Forging Trust Through Your Business Website

While the Internet provides many benefits and advantages for business growth, it still has some very unique challenges that must be confronted for realizing its best sales returns. People tend to prefer doing business with those they know and trust and feel comfortable dealing with. This can become a major concern for an online business, as there is no personal face-to-face contact with your customers. You must utilize your website content in such a way as to convince the viewer that they know enough about you to trust you and your product.

The most effective way to build up a level of trust with your customers is through developing credibility. This is much more involved that just attempting to convince potential buyers that you are legitimate and not a scam. You must demonstrate that you are able to deliver on any promises or products you make. Since you are meeting your potential customer through the venue of an impersonal webpage, you need to include a number of examples of your past credibility as proof you are worth the customer's time and money.

Testimonials from past customers have always been successful marketing tools. Judicious use of positive comments from other people can give your potential customers a way to relate with others interested in the same thing. You do not want all your testimonials lumped together. Spread them out among your advertising text copy or in a side column next to your main body copy. Use stories from satisfied customers to point out the benefits of the product in relation to what they used it for and how it made their lives easier.

If at all possible use one of the customer stories as a starting point to your copy that explains the benefits of your product. Make sure that any extraordinary claims are qualified if it is beyond the normal expectations of the product or service. Under new Internet legislation, you must keep the information on file to prove the testimonial is real and not the product of a ghostwriter who has been hired to laud the virtues of a product they may never have seen. This new legislation, while limiting the uses of testimonials, has the advantage of making those encountered much more believable. Be sure your customer knows others have found you to be a credible businessman.

Complimenting the words of real, satisfied customers, is the say-so of the media. People are predisposed to believe the words of newspapers, magazines, or television shows. Any form of media which helps prove a fact about your product or that supports claims you make about it should be referenced in your website content. Graphs, charts, industry expert comments, and statistics can all add their bit towards developing credibility for your product. Intersperse this information among your copy to create a dynamic and compelling sales pitch.

Make sure to use specifics when presenting your information. Detailed figures and percentages are much better at giving your information a realistic edge than if you succumb to the use of "weasel words" and generic statements. Instead of "most people like...," present a hard percentage factoid; say "85% of people responding to an online survey reported... ." Be sure your data comes off as fact, not questionable speculation. The notation of service organizations or business affiliations such as professional certifications or membership in the Better Business Bureau will add credibility and should also be placed on your website.

The single most important element in developing credibility with your customers is to provide quick, quality service and a product that performs as advertised. Your track record will speak for itself. Taking your business and your customers seriously will help spread the word that you are a reputable dealer. Don't count on your customer being some isolated unit somewhere in the world. With the advent of Forums and Social Networking sites on the Internet, a dissatisfied customer can spread doubt about you and your business among thousands of networks and people.

Using testimonials, third person success stories, concrete examples and actual references all help develop the credibility to convince a potential customer to trust you. By making the effort to provide transparency in your business dealings right on your website you can increase your bottom line through honest efforts and developed trust.