Nowadays, online shopping has become an usual practice. Who has never shopped online? The online sales system allows us to obtain the products we want in just one click, without even leaving home. Why not buy a product or subscribe to a service while we are sunbathing on the beach? Easy peasy ! Here we give you some keys to build trust with customers during an online sale.
However, even though it is a common activity for most people, many users still reject this alternative due to the increase in fraud through online shops, the theft of bank information, identity theft and other scams that stalk the Internet.
For this reason, we must find a way to build trust with the online customer so that they feel safe when browsing our website and end up purchasing the product or completing any action. But how to achieve this?
Here are the 5 infallible keys to generate trust with your customers in an online sale.
1. Creating a secure URL
One of the first signs that builds trust with customers in an online sale is the padlock that appears when accessing a URL. This symbol indicates that communications are encrypted and that, therefore, the user is in a secure space where they can perform any action and share data securely. In this way, an encrypted HTTP space is configured, i.e. HTTPS.
This action will also allow us to implement other complementary tools on our website that will also help us to build trust with the customer in an online sale. We are referring, for example, to real-time communication systems, such as videoconferencing or web buttons.
These tools work over the Internet with WebRTC technology. This protocol is the most secure as it can only be used in end-to-end encrypted spaces. In this sense, customers can be confident that the conversations they have through these channels will be encrypted and therefore the data shared will be out of the reach of third parties.
In addition to this, we must be careful, if they are endowed with a seal of quality and we reflect it on our website, we will manage to increase users’ trust in our brand and, therefore, we will encourage them to complete a purchase process. To obtain them, you must obtain verification from certain bodies, such as:
- The Government of England has implemented through the Department for Digital, Culture,Media & Sport an Online Harms White Paper that preaches good practice and standards to ensure online safety.
- Within e-commerce we also have the online seals, to ensure security, transparency and reliability. You can quickly check it on the website.
Don’t forget to include them on your website! This way they will be public and accessible.
2. Web design
It doesn’t matter if the company is big or small. Building trust with the customer in an online sale is not only based on the means we use to make the purchasing process more pleasant and secure. The first image that a website offers is also the first impression that users have of it. Human beings tend to judge at first sight, so the appearance of professionalism and trust must be reinforced.
In this sense, it is important to organise the information correctly and enhance the usability of the website to make it more comfortable and easier for users to browse.
In this way, we can carry out actions such as creating sections according to content or other filters so that searches are more specific and customers can easily find what they are looking for. Also, we must correctly adjust the font size, colour and amount of text so that the content is not excessive, but clear and concise.
On the other hand, in order to be easily recognised, we must use the same colours as in the physical shop or office and maintain the same design throughout the website, thus creating a recognisable corporate identity.
3. Proximity to customers
We must find a way to make consumers feel comfortable when they browse your website. To build trust with the customer in an online sale, it is important to recreate a customer experience similar to that of the physical shop.
In this process, communication is a key point, as it allows us to offer different contact options and, therefore, allows customers to communicate with us to resolve their doubts by the means that is most convenient for them at any given time. By using a unified communications platform such as the virtual PBX, we can manage all these channels from a single platform.
In addition, we can incorporate buttons on the web that will allow us to maintain a real-time conversation with our customers and generate confidence in a remote sale. To do this, it will be enough for users to click on them to launch a call, Whatsapp, Telegram or even a video call.
4. Personalized attention
In an online sale, it is important to monitor all the actions carried out to check what we can improve and enhance a personalized service. In this sense, after-sales services allows us to create a long-term bond with the customer.
Through the virtual PBX, we can launch actions such as satisfaction surveys, queries… Moreover, we can personalize it by adding voice greetings, schedules and holidays, call queuing with music…
In this case, we must emphasize that, for the security of the clients, it is important not to lose detail and to make statistical reports or check the recording of calls. This will increase customer satisfaction, as these flexible options allow us to adapt to the customer’s needs and the product, thus creating a comfortable environment.
Finally, a return policy should be in place in case customers are dissatisfied with the service/product. In addition, the Terms and Conditions of service should be incorporated, a document that will help you to prevent and solve problems.
All these considerations will convince the customer to fill their basket and move on to the next phase.
5. Secure payment
After choosing all the products or services, the next and final step to close the virtual sale is the payment. However, this step is also the one that causes the most suspicion among users, so it is here where it is essential to build trust with the customer. There are several ways to pay online, but it is important to ensure maximum security so that users do not fall victim to the usual cyber-attacks.
- Of course, the most common of these methods is online payment by credit or debit card. The disadvantage of this method is that we have to provide sensitive data such as full name and all bank card information. To create a secure space, most merchants use a virtual Point of Sale terminal, better known as a POS Software or virtual payment gateway.
- An intermediary payment platform such as Paypal can be used. Thanks to it, the online business does not have access to our bank details and Paypal handles in case of error or fraud.
- Bank transfer is also safe, although it is slower and in case of fraud it would be more difficult to recover the amount of money lost.
- More recently, money can be sent instantly via Wise , an alternative to bank transfer without the need to show your account number.
In an online sale, customers generally have to enter their card details on a secure platform. However, nowadays there are more advanced and secure procedures through other channels that will help your company in its remote sales processes.
In this case, we are talking about the secure card payment during a phone call that we offer at Fonvirtual. During a phone call, if a commercial agent manages to close a remote sale, he will transfer it to this artificial intelligence system by voice through which the bank details must be provided, which are processed and connected to the bank executing the payment in real time. All this without having to leave the conversation and with the PCI-DSS security standard.
The data is never recorded in the company’s database and is processed directly with the bank. This simplifies payments and allows us to build trust with the customer.
6. Opinions, reviews
As a guide to the reliability and quality of a product or service, we tend to look at reviews from previous consumers.
Even though we do not know the person who writes them, we take them as recommendations from friends. Positive reviews will serve as an incentive for future buyers and negative reviews should be taken as constructive criticism to improve certain aspects.
These opinions serve as proof and transparency helping the growth of sales and customers. There are official websites that verify that the reviews are real. Ideally, they should be partners of Google in order to improve the SEO of your website.
With all these elements, the user will feel in an environment of trust and your online sales will be a success, thus improving the reputation of the brand and the profits obtained.
