Increase Consumer Confidence on your E-Commerce Website

By Beacon News | Published July 17, 2012 | Categories: Google Analytics

Building customer confidence is a key component to increasing conversions on your e-commerce website.  You must build a relationship with your website visitors in order for them to take that leap of faith and purchase your products.  Price points aside, if a user fails to make a purchase online it is more than likely due to a lack of consumer confidence.

To boost consumer confidence:

1. Always include a phone number on your website.  If a user is interested in your product offering, but weary of making a purchase online, you could still facilitate a purchase over the phone.
2. Include visible links to your Privacy Policy and Terms of Sale within the footer of your website.  Online shoppers need to know that you value the privacy of their personal information.  Show them this by creating an easy to read privacy policy.  If you are a member of the Better Business Bureau in your area, include the logo here as well for a boost.  By having the terms of sale easily accessible, users will be able to view your company's return policies and sales terms.
3. Maintain Brand consistency.  It is so important to have the same 'look and feel' throughout your entire website, especially the cart feature.  Main navigation and footers should be included globally.  If you have several micro-sites as well, make sure the logos, colors, and site feelings are all consistent.  If things are too drastic, users could perceive you to be a scam site.
4. Make sure you provide an obvious link for your full contact information.  If you don't openly promote communication through your email address, telephone numbers, and possibly your physical location, users will believe you don't want to be found.  If your phone number is a local number, make sure to include customer service availability times so users know when they can call to speak to a 'real person.'
5. Include customer testimonials on product and/or informational pages.  Testimonials statistically instill confidence in new and returning customers on your website.  You can promote product testimonials by either posting comments received on your website directly, or by including social share icons on your website so users can easily "Like" products you have to share with their friends and family.  Social sharing is also a great way to increase inbound links to your website as well.
6. Keep the checkout process quick, and never ask unrelated questions during the transaction.  If you are an e-commerce site that sells office supplies, there is no reason you would need to immediately know the customer's age or annual salary.  The more information you ask, the longer the check-out process will take, and the less likely someone will become to complete their transaction.
7. Post security logos as calls to action.  If you have a secure checkout process, post security logos on your website to allow users to quickly acknowledge that you are secure.
8. Create your own press releases to increase brand awareness.  If a consumer reads an online article/press release that mentions your products, services, website or company name they will feel more confident about your website when they visit it.  Even a passing reference in an article can have a dramatic impact on consumer confidence.