Shopping in a brick and mortar store for customers is a whole
lot different from them shopping online. In a normal shop this
customer knows that he or she can pick up anything and pay for
it and walk out of the store. However online the same customer
has to first make the purchase and then wait for the company he
or she has made the purchase from to ship the product to them.
He or she therefore has to be made to feel that the company that
they are purchasing from online is a trustworthy company who
after collecting their money would actually ship the product to
them. The onus to prove that the website is owned by a
trustworthy company lies entirely on the website owner.
The website is the face of your company (and you). Its through
your website that people judge your company and make a decision
to buy a product from your website. People will only make a
purchase on your website if they feel secure that you are
trustworthy company to whom they can give out their credit card
details and would ship the product to them.
As a result of this you have to actually go out of your way to
ensure that every person who visits your website feels safe and
secure as he or she navigates throughout your site. On every
page of your website that this visitor browses you have to
ensure that the page adds to the security that the user wants to
feel before taking the decision to make the purchase on your
site.
We have compiled a list of few things that you could do based on
our experience of working with other websites to help them
increase their online conversion rates.
1. Display a toll free number or at least your telephone number
prominently through out your website so that visitors feel that
they can call you for any questions they might have and know
there is a human person available at the end of the line.
2. Display the complete mailing address and any registration
numbers of your company given to you by the your Government on
your website.
3. If possible display a photo of your office/building so that
customers can know that you actually are present at a physical
location and are not just another online business.
4. Get your site certified by companies like Verisign, Thwate
etc that check your site up and allow you to display a logo
stating that your site is a secure site to shop on.
5. The look and feel of your website also plays an important
role in making your customers feel at ease as they navigate
throughout the site.
6. Provide an easy navigation to your visitors so that they are
not lost as they go through your website.
7. Prominently display all costs including the shipping cost
right at the beginning with the price of the product. Customers
do not like surprises at the end.
8. Test your site thoroughly to ensure that it does not have any
broken links. Customers instantly leave if they come across any
broken link.
9. Make it a point to tell your customers that the data you
collect about them will not be given out or misused in any way.
10. Display testimonials from your existing clients prominently.
Visitors like to know that they are not the first people to
visit your website and that other have visited your website and
made purchases before them.
About the author:
Manoj Mansukhani is the founder and CEO of Scarlet Technologies
(
http://www.scarlettech.com). They provide services to help
business get setup and succeed online. Their services include
increasing website conversion rates, online marketing, search
engine optimization and web development. Visit the website or
contact him to find out how you can succeed online.
