Website Credibility: Gain Consumer Trust!
The Internet is fast becoming the average American’s primary source of information.
Modern consumers are more savvy than their predecessors. Today’s customers often research a company’s website prior to making a purchase. Studies have shown that by displaying an address and phone number on the company website, a company can gain credibility in the eyes of a potential customers. This is of particularly importance in regards to Ecommerce websites. Providing a physical street address and a direct and/or toll free phone number helps a consumer feel more confident about purchasing an item on the Internet.
“About Us” and “Contact Us” are standard web pages on a majority of websites because they induce credibility. Many Internet consumers expect these pages to display such information. By prominently presenting this information on the website, an ecommerce store can increase sales potential.
The top five procedures for increase website credibility.
* Display Physical Contact Information (phone, mailing address)
* Display a Privacy Policy
* Display Professional Quailty Company Logos
* Contract Professional Web Design
* Display Professional Quality Photos
Websites can continue to increase their credibility if they adopt these basic policies:
Identity:
Disclose the physical location where they are produced, including an address, a telephone number or e-mail address.
Disclose their ownership, private or public, naming their parent company.
Disclose their purpose and mission.
Advertising and Sponsorships:
Distinguish advertising from news and information, using labels or other visual means. This includes “in-house” advertising or cross-corporate ad sponsorships. Search engines, shopping tools and portals should clearly disclose paid result-placement advertising, so consumers may distinguish between objective search results and paid ads.
Disclose relevant business relationships, including sponsored links to other sites. For example: A site that directs a reader to another site to buy a book should clearly disclose any financial relationship between the two sites.
Identify sponsors. The site’s sponsorship policies should be clearly noted in accompanying text or on an “About Us” or “Site Center” page.
Customer Service:
Disclose relevant financial relationships with other sites, particularly when these relationships affect the cost to a consumer.
Disclose all fees charged, including service, transaction and handling fees, and shipping costs. This information should be disclosed before the ordering process begins.
State and enforce policies for returning unwanted items or canceling transactions or reservations.
Corrections:
Deek to correct false, misleading or incorrect information.
Display a page or section of the site where incorrect information is corrected or clarified.
Mark content with its published date when failing to do so could mislead consumers.
State their policy on a consumer’s rights if a purchase is made based on incorrect information on the site.
Privacy:
Policies should be easy to find and clearly, simply stated.
Disclose how personal data from site visitors and customers will be used. Personal data includes name, address, phone number and credit card number.
Disclose whether they use browser-tracking mechanisms such as “cookies,” and other technologies such as Web beacons, bugs and robots.
Explain how data collected from them will be used.
Notify customers of changes to privacy policies, and provide an easy opt-out alternative.
Here are various Internet website sources to confirm this article:
http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/consumer-reports-webwatch-guidelines.cfm
http://www.aisip.com/Establishing-Credibility-Using-About-Contact-Pages.php
http://captology.stanford.edu/pdf/p61-fogg.pdf
