Millions of people enter the Internet business arena
every day... hundreds of thousands of websites go up
each week... millions of dollars are spent every hour.
It's scary how fast 'net commerce is growing, but what's
even scarier is the "entry requirements" of any online
business. Quite simply, there aren't any!
Anyone with a computer connected to the 'net can trade
online. Anyone can hook up to a secure credit card
processor and start accepting your hard earned cash.
And even more importantly, anyone can run away with it.
This scary fact is what gnaws away at the mind of a
skeptical consumer, and without an element of trust
established in their minds, they'll leave empty handed
which will leave you, in turn, empty pocketed.
I've personally visited many sites where the product
looks like a real winner, but I haven't dared to part
with my hard earned cash due to the insecurity the
site offers. Don't make the same mistake.. here's how:
1) GIVE FULL COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION.
Devote a section of your website to "company information"
and give a list of your main staff and who handles what.
Give a telephone number, email address, mailing address,
and full contact info. You could even include photographs
and biographies of each team member.
It may not seem obvious what the purpose of your mug shot
is, but by doing so it brings the globality of the 'net
much closer (i.e. they can actually "see" who they're
dealing with) which helps add reassurance to the customer.
I've seen sales double with just this one tactic alone.
2) BUILD YOUR TRUST ON THE TRUST OF OTHERS
People may not initially trust you, but who they will
trust are established organizations such as the Better
Business Bureau or i-Cop who's job it is to monitor the
activity and business practices of their members. By
joining these, you have to conform to their standards
and as a result, assure the minds of your customers.
Here are a few sites to visit:
http://www.netcheck.com
http://www.better-internet-bureau.org
http://www.i-cop.org
Example: You can check out my personal profile and testimonials at:
http://netcheck.com/perfectbusiness.shtml
Displaying these membership icons can help prove you're a
serious business, and not some fly-by-night scam artist
out to grab every dime they can get their grubby hands on.
3) PROVIDE SURE-FIRE POLICIES AND CONDITIONS
Write your own "Privacy Policy" reassuring the visitor
on how you use their information. Inform them that their
personal info is completely safe and secure, and that
NO info will be sold to third-parties or used as spam.
When shopping online, I like to see the following:
Anti-spam policy
Secure credit card processing policy
Privacy statement
Terms and conditions
It makes the business feel much more established and
professional. And let's face it, that's the kind of
company that you want to do business with, isn't it?
4) IMAGE IS EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS
Still using that free Geocities business page? Oh please.
Get yourself a professional image. You'll need your own
domain name, a web hosting solution, and a nice site
design to even begin to impress your customers.
People say to me "Ray, why isn't my website selling?"
My response is usually "Well, would YOU trust a site
like yours?". It needs to be professional, visually
appealing, and full of the info consumers need to see.
If it screams "scam", then your consumers will think
"scam". It's common sense really. Start treating your
Internet business as a proper business and actually
devote the EFFORT required into making it appealing.
5) EASY ORDERING OPTIONS ARE A MUST IN THIS GLOBAL MARKET
I've lost count at the amount of times I've pulled out
my credit card to purchase a product online, then
realized that the company only ships to one country...
or they don't accept my payment method altogether.
Make your customer feel at ease. Include full ordering
and shipping information BEFORE they purchase, so they
know exactly what's going on every step of the way.
I love ordering from Amazon because they go out of their
way to ensure the smoothest and easiest ordering
experience possible. Compare yourself to Amazon... just
how easy is it to order from you? Do you accept all
major credit cards, and international check payments too?
They're my five points of successfully establishing
your credibility. The rest just comes as common sense.
Treat your customers as you'd except to be treated
too and in turn, they'll never query your credibility
or need to worry about buying from you again.
About the Author
Ray P. Velazquez from the Perfect Business(.com) is the master
of credibility. Discover his secrets to absolute SUCCESS
only at the following sites:
http://www.zigbiz.com/tpb
http://www.zigbiz.net/tpb
http://www.theperfectbusiness.com