“Trust = Sales” 3 Non-Sneaky Subliminal Methods to Gain Visitors’ Trust

It’s no huge secret. These common sense "must-dos" aren’t rocket science, but they’re virtually guaranteed to instantly and immediately boost your website visitors’ trust in you without them even realizing it. Indeed, they’re critical to increasing your website’s sales.

So let’s get to it.

Your clients won’t trust you to deliver what you promise, if…

1) … your website is a shambles.

When people encounter an ugly site … they leave. If you don’t care enough about the presentation of your website to make it attractive, easy to find stuff, and easy to read, visitors assume that whatever you’re pushing will be in the same disarray.

Fair, yes?

The select few that do decide to stay and give you the benefit of the doubt do so with an already jaded opinion of the quality of your work. You have to work harder — a LOT harder — to earn back their trust, instead of simply taking measures to value it in the first place.

Moral: If your website looks crappy, your visitors will not trust you . If your visitors don’t trust you, they will not buy from you . And without visitors who’d become customers, umm … you WILL NOT MAKE ANY MONEY.

Clearly!

Your clients won’t trust you to deliver what you promise, if…

2) … you’re "a face without a name."

This isn’t "Wind Beneath My Wings." As skeptical as many people still are to have dealings with online businesses, you’ve got to match your "beautiful face" (attractive, user-friendly design) with some contact info, or your visitors may think you’re running from the Feds … and not buy from you.

And rightfully so.

Tell them a little about you on a bio page. Put a picture up there, maybe. People love to see who they’re buying from (and "talking" to). [In some instances, though -- albeit, rare -- a picture can decrease sales. Test always!]

Just, whatever you do, for Heaven’s sake be yourself.

Don’t be Bill Gates. Don’t be Google. And for heaven’s sake, please don’t be me. All of these will lead to your demise.

Be You! We’ll like it; don’t worry.

Moral: Be yourself … and explain who that IS. (Weren’t ya listening? ;))

Your clients won’t trust you to deliver what you promise, if…

3) … you take, but don’t give.

I say "take" to mean collecting contact information — e-mail addresses, "usage statistics" etc. — but not giving back … "anything". Not even a name.

*sigh*

What’s wrong with this picture?

One website wanted people to commit to a $50 per month service fee for a shopping cart system that worked exactly like one of the Web’s most renowned. (Hmmmmm. Biz model copy? "Hey, don’t reinvent the wheel!") Alright. Whatever. Problem was, the site looked like it was "designed" in 25 seconds by a blindfolded, color blind preschool graduate with no limbs.

And contact info…? What contact info? None was anywhere to be found.

The site did have two testimonials — yes, "two" — from well-known marketers, (to my surprise). But if this company was getting endorsed by "big names", why were the owners afraid to reveal their identity? It’s not like they were selling Adult stuff, for cryin’ out loud.

Instead, the owner listed one lonely, very generic e-mail address (i.e., webmaster@Much-Too-Clueless.com) as his sole contact info … only that, and nothing more … and expected visitors to feel secure enough to commit to month-to-month payments without batting an eye.

Eh?

Hmm, let’s see a show of hands — how many think this is likely to turn into the month-to-month service from hell that’ll take 6 months to truly cancel…?

Moral: Quit playing with my emotions, and tell me who and where you are, dagnabbit. If you don’t … I AIN’T BUYIN’.

Literally.

And so…

That’s it. See, that was fast — wasn’t it? I got to vent. You got to partake of three simple ways to increase the selling power of your website by making your "online self" more trustworthy. :-P

Easy-breezy.

What are your "online trust" pet peeves…?

---

 Respected Business & Marketing author H.T. Major has nearly a decade of collective experience fine-tuning the art of creating effective, efficient business websites that SELL, and boosting the conversion of existing sites. Now she offers supremely affordable website, photo, & business design services that are not only about creating "pretty pictures", but about creating RESULTS: visit ChumpChangeWebDesign.com.

---