By Maria Wixman

Incredible as it may seem nearly 1/3 of the internet users are afraid to purchase online. What do you have to do to create a website that gains trust?

Just how much more hype could there be for Black Monday? It’s on all the national broadcasts, in the paper and of course the internet is flooded with phenomenal offers but there are still people out there who simply will not plunk down their plastic. Understanding why they are afraid will allow you to create a website that can address those fears and turn a shopper into a buyer.

There are several specific obstacles to converting this crowd but the overriding issue is that we humans fear what we don’t understand. Consequently when you create an ecommerce website or any kind of business website that has goods or services for sale, you want to make sure you spend a fair amount of time educating the visitor about security and projecting an image of trust.

My credit info will be stolen

This is the overriding fear of non-buyers. They have heard all of the horror stories about credit cards being hacked, identities stolen and bank accounts raided and they are not about to punch in the numbers of their credit card. Interestingly enough, these same people will happily give a minimum wage clerk or tips only waiter their card without a second thought. Further they will give out their information on the phone to a catalog store they have called or will complete an order form with the info and mail it in.

What you have to do is debunk the stories about the security threat of shopping online. One way to accomplish this is to have a strong, easy to understand privacy policy and have it prominently displayed not just in the menu but on your product pages and shopping cart as well. A small promotional block on the order form promoting your secure order process will also reinforce the message and lower the cart abandonment rate.

The website looks cheap

With the possible exception of bait shops, nobody wants to buy anything in a store that looks like crap. The appearance of your store determines if you are perceived as a Macy’s, or high end boutique, or big box store or a run down dirty storefront in a strip mall. When you create a website make it professional looking and appeal to your targeted audience. This is the first step in developing trust.

I can’t find anything on this site

You may sell the best widgets in town but if it takes a visitor more than 3 clicks to find them on your website don’t count on selling many. Navigation that is not intuitive and easy for the visitor to use is a big factor in them abandoning the website. Create a website that keeps navigation simple and consistent throughout all of the pages.

I’m afraid I can’t return this stuff

This is another area that your visitors need to be educated on. They know how easy it is to return purchases to a brick and mortar, and because they’ve had years of experience with their favorite catalogs they know how that works as well. But first time visitors to your Flash website don’t know you and they don’t trust you.

Make your return policy crystal clear and include it on your shopping cart page and order pages. If you have a liberal policy, use it as a benefit to promote sales. Feature it on your product pages to take the fear away.

I can’t touch the stuff I want to buy

This complaint is probably why nearly 80% of people who use the internet say that they shop online but buy offline. Now if you have a local business that you are promoting through your business website this isn’t a huge deal but if you are a pure ecommerce website you are facing a real challenge.

What you have to try to do is replace the ‘sense of touch’ with something else and that something else has to be quality images, endorsements and content that is not only engaging but compelling. You have to create an image in their mind that is more powerful than their need to physically handle the product.

One word of warning for brick and mortar operations; try to avoid ‘internet only’ pricing. Consumers are not happy when they come to your store and find that the product they want costs 15% more in the store than online. Rightly or wrongly they consider this unfair.

With these tips in mind you can create a website that will be user friendly to even the most skeptical of visitors and turn those non-buyers into new customers.

About the Author: Maria

Free Website Builder

I have been in the online marketing industry for over two years and love all things related to e-marketing,writing for the web, SEO and SEM. I’ve been working for a large company that specializes in web design, and love how dynamic this field is.

Source:

isnare.com

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