with lackluster sales? Are you planning to put a new Web site and don't know where to start? If you are like many business professionals out there, you know your subject, you are an expert speaker or coach in your field, and you are even passionate about it. You have great products and services to sell. Choosing the Right Web Designer Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing the best web design company for your site is extremely important. How To Make It Easy For Your Web Designer To Build Your Website You have an idea for a website and you are now looking for somebody to build you the site. You want it to be a smooth ride, and want to have a good working relationhip with your web designer. Optimized Web Page Template I want to give you a free web page template that will be search engine friendly. Why?Well, I assume you want your web page to come up as high as possible in search engines because that generates free traffic. How to Find Inexpensive Web Design Web design is a very competitive area and there is no longer any reason why people should pay large amounts for website design services.This article describes and explains where to find very very cheap website design services. Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack? Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have bigger appetites than the real-life spiders you squish under your shoe. Website Design: Redecorate Your Web Site To Increase Sales Getting traffic to your website is not the only factor that affects your sales.Your website has to be powerful enough to convert these traffic and visitors to buyers. How to Use Sliced Graphics to Layout Your Web Site The problem with designing your site as a graphic, is that it would take too long to load. Your visitors would leave your site immediately and move to your competitors web site.