Articles

Trust Matters

22nd November 2006

Trust is an integral part of our lives. When you meet someone for the first time you immediately form an impression as to whether or not you trust him or her. Trust is vital in personal relationships but it's also crucial in everything we do. People gain trust in various ways - some are subconscious. Imagine you are looking for a restaurant where you can sit and enjoy a meal with a friend. You walk past two restaurants on a particular street, restaurant A looks busy, the people seem to be enjoying the food, the atmosphere looks great with subtle lighting and gorgeous décor. Restaurant B is empty, the place looks a bit run down, the décor is out dated. It's obvious that the vast majority of people would pick restaurant A. They would trust this restaurant to deliver, be safe and give them an enjoyable experience. This is the kind of effect we want to achieve with your website.

In business, trust equals profits. Trust is an immeasurable goodwill element that large corporates spent years building and maintaining. If you are an online business owner, being a trusted resource brings you a loyal customer base, keeps you at the fore front of your industry and attracts new interests in your company. Trust means money!

Cyberspace is whole new playground all together from our material world. There are no physical products for us to feel and touch, there's no sales person we can speak to, and we don't have a physical shop to go back to if we want a refund. How can you build trust and prove that your business can deliver? Big companies spent millions of pounds on certifications, designs and massive marketing. Small websites do not have the type of budget so here are some tips on how to build trust into your website:

First impressions count

At job interviews, the interviewer makes a decision about the candidate within the first 10 seconds, mostly based on their appearance - we hate to say it but it's true! So, it's all about presentation - a smile, body language, clothes.

How do we translate this into website terms?

First, the website needs to grab the users' attention immediately. It needs to be well presented, with attention to detail. A design that doesn't overpower and presents you as the type of company you are. It needs to be clear about who you are, what you do up front - any hint of a hidden agenda means you've lost customers already.

Secondly, the design must scream professionalism. Users can tell instantly whether it was put together overnight, or created by professionals who spent time planning its design. You need to put thought into the navigation, layout and colours. If you only put 10 minutes worth of time into your own businesses website, then how much time are you going to give that particular user and what will be the level of service or product will you provide?

Web pages that stimulate trust

How do we create that feeling that there is a queue of people waiting to get onto your website?

First, you need to make your website look extremely popular and always up to date. There are various ways of doing this, the most popular being a testimonials or references page. This instantly shows the user that there are other people out there who are happy with your products and services.

If you sell products, why not show the user additional products that others have bought alongside their purchase. This shows there are people buying similar products from the website every day.

Don't forget to have clear contact information, a phone number, email address and physical address, as well as a privacy policy and terms and conditions for delivery and returns.

Put a face to your business

Personalise your website by putting up pictures of you or your staff and give some information about your company. How you started, who are the people behind the business and so on. As well as this, if your company has been in the press then add the press release onto your website. You can keep users up to date with your company by having a news section.

Become an authority in your industry

Becoming an authority means that as well as users trusting you, your competitors will also look up to and trust you. This can be done by providing information and resources for free on your website. Just like this article in fact! What this does for you is that it gets you mentioned by users and competitors thus generating a word of mouth following. And eventually you become an authority where people go for the best information and advice - info they trust. These informal communities have thousands of loyal followers that participate actively to rave or boo websites, products or services. Being an active advisor in these communities could make you an authority of your business. Make sure you are aware of what is being said about your business - it's also useful feedback to make improvements.

Business procedures

Make sure you have a legal and smooth business procedure in place. Do not let bad logistics, planning or a lost order destroy all the hard work you've put in to gain the trust in the first place. If you promised your customer that his/her order will be fulfilled in two days, make sure it is! But we don't need to tell you that!

Most of the time, It only takes one incident to break trust and get you bad reviews. If things do go wrong, admit the mistake, remain in constant contact with your customer and explain honestly what has happened. Put in extra effort to ensure that your customer receives his/her purchase in a good condition.

After sales management

Providing a good customer care after-sales service is like serving dessert at a three-course dinner. Not only do you ensure that the transaction went well, you also give your customer the impression that they are important to you - and they are, aren't they?! Asking for feedback or sending a thank you email on purchase of a product are all part of customer care and go a long way in keeping you in the customer's mind. Remember a customer will spread the word when they are either unhappy or really happy with the service - make sure it's the latter and watch your business grow through word of mouth.