Establish credibility. You've heard it many times, but doing exactly this, especially as a new brandm is always tough. You must step up to the starting line ready to sprint.
It can be especially challenging in the world of eCommerce, since your competition is just as easily accessible as you are, and even more established. However, there are ways that you can position yourself for success right out of the gate. User trust and authority in eCommerce are the bread and butter of an online business. If you’re still scratching your head, keep on reading for some tips from the experts.
The Truth Will Set You Free - Be Transparent with Reviews
It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of thinking that anything less than five stars will work against you and your company. As a result, you might be tempted to not feature a pesky customer review for the time being. But when it comes to online users, being transparent is much more important than having the appearance of perfection, which can seem fishy.
Sure, user reviews are highly important and factor significantly into customer decision making. But online shoppers are not as harsh as you might think. Users understand context; rather than looking for perfection, they’re looking to see that your shop matches their needs. Removing reviews looks more suspicious than having a few negative ones and makes it seem as though you have something to hide. Be transparent, and if you do get the occasional negative feedback, use this opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service!
Put Yourself In Your Shopper’s Shoes - Make Usability Your Focus
User experience is a big part of how trustworthy, professional, and credible your website appears. Cluttered webpages, slow loading time, and a low quality presence on mobile can all add up and reflect poorly on your brand. Studies published by behavioural analytics company Kissmetrics, have shown that if an e-commerce website generates $100,000 on a daily basis, even a 1 second delay in page loading time could cost $2.5 million in lost sales over a year. That’s a lot of potential business.
In addition, a delay of just 1 second can lead to a 7% decrease in conversions. It’s clear to see that speed and efficiency are key to maintaining user interest. A smooth, high-speed website looks much more professional and high quality than one where user experience has been neglected.
Become an Expert - Be Informative and Authoritative
If you want users to look at your site as a credible source, the most important thing you can do is actually be one. Don’t get lazy. Make sure any claims are well researched and can be backed up. Ensure you’re up-to-date on the latest industry trends and informed of new consumer expectations in eCommerce. Taking time to simply educate yourself and your employees may seem counterintuitive. But, by staying in the know in this ever-changing field, you can push ahead of the competition and stay at the forefront of the industry.
Step Into The Light - Be Easy to Reach
Establishing and maintaining credibility can often be as simple as making yourself – or your customer support department – easily accessible. If you can be available during all business hours in your time zone, that’s great. If support can be available 24/7, that’s even better! If something goes wrong with an order or a customer has a general inquiry, the faster it can be answered, the better your company looks. In fact, this is one area where new eCommerce stores can have an edge, due to smaller sizes and the ability to provide more personal customer attention.
By making yourself available to your customers and crafting a clean, organized, user-focused website, you can launch your business with confidence. Establishing credibility and building a positive brand reputation is no doubt a long-term process. Still, by following these tips and staying true to your mission, you can form a reputable foundation from which to build off of.
At eShipper, we love providing our eCommerce customers with more resources to help them reach their business goals. Take a look at our informative guide on creating an exceptional end-to-end customer experience. Contact us for more shipping solutions.
