It can be difficult for a new ecommerce company to gain traction in the marketplace. Most of the difficulty boils down to the challenge of earning the trust of potential customers who aren't interacting with you or your inventory in a tangible, offline way. Although many people appreciate the convenience and speed of online shopping, they may hesitate to buy from an unfamiliar company.
Fortunately, ecommerce businesses have several opportunities to win over potential customers. The first opportunity comes when a customer sees one of your advertisements for the first time. It's crucial to include key information in your ads, such as number of orders shipped, number of customers served and your customer service hours. If you accept PayPal as a payment option, you should mention it.
Another opportunity comes when a customer is browsing your website. You should use only high-quality images for your product pages and lookbooks, and you may want to consider adding customer reviews or testimonials, a staff page with pictures and even a live chat feature to help out customers who need assistance in real time. Finally, when a customer is making a purchase, it's a good idea to say where an order is shipping from, and it's better to display a delivery date rather than a shipping date. Security badges such as those from McAfee Secure and VeriSign will also inspire confidence.
Check out the infographic below, created by KISSmetrics, for more tips on how to build trust in your ecommerce business.
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Related: What Shoppers Still Won't Buy on Amazon (Infographic)