14 Dec, 2005
Establishing Trust Online
Posted by bknapik 16:53 |
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E-Commerce
One of the many hurdles of any e-commerce operation is making prospective customers trust the website. Customers need to believe the site represents a real business and not a fraudulent one, that product will be delivered, and that their financial information is safe after the purchase.
The first step is to include privacy policy, terms and conditions, shipping and return policies, and contact pages. The privacy policy should specifies what the business does with contact and financial information.Terms and conditions details the rights of customers, copyrights, and trademarks of the company and website. Shipping and return policies detail how the company ships product and how to return merchandise. Contact pages should contain a way to electronically contact the company, phone numbers, fax numbers, hours of operation, and possibly driving directions to the physical location of the business.
The customer needs to feel it is safe to transmit their financial information over the Internet. SSL companies provide its customer with a graphic it may put on its website to show it uses SSL technology to safeguard information transferred over the Internet. Putting this graphic, visibly, on the website helps achieve trust of the transaction. Also be sure that any pages that transfer customer information are secured properly. People do look to make sure that the page is secure when ordering. Some sites offer a secure shopping guarantee that outlines identity theft laws and guarantees that financial information will not be stolen.
Finally, make the site look professional. The look of a website is as important as the look of a brick-and-mortar shop. People will judge a website within a few seconds, if the initial judgment is unappealing, the customer will leave. The site needs to look clean. Stay away from repetitive animated graphics, music or anything that may distract the customer from their actions.
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