Brand credibility is important for all businesses. Credibility is the quality of being accepted as honest, real, or true. Not only does it relate to the evidence and facts, but the opinions and feelings that people have about a brand. Credibility is critical because it helps to influence the thoughts, behaviors, and patterns of others. It means that if your brand credibility is low, people are going to be less likely to believe what you say, which will make it incredibly difficult for you to reach your goals.
With that being said, in this blog post, we are going to take a look at the different ways that you can build trust in eCommerce. Trust plays a huge role when it comes to eCommerce conversion rates. In fact, a study by buySAFE revealed that 81% of shoppers online feel concerned when they shop on a site that is unfamiliar to them. This could result in sales dropping and even a loss of consumers in the long run, which is why you need to work on making your website feel safe and familiar to build trust. So, let’s take a look at some of the different ways to achieve this.
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Use Trust Badges
The first thing you need to do is make sure you have eCommerce trust badges displayed on your website. It is one of the first things that people will look for when shopping online.
But, what is a trust badge?
It is an icon, symbol, seal, or emblem that has the purpose of quickly establishing consumer trust in eCommerce sites. There are a number of different eCommerce trust badges you can use on your e-store, including the following:
- A money-back guarantee badge
- Third-party endorsements
- Accepted payment trust symbols
- Free shipping and free returns eCommerce trust signals
- Guaranteed secure and safe checkout badge
Badges like this help to increase trust because they let visitors to your website know that your page is legitimate and that any data shared on such a website is going to be collected via a secure and safe third-party service provider. As the trust seal business has agreed that you can use the badge on your e-store, the consumer will know that all of the processes happening on your website are secure and above board.
You need to make sure that you choose your trust badges eCommerce with care. Do not merely slap any trust badge on your site and expect viewers to trust you magically. Choose reputable and well-known providers.
For example, the Norton Trust Badges Powered by Digicert are instantly recognizable, as are the Mcafee Trust Badges. In order to acquire badges like this, you will need to head to the supplier’s website, where you should follow the checkout process. You will typically need to pay a fee as well.
The final piece of the puzzle is making sure that you place your trust indicator in a prominent position so that people on your website can easily view it. A lot of viewers will take in the trust badge when they intend to make a purchase, so think about the custom journey on your site and make sure that the trust badge is positioned at the point that makes the most sense in terms of visibility.
Source: Statista
Ask for Customer Feedback
The believability of a trustworthy brand hinges on if customers are leaving feedback stating that they have enjoyed the product or service on offer. Feedback relates to the customer information that your consumers provide regarding the customer service and overall experience they had with your service or product. The aim is to reveal how satisfied they were with your offering, which, in turn, means that you can make improvements that make the most sense.
There are a number of different reasons why customer feedback is important. Firstly, it can help to improve customer retention levels. After all, when a customer is satisfied, he or she will stay with you. If they are not, they will look elsewhere. Customer feedback enables you to discover whether or not this is the case and what improvements you need to make to prevent customers from looking elsewhere.
Customer feedback can provide you with important business data that you can power to make intelligent decisions that will drive your business forward, all of which will help to enhance trust levels surrounding your brand. You show customers that you care about their opinion, and you will be able to create the best possible experience for you.
Include Testimonials and Reviews
Another tip that we have for you when it comes to increasing brand reputation is to incorporate reviews and testimonials on your website and encourage customers to leave product information comments about your business on independent feedback platforms as well.
Customer testimonials are a great long-term trust symbol because other people are raving about your company, rather than you simply preaching about how amazing your company is. After all, we all feel more inclined to purchase something when one of our friends or family members tells us about how amazing it is, don’t we?
So, how can you encourage your customers to write reviews about your business?
Of course, you can simply ask them to do so. Simple, right?
You could also run a competition or reward your customers who leave reviews. This will encourage more of your customers to leave a review about your company.
A lot of people are worried that shoppers may leave bad comments about their business online.
Sometimes, you simply cannot avoid this. However, not all bad reviews have to be bad for your business. You can turn a bad review into a great opportunity. Leave a comment and try to rectify the issue with the disgruntled customer. Even if the consumer does not reply, the mere fact that you have gone out of your way to try and fix the problem shows that you care about the customer experience people have with your business.
Stay Active on Social Media
The final way you can focus on building brand credibility is through focusing on your marketing strategy by staying active on social media. Social media presents you with a great way of connecting with your consumers and building loyal relationships. However, a lot of businesses are failing to use social media effectively.
Content marketing plays a huge role in shaping eCommerce trust, and therefore, the content you share on social media is going to make a massive difference when it comes to building a strong brand. People are likely to trust experts or authorities in a specific industry or on a certain topic. The quality of the content you produce and share, as well as the advice you share when joining into conversations, shapes your authority on social media. Make sure you keep up with the latest news and research in your industry so that you share relevant content and insights with your business.
In addition to this, social media gives you a great way of showing your brand’s personality, as it is the most intimate medium of engaging with people online. People trust who they know, right? So, one of the most important things to do is show that there are humans behind your brand. Don’t leave a Facebook message or a Tweet from the “company”―it needs to come from real people instead. If you spend some time browsing the social media accounts of different brands, you will be able to get a good understanding of companies that use social media well and those that don’t. The best social media accounts certainly have a human feel to them, and this is what creates a connection between the brand and the consumer, and ultimately, this drives trust.
You do need to be careful with your approach to social media because you can end up diminishing trust as well. This can happen if you are self-promotional with everything you do. If all of your comments and messages on social media are about your brand and nothing else, trust within your business is going to decline. This is because customers will think that you only care about pushing your products and services, rather than genuinely caring about the experience your customers are able to enjoy with your brand.
Conclusion
So there you have it: everything you need to know about how you can create trust within your eCommerce brand. The importance of this cannot be overlooked. When shopping online, consumers today are becoming savvier about security and reputability. Therefore, you need to give them confidence in your website so that they know that your brand can be trusted and won’t let them down. From being active on social media to using trust symbols, if you implement the different strategies that we have discussed above, you can give yourself the best chance of establishing a credible eCommerce brand.
Rebecca DiCioccio is a member of the Growth team at Paperform. Outside of work, Rebecca can be found exploring the outdoors or with a book in hand. Rebecca’s background in copywriting and keen interest in SEO and digital marketing mean she understands the importance of staying up to date with the latest trends in a dynamic and ever-changing industry.
About the author:
Rebecca DiCioccio is a member of the Growth team at Paperform. Outside of work, Rebecca can be found exploring the outdoors or with a book in hand. Rebecca’s background in copywriting and keen interest in SEO and digital marketing mean she understands the importance of staying up to date with the latest trends in a dynamic and ever-changing industry.
