Boosting trust is the most important factor for merchants to consider when optimizing your Shopify store’s key metrics.
Why? Because if a customer feels they cannot trust you and your business with their money, their personal information, or the quality of the product they want to buy, then there is a 0% chance they will make a purchase with you.
By building trust with the consumer, you have the potential to not only make them buy once but become loyal customers who buy from you time and time again, increasing that vital Life Time Value (LTV) metric.
So how can you improve onsite trust?
Here are 4 key ways to develop trust, brought to you by the team at Blend Commerce.
1. Improve design
All features of design need to be taken into account when creating your store – from the typography used, the images displayed and the colours to the actual functionality and automation of adding a product to cart and checking out. We consider all these to form part of the website user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
Research from a study at Stanford University found that 46% of people say a website’s design is the top criteria for deciding if a company is credible or not.
The way a customer relates to an online store is solely established by their interaction with your store’s UI/UX which is instrumental to actually converting a browser into a customer.
We highly recommend that merchants use tools such as Google Analytics and Hotjar to understand how people are interacting with their website. Data is extremely powerful and can help you quickly identify areas where your UI or UX is letting you down.
2. Improve the perception of security
Assurance, guarantees, objection handling, security, call it what you like, customers want to know that they are fully secure when they shop on your store.
In a survey conducted by Experian, 2 out of 3 customers were worried about security while shopping online.
A great way to get over the message that your site is secure and safe to shop is by making use of an FAQ page on your store.
If they have this knowledge there in front of them in the form of answers to questions, then it saves them time trying to contact the companies help desk and awaiting a response. Answers to popular questions, such as how long shipping takes, how to return an item if needed or how is their payment secure will make the consumer feel satisfied that if there is an issue it will be easy to rectify.
The FAQ page needs to be displayed so that it is easy to find and navigate, as knowing this is available will help the consumer to feel happy and trusting in the merchant.
3. Improve relationships with communication
Customers trust a brand that builds a personal relationship with them. These relationships are built on the cornerstone of communication.
By communicating directly with a customer you can make them feel wanted and valued, and in turn, make them trust you and want to support your company.
‘Steiner Sports’ saw a colossal ROI of 183x from PushOwl, and an AOV of $218 from recovered carts.
A great way to send personalised notifications is with PushOwl. Pushwl lets you send push notifications straight to your customer mobile or desktop screen, removing the 3rd party email or website barriers between you and your customer.
You can communicate with them for all sorts of reasons, for example, to remind them that they have an abandoned cart, or to notify them about a particular product they have previously viewed but not purchased yet. After the sale is complete, why not also send them a push message to thank them for their custom, and to ask them to leave a review on your site. They, in turn, will feel even more valued, and that you appreciate their purchase rather than being treated as just another number.
Send them notifications whenever you hold a sale, such as BFCM or Christmas time, or ideas of similar products you think they may like. To survive as a business it is imperative that you make regular contact with your customers, keep them informed and make them feel special.
4. Make your apps talk to each other with integrations
Your customers and subscribers expect that your tools are “talking to each other” and that not every channel is just acting by itself. Your push notifications referencing the product reviews, your wishlist, or loyalty points allows your subscribers to get information about every aspect of their experience with the store.
PushOwl integrates with other popular Shopify apps to give a better shopping experience for the consumer. For example, by integrating with review apps, they give customers reminders to leave reviews on the products they have purchased via push notifications. This will then direct them to the review app that PushOwl integrates with, and the consumer can then easily leave a review.
Push notifications can also be used to send a reminder to your customers that you are ‘there’, to try and entice them back. This feels personal to them, and this reminder will then trigger them to return to the store and hopefully purchase again.
Conclusion
Even though it can be time-consuming making sure that all aspects of the site are 100% correct in terms of design, images, product information and FAQs, it is imperative to focus on these if you want to succeed and drive more revenue. It is also important to spend time making sure your services are seen as personal to the consumer, so that they feel special and rewarded, which ultimately wins their trust.
About the author: Peter Gardner, COO of Blend Commerce is the author of this blog. His background is firmly rooted in Shopify and eCommerce. Having initially worked as a freelance designer and developer in the infancy of Shopify, Peter has extensive knowledge of the platform and its capabilities for growing an online brand.
As COO and Lead Consultant, Peter works on ensuring that the delivery of Blend client projects and growth partnerships meet the high standards set by the business. Peter also works closely with all Blend clients to understand and establish how best to grow their Shopify based business.
This article originally appeared in the PushOwl blog and has been published here with permission.
