trust

If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you. – Zig Ziglar (American author, salesman, and motivational speaker)

By Ankit Gupta

For over 250,000 products are launched every year with an average of 85% to 95% failure rate. This is not surprising at all given our love for new and better, as well as, the pace with which the small businesses are running today. Where new brands come and go in a jiffy, there are few exceptions that know how to stand out shiny.

What’s the secret then? Here’s when trust and status come in!

Well, both trust and status are as significant as the quality of a product when it is about the small businesses or corporate world. Trust is what every firm prizes in a customer. And, with trust comes the reliability and unswerving word-of-mouth marketing thereby building brand reputation.

But, how to build that trust and status for a small business? This post answers this question in detail, so let’s dive in and have a look!

Optimize Your Search Engine Listing

  • Rank Well to Acquire SERP Trust. It is reported that searchers usually care about above-the-fold-results of the first page. As per the study by Group M UK with Nielsen, 48% of the time first SERP result is clicked, 12% of the time second and 8% of the time third one. You need to be at the top of the SEO game to acquire that SERP trust as people will trust you more if you rank well.
  • Most of The Users Trust Knowledgeable Entry. It’s undeniable that users will trust a source, which they consider as knowledgeable. Studies say that for over 80% of the users do not purchase right away and look out for that info, which helps them to make informed decisions. SERP that offers knowledge will definitely engage the trust of the users thereby, inviting a click.
  • Descriptive Page Title Grabs User Attention. There is no denying that a user when searches on Google, has a question that needs to be answered. And moreover, your page title is the first thing that users see the time they look at a SERP. The point is that the titles that are descriptive fetch attention of the users as well as the trustworthiness and you might increase your CTR by 20% or more. The aim of your page title is to create SEO value and provide user value at the same time.
  • Google Authorship Is The Symbol Of Trust. In today’s marketing world, Google authorship is the trust badge. The SERP entries when flaunt an author, a circle count, a photo, and a byline, there is an amazing uptick in the trust level of the users. The markup having authorship enjoys higher CTRs, for over 150% increase in visits and page views, even if you are not there at number one position.

Increase Trust With Style

  • Excellent Web Design Cultivates User Trust. The first impression is the last impression and 94% of the same is related to design. Just like a book is judged by its cover, a website is judged by its design. Who don’t like a site that is attractive, organized, and easy to load? Plus, it is noted that a site that is agile, responsive, and user-friendly and answers all the questions having more appurtenances, is trusted more by the users. Excellent web design is one of the many reasons why Nordstrom’s page is enjoying 6.06 daily Pageviews per visitor.
  • Use Blue To Nurture Trust Of Users. The recent reports say that 90% of the product calculation is related to its color. Moreover, color is 85% responsible when a product is purchased. It is proven that to nurture the trust of the users, blue is the best color choice as it appeals the trustworthiness, serenity and calmness of the user’s mind thereby, increasing your website conversions. This is why platforms like Facebook, PayPal and CapitalOne.com have blue site color. Bing acquired an additional $80 million in annual revenue after employing blue over other colors.

User Experience (UX) Is The Key!
Do you know that 88% of online customers are less probable to come back to the site after a bad experience?

With scams and fraud being very common when it comes to online community, it has become even more significant for building an atmosphere where users are comfortable in interacting, using and buying. So, to acquire trust, build user confidence, and increase sales along with user base, it is vital to have an amazing UX design.

For instance, websites like Gmail and Reddit have gathered new users by increasing the utility and usability of the site.

Focus On Content

  • The companies who optimize their content encircling their audience base experience more than 10% increase in their open rates and click rates might get doubled. It is important for you to know who you are writing for, which eventually makes it easier to build trust since you will be giving right info to the right reader.
  • Personalization: For That Personal Touch! There no denying that customers trust those businesses, which communicate with them on a personal level. Reports say that 86% of consumers say personalization influences their purchasing decisions. You can give a personal touch by incorporating things like engagement on social media or to extensive ones like personalized customer service.

Existing potential customers will know that your business is customer-oriented and they will start trusting you more. Knowing that they will get a sincere response from your end, chances of a purchase also increases.

Educate by Sharing Lessons
Right from webinars, white papers, blogs, videos to case studies, design your content in a manner that would teach something new solving the issues of the customers since they come to you to solve their problems. With this, you will be helping them find more value in your company. And this is what builds trust as customers feel that they are with the right partners. Focus your content on giving some tips or talk about “How to” rather than “What is.”

 

Build Trust and Status With Social Proofs
Do you know 90% of consumer’s purchasing decisions are influenced by online reviews, 92% of people trust peer recommendation, and 70% of people trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know?

Making use of social proofs such as testimonials, case studies, reviews, and others help in building trust as they are practical evidence. Social proofs like testimonials can increase conversions on sales pages by as much as 34%.

Secure Checkouts Enhances Reliability
It’s undeniable that checkout process is the still a serious action where trust is all the more significant. Even if the customers have experienced an amazing time right from stepping-in to selection of the items to buying the products, snags at the time of checking out can discourage them from making a purchase thereby losing trust. Therefore, it’s important to design checkouts well with crystal clear steps kicking aside the chances of user errors.

If you checkout is clean with visibly laid out steps, just like Bellroy’s, it provides a guarantee of delivery as well as the security of payments eventually building all the trust that you require.

Security Logos And Site Seals
Security logos and site seals instill a sense of confidence amongst all your customers. You can incorporate the prominent logos and seals or else, you can also make your own that will cost next to nothing, but can drive amazing conversions. For example, ‘100% Money-Back Guarantee’ can prove to be a low-cost security logo to attract users and build trust.

As per the survey conducted by Baynard 2013, 35.6% of the 1,286 respondents chose Norton as the best sense of trust whilst paying online, 22.9% chose McAfee, and 13.2% chose TRUSTe.

Customers are aware, alert and are very much cautious of scams, shady marketing tactics as well as rip-offs. Moreover, in almost all the cases the customers are basing their buying decisions on how authentic are the firm and the offer. Keeping in mind the discussed factors can definitely help building business’s online reputation, which will eventually lay a solid foundation for long lasting success. With this, I take your leave hoping this post might have helped you.
Ankit Gupta owns and manages ExportersIndia.com, one of the largest B2B Portals in India.Owing to his passion for writing, Ankit keeps sharing his valuable insights with marketers of SMEs and start-ups, to keep them upaded with the latest news and trends.Follow Ankit on Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn to get more updates related to business.