7 Ways of Building Customers Trust With Your Web Site

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

Unfortunately the Internet attracts some people who aredishonest and prey upon unsuspecting people to make quickmoney for themselves.

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

Here are 7 essential ways of building customers' trust:

1. Provide contact information - visitors will easily becomefrustrated if they have a question to resolve but can'tcontact you. At least place an email address or contactform on your web site. Some people prefer to talk to a realperson rather than use electronic communication so providea telephone number and even a real address not a P.O. Boxnumber. Answering one or 2 customer questions may be enoughto win his or her trust before purchasing from yoursite.

2. Create an "About Us" page - here you can tell a littleabout yourself and/or your company. Another nice touch isto include a photo of yourself. The more you can establisha personal bond with your potential buyer, the greater yourchances of success.

3. Include Testimonials - testimonials is a wonderful way toshowcase your product, establish credibility, and improvesales. It takes some work to get them but it is well worthit 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 atestimonial after you have completed the work for them.This is because you are still fresh in their minds and theystill have a desire to thank you for the excellent work youcompleted.

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 acopy of your product in return for a testimonial.

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

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

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

5. Use secure transactions - someone sending you his or hercredit card number, home address, or other personalinformation should be able to do so through a secure linkfrom his or her browser to your server. Make sure you useSecure Socket Links or 3rd Party Verification in allinformation transactions that involve sensitive data.

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

7. Provide a guarantee - if you provide a guarantee for yourproduct or service it will place your customer's mind atease. The longer the guarantee the better. If you have aservice oriented business, you might include a statementsuch 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 transactions and communication can beimpersonal because you don't meet your customers face toface. If you follow the points mentioned above, it willquell their fears and allow you to make more sales based onthe credibility and trust you have established from yourweb site.

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

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