Earning online shoppers’ trust is essential for the success of any eCommerce business.
Online shoppers need to trust your website implicitly before they buy from you – a difficult task when bombarded with potential threats like cybercrime and data theft.
Adding a trust badge or having a trust signal, like customer reviews, clearly displayed is just one of the ways to instill trust in your eCommerce website.
Aside from this, a study also found that consumers trust businesses that meet their expectations and make purchasing easy. Providing your customers with a seamless user experience can help turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers.
So, are you ready to learn more about how you can build trust with your website visitors and establish your brand as a reliable seller?
Keep reading to get our actionable tips to help build customer trust with your eCommerce website and turn one-time shoppers into lifelong customers!
1. Use a Secure Payment Gateway
Online payments are increasingly gaining popularity in the Philippines. Research conducted by Visa found that 64% of Filipinos use mobile wallets, and 52% prefer online card payments.
With identity theft and online fraud threats, your online store must use a secured and reliable payment gateway. Here in the Philippines, some of the top payment gateway providers are:
- GCash
- PayMaya
- PayMongo
- Dragonpay
- NextPay
In choosing the right payment gateway for your business, you must consider your business needs, costs and fees, encryption practice, fraud detection, speed, and usability.
2. Implement SSL/TLS encryption
SSL/TLS encryption is the process of securing your website’s traffic with TLS or SSL certificates. This encrypts the data sent between the user’s browser and your website so that it cannot be read by anyone else.
This is an important security measure to implement because it protects your website’s data from being intercepted by hackers. It also helps protect your users’ privacy and increase their consumer trust in your website.
You should also make sure that your website is secure with a valid security certificate, such as VeriSign, and up-to-date software.
Seeing the padlock icon in their browser and the word “secure” next to your web address signals “secured” and “protected” to your customers’ minds.
3. Use Fraud Protection Services
Fraud protection services are essential for online businesses. These services help protect your business from fraudulent activities, including chargebacks, stolen credit cards, and other scams.
There are different fraud protection services available, so it’s important to research and find the right one for your business.
Services typically charge a monthly or annual fee, and they offer a variety of features, such as:
- 24/7 fraud monitoring
- Automatic fraud detection
- Credit card scanning
- Transaction history tracking
- Risk assessment tools
Keep in mind: Fraud protection services cannot guarantee that your business will never be a victim of fraud. But they can help you minimize your risk and detect any suspicious activity.
4. Offer a Money-Back Guarantee
One of the biggest concerns in online shopping is whether people will take a chance on your product or service.
A great way to overcome this is to offer a money-back guarantee. This reassures potential customers that they are not taking a risk by investing in your company. It also shows that you stand behind your product or service.
With this, make sure that your eCommerce website has the following policies that your customers can easily access and review:
- Return and Refund Policy
- Shipping Policy
- Terms and Conditions
- Privacy Policy
Offering a money-back guarantee and having these legal policies on your website will help instill trust, increase conversion rate, and encourage customer loyalty.
5. Use a Reliable Third-Party Fulfillment Center
If you’re not up for the hassle of shipping and handling orders yourself, you can use a third-party fulfillment center.
These companies take care of all the shipping and handling for you to focus on running your business — saving you time and money.
Plus, they provide tracking information so your customers can see where their order is every step of the way.
Choosing a reputable shipping provider with a good track record tells customers that you’re serious about providing a top-notch online shopping experience.
6. Provide Business Information
One of the best ways to build trust with your website visitors is to show them that there’s a real person behind your business.
Include a short bio about you or your business. Prominently display your contact information on your website. Include your phone number, social media channels, email address, and physical address.
This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many businesses try to hide their contact information. Don’t be one of them!
Show your visitors that you’re a real person who is available to answer their questions and address their concerns. Make it easy for customers to reach you.
7. Provide Detailed Product Information and Clear Pricing
One of the challenges in online shopping is that customers cannot physically check the products themselves before buying. Providing as much information about the product as possible can help solve that.
Optimize your product page by including high-quality photos and videos, clear descriptions, dimensions, and materials.
Customers should also easily find pricing information and shipping costs. Any other relevant details, such as return policy or warranty information, should be clearly stated.
If you make it easy for customers to find the information they need, they’ll be more likely to do business with you.
8. Display Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Word of mouth remains the most effective form of marketing, so featuring customer reviews and testimonials instill customer trust in your eCommerce website.
There are a few ways to display online reviews on your website…
You can create a dedicated page on your website or showcase them in a rotating carousel on your homepage. You can even embed social media posts directly on your website or blog.
Keep in mind: Positive reviews from real customers serve as social proof to encourage a prospective customer to buy from you. In contrast, negative reviews can easily deter a new customer.
9. Use a Quality Web Host
When running an online business, it’s crucial to choose a web host that you can rely on. So what does a quality web host provide?
- It makes sure your website is always up and running to be accessible to your visitors 24/7.
- It provides fast and reliable customer support to give your customers a positive experience.
- It provides secure data centers, regular backups, and around-the-clock monitoring to ensure your website is safe and secured.
- It has a wide variety of features and tools that you can use to improve your website.
Using a quality web host can go a long way towards establishing trust and making sales.
10. Be Consistent in Communicating Your Values
If you want customers to trust your eCommerce site, you need to communicate your values consistently. Show them that you’re a reliable seller by being transparent and honest in your marketing and operations.
Align your digital marketing efforts – including social media, email, and content marketing – so that your message is consistent across all channels. Be responsive to customer inquiries and provide exceptional customer service.
More importantly, make sure you deliver on your promises. The best trust seal you can show on your eCommerce store is an accurate description of your products and services.
By establishing your brand as a trustworthy source, you’ll build long-lasting customer relationships.
11. Put Customer Experience at the Heart of Your Business
When it comes to eCommerce, customer experience is key.
Here’s the thing: You only have a few seconds to make a good first impression when they land on your online store.
So, how do you make sure your website is trustworthy and makes visitors want to stay?
Use a professional-looking website. Make sure your site has a clear and unique branding, and avoid using cheap-looking or unprofessional images. Optimize your website design for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI).
It’s crucial that your website loads fast and is easy to navigate. No one wants to waste their time figuring out how to find what they are looking for on a cluttered, slow-loading site.
Final Word
Trust is essential for a successful eCommerce website. By following the tips in this article, you can create a website that your customers trust and feel comfortable buying from.
Remember, the more trust you build, the more sales you’ll make.
Above all, your brand’s reputation is on the line. So it’s critical to be consistent in applying these actionable and simple tips to ensure that you are continuously building trust.
Prosperna, All-in-one eCommerce Made Simple for Philippine MSMEs
You might think that having a trustworthy eCommerce website is expensive…
It could get expensive – if you don’t research, plan, and prepare to find the right solution for your business.
There are different eCommerce solutions to choose from, and each has its pros and cons. Choosing the right platform will depend on your business needs.
Are you looking for a simple and affordable solution to your new or growing business?
Introducing Prosperna SuperApp:
- Set up your online store even with no coding skills.
- Accept secure online and offline payment options.
- Offer reliable nationwide delivery.
- Connect and sell directly inside your social channels.
- Enjoy local support and trustworthy service.
Check out why thousands of Philippine MSMEs are choosing Prosperna:
Create your free-forever account today and build trust with your customers with your very own Prosperna online store!
