Online stores often lack communication between the buyer and seller, which is necessary to build trust. It, in turn, affects sales. Moreover, high competition in online trading at the first sign of distrust can lead potential customers to shop elsewhere.
According to a study by the Singapore University of Management, dedicated to “making decisions based on customer confidence,” the most important factor when shopping online was trust. The higher its level with an online buyer and the lower the possible risk for the site, the higher the likelihood that a purchase will be made. By creating a trusting base, you drive sales growth in electronic commerce.
Here are six effective ways to increase the trust of your online shoppers.
Communication with customers
It is important to remember that goodwill and transparency are fundamental in e-commerce. The stronger buyers feel the return on your brand, the higher the likelihood that they will make another purchase.
Focus on making a complete description of your products and fill the page with content as much as possible. Write a rough communication plan, how would you talk with your friend. Read it aloud and determine how useful and understandable the information you are trying to convey. When advertising your product, do not describe its characteristics solely, illustrate all its advantages and how it can make life easier.
With regard to transparency, it is manifested by the policies that the seller leads, the pricing structure and the protection of the buyer. Make sure that all of these are consistent. The price should not be too high due to the shipping cost. Therefore, try to avoid partners who charge extra for international shipping. All your actions must be open, anonymity and hidden fraud are guaranteed to undermine the credibility of your store.
Enable interactive communication to solve pressing issues.
Creating tabs with frequently asked questions is of great importance. Typically, buyers search for answers to a frequently asked questions page. Here they can clarify for themselves some points of interest to them, solve the problems that arise related to the purchase, delivery, return or exchange of goods.
One of the ways to establish communication in a buyer-seller pair is to clearly indicate your contact information. It should include:
- physical adress;
- phone numbers;
- hotline;
- social network account.
If your store is still underdeveloped, consider providing a personal email address asking you to contact you if you have any problems.
Another opportunity to establish direct contact is to create a live chat. So you can quickly provide explanations about your products and resolve emerging customer problems in real time. For new customers of your store who are not yet sure of the security of the transaction, this can become a guarantee of your honesty. Moreover, online chat has a user satisfaction rating of 73% higher than any other communication channel.
Use good and bad customer reviews
No matter how good the description of your product has, nothing affects the desire of the buyer to buy a product like a real review.Nine out of ten potential customers tend to trust the words of the people, not the seller, who is mainly motivated to make a profit.
What do we have to do:
- By displaying customer reviews on the page of each product, you increase the number of customers by two-thirds.
- If your store has been recently opened, offer products at a reduced cost to several customers who are guaranteed to leave you a review.
- To increase positive feedback, introduce discounts and bonuses.
- In order not to arouse customer suspicion, publish not only good reviews and respond to negative ones. So customers will see that you are responding to problems.
Make available quality certificates and logos available for viewing
According to published studies in the field of trade and marketing, 71% of consumers consider it necessary that online stores display the available certificates and logos. In addition, according to respondents, the presence of their own brand serves as a guarantee of a refund if the consumer remains dissatisfied with the quality of the products.
To ensure that the customer is confident in the reliability of the payment made, indicate on the store’s website that you are using certified and secure payment methods, such as Paypal or Square. Tell us about your efforts to protect data privacy from possible leaks.
Add video information about your product
Video content has been gaining popularity recently. Leaders in online commerce speak of this as one of the main marketing strategies. 73% of buyers say that they often purchase products after watching a video describing its capabilities. In addition, 71% of consumers are convinced that high-quality content creates a favorable impression of the brand that shows it.
It is important to remember that if you manage to gain the trust of customers, you need to continue to work in the same direction to attract new customers.
Focus on constantly updating content
Becoming a reliable resource, you will be classified as trusted sellers in the minds of customers. Constant updating of content will allow you to position yourself as a sought-after brand in search queries related to a certain category of goods or the industry as a whole. Updated content that provides consumers with answers to emerging queries will force you to return to your store.
Consider expanding your marketing capabilities to include all kinds of content with the goal of building customer confidence.
Do not delay the implementation of strategies that will win the trust of customers and increase sales. Focusing on these tips, you can bring your store to a higher level.