Through the COVID-19 pandemic, many brick-and-mortar retailers, restaurants and cafes have been given no choice but to adapt their business for online shopping. This has led to the creation of swathes of new ecommerce sites by established businesses. While it is a good thing that companies are flexible and creative in order to survive in these difficult financial circumstances, starting a new website for ecommerce comes with challenges of its own.
One of the most difficult issues created by any new ecommerce site is how to build trust with customers. People in your local area might be aware of you, but for those further afield, your site is just like any other that is new to them: unknown. And if a site is new to someone, there can be significant barriers around trust.
Here we take a look at some important ways that your new ecommerce site can build trust and start attracting new customers.
Offer multiple customer service channels
Any new ecommerce site can learn from the mistakes made by others – even those by big businesses. One key example is from electronics retailer giant, Currys PC World. With their stores closed while the market for electronics goods soared throughout lockdown, the company drastically failed with regards to customer service.
Customers reported excruciatingly long wait times as they were left on hold for hours, and further problems included poor connections and even lines being cut off completely. Ultimately this has caused negative publicity for the company. A big company like Currys PC World can survive this sort of controversy – but for start-ups it is a chance to learn what not to do.
Focus on offering high quality customer service with multiple channels – phone, email, live chat – so that customers have a range of different ways to get in touch and deal with issues.
Demonstrate your dedication to cybersecurity
It’s important that ecommerce businesses of all sizes have robust cybersecurity measures. This means going further than simple antivirus and web application firewall software. Even smaller websites need to invest in strategies such as penetration testing, where security professionals attempt to identify flaws in your website defences that could be exploited by cybercriminals.
More proactive forms of cybersecurity such as this are now essential, as criminals have become more sophisticated. Display your dedication to cybersecurity proudly, such as by gaining Cyber Essentials certification, to highlight the fact that you have worked with independent cyber security specialists. This is a simple way to help your potential customers understand that you take the security of their data very seriously.
Prioritise getting reviews
70 percent of customers will check reviews before making their purchase – and that doesn’t just go for products, it goes for your website too. With website review platforms such as Trustpilot and Feefo now widely known, it is very easy for potential customers to search for your business to see if it is well reviewed.
Of course, this type of system is naturally less helpful to start-ups that don’t have any reviews. But it simply means that you need to make getting reviews a priority for your business in the early days. When you make a sale or when you have a positive interaction with a customer, this can be the time to send them an email requesting a review through one of these sites.
Demonstrate your brand ethos through content
Website content can be extremely powerful for connecting with customers. Something as simple as keeping a regularly updated blog can make a huge difference – it shows that you are invested in your business and that your website is looked after.
Content is crucial in that it allows you to show off the ethos of your brand, highlighting stories and allowing you to develop a brand voice.
Don’t neglect your About Us page
When you are trying to build trust, it is important for customers to know that you are a real company staffed by real people. This means that you should spend some time on your About Us page – a brief history of the business, as well as profiles of key members of staff can go a long way in showing that you are genuine.
Make sure that you also have plenty of images of your team and premises too. This allows customers to establish more of a connection with you and your business.
Put a strong returns policy in place
If customers are on the fence on whether to make a purchase from your site, it can be a fantastic idea to give them some gentle reassurance. One of the best ways to do this is through a very strong and fair returns policy – if they don’t like the product, they can send it back with no questions asked.
It might seem like a small offering, but it can really give them the confidence to buy from your online store.
Ensure your product pages offer the best information online
The importance of great content can never be overstated, and if you want customers to pick your website over your rival’s, you need to be offering the best possible information. Product pages are vital from a sales perspective as they are the point at which customers will decide to buy or to click away.
Having genuinely useful content not only provides customers with what they’re looking for, but it also shows them that you are the expert in the industry and can be trusted.
Address customer concerns directly
It can be a good idea to use a Frequently Asked Questions section on your site to address any immediate customer concerns. Great FAQs are worded not only to provide customers with the information that they are looking for but also to help promote your business and the products you have on offer.
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