Establishing Consumer Trust

A growing portion of your customers have moved away from traditional sources of expertise and turned to the web as a vehicle of verification. They trust peers more and look to the recommendations, reviews, and experiences of fellow shoppers to establish trust in a brand.

One of the most common reasons for customers not completing a form, pressing click to call, and purchasing or paying online is a lack of faith or veracity. The initial absence of human interaction due to “digital” does make it more challenging to establish that bond of trust for your brand.

So, how do you demonstrate that your brand can be trusted when often the first introduction to your business is through an app, an ad or your website? Ensure that trust becomes “a filter that your marketing team thinks about as a principle of conversion” to reassure and engage customers.

Tactics like “making a great first impression” and “security items” will assist with establishing and maintaining trust. These tactics (shown below) begin with the strategic “trust focus" you build with your team and your suppliers. 

#1 Make a Good First Impression

Ensure your online products look beautiful across all device types and sizes. Verify they are fast & have simple plus clear, functional navigation. Outline everything a customer might want to know about your topic including clear descriptions, delivery returns and guarantees.

#2 Use Trust Signals

If your products or services are “not a household name” use clear signals like third party reviews, security seals and free returns. Provide a physical location on your contact pages to reduce any perceived risk.

#3 ”Show Off” Products

Rely on engaging visuals to help drive purchases. If you don't have the resources to set up elaborate photoshoots to showcase products or services, ensure the photos you use are clear, crisp, well-lit and “in situation”. Provide access to supporting information where it does not distract from the intent of the consumer visit and intended transaction.

#4 Make Transactional Experiences Exceptional and Rememberable

Consumers only trust systems they understand so make forms and transaction pages easy to complete. Explain the steps to completing a “transaction” upfront. Provide help clues. Communicate clearly and boldly at the end of a transaction about next steps and who to contact with questions. Make your thank you and acknowledgements big and bold.

Bottom Line: Recognizing the need to emphasize trust implies placing yourself in the same drivers seat as your customers. Thoroughly test drive your digital products. Before undertaking the tactical, establish a “trust culture” and create a “safe” environment that values the “done wells and do better” for your digital products and services. Digital can have a positive  organizational impact.

Joe Wozny is a digital thought leader, strategist, author, blogger and CEO of Concentric. Read more about Joe on this site and at joe's author site of joewozny.com

This article is from the Fall/Winter Edition of Digital Dollars and Sense. Click here to view Digital Dollars and Sense editions and download the latest Digital Dollars and Sense ebook.