Building Trust on your website in an untrusting world
No longer do we believe everything we see. It used to be enough to add a couple of sentences of a testimonial on your website and your visitors would believe every word. Not anymore. Never has it been more important to demonstrate your competency and credibility on your site if you want to get sales and enquiries. Here we delve into how you can build trust on your website in an untrusting world.
What is trust
Trust is a personal, subjective emotion.
It can be based on our preconceptions and biases. What we have heard, seen and experienced before, will affect our level of trust in someone or something even if it wasn’t us that had that negative experience in the past. Our memory hears and stores all these stories and once we have heard them enough, our subconscious will register them as true, regardless of if they are based on fact or not.
Trust is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as ‘to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable ’
Positiveness & consistency are important when building and maintaining trust. If we see, hear and experience positive actions and information from various sources that we already trust then we are more likely to believe and trust in a business. These positive actions and information must be consistent, or that element of doubt will set in and that trust is shattered. Consistency is key.
Trust takes time, You wouldn’t marry a person after a couple of dates. So you can’t expect potential clients to sign a contract with you within seconds of landing on your website. That takes time, very few will be ready to buy on their first contact with you.
Ken Blanchard author of The One Minute Manager discusses trust in his book Trust Works. He discusses what behaviours he believes create or reduce trust. He defines these as the A, B, C, and D’s of Trust. Ability (can you demonstrate competency) Believable (acting with Integrity) Connected (care about others) and Dependable (maintain credibility). We agree with Ken, these are all really important aspects that you need to be able to communicate positively to your website visitors or customers to help them believe you are trustworthy. Trust Works Book
In the book ‘The Trusted Advisor’ the authors discuss how to win trust, and point out that trust ‘must be earned and deserved’ suggesting that ‘You must be willing to give in order to get’ and this is as true with your website as with any other aspect of your life.
Let’s start with why building trust is important.
Trust is a personal choice, your business’s reputation can be built or lost on trust.
Trust is a number of things, an emotion that is changeable and can be based on a set of beliefs. Potential customers may not have a particular reason to distrust you but likewise, they may not have a particular reason to trust you either. Your website is therefore your perfect opportunity to do everything you can to demonstrate your values, your expertise and experience.
This alone is not sufficient, every interaction with your company must give an experience that is consistent with your messaging, this adds weight to your claims and well embed and deepen consumers’ trust in you.
Interaction with your company isn’t confined to looking at your website, chatting with an advisor on live chat or having a meeting with your staff. It is about every time they see your name, every time your advert is in the local business directory, and every piece of information you put out on your social media. Branding, communication, design and your voice must all be congruent or risk sowing a seed of doubt or confusion in the mind of your prospective clients.
Lack of trust from your website visitors will be noticeable by the limited conversions you have (number of enquiries, calls and emails). If you are looking to increase your website conversions then one of the first places you should start should be to ensure you are doing everything you can to promote trust in you.
How do you increase trust in your business?
There are many ways you can increase trust in your business, here are a few ways you can help your ideal customers trust you over your competitors.
Demonstrate your experience and expertise
Humans are like sheep (sorry!) We see where others are going and quite often we will follow.
For an established business a great place to start is with client testimonials and case studies. Sprinkle these like fairy dust across your site, don’t be scared to add these near to your enquiry forms, on relevant pages of the site and especially on landing pages where your visitors will first land when they visit your website.
Give yourself an extra pat on the back if you have alternate sources of reviews such as Google Reviews, Trust Pilot or Trust a Trader. A visitor that can see you get consistent reviews across platforms they know and trust will increase their ability to trust you and that’s before they have read the reviews (assuming that your reviews are all positive and not all negative obviously!).
Don’t be too afraid of a slightly lower rating on your reviews, just ensure you have responded, been polite, professional and explained any relevant points in your response. If everyone always had 5 stars and perfect reviews that in itself can cast an element of doubt on the sources! A positive response to a slightly negative review can actually show you in a better light and demonstrate your customer service skills.
Can you highlight your credibility?
Have you got affiliation logos, accreditation or partner logos, etc that you can highlight to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge in what you do?
If you have published articles, are an author or a speaker etc include this information.
Been promoted or mention in any other trustworthy publications, Tv or Radio – include statements like ‘ As seen on the BBC’ etc. People will assume you must be trustworthy by association.
Is your content accurate and reliable?
From spelling and grammar mistakes to broken links and false or misleading information, errors and incorrect information will cast doubt in the minds of your visitors. If you make even minor mistakes on your website can you be relied on to get things right for them, or are those errors a sine of your lack of attention to detail? These are some of the questions your potential customers will be considering when they see things that concern them on your site or in your marketing.
Are you talking your customer’s language?
Don’t you hate it when you have a conversation with someone and they talk in acronyms or language that you do not understand?
It is important your website and marketing talks to your potential customers in the simplest way possible. This ensures your message is understood by everyone, reducing the risk of you accidentally alienating potential customers. By talking in technical or overly complex language you can unintentionally cause your visitors to feel less than intelligent and stupid for their lack of understanding, and that is never a good way to start a relationship with a potential new customer.
When you are asking your audience to take a desired action such as to book a meeting or get in touch, be conscious of the language you use. If someone has just found your website they may not be comfortable with booking straight into your diary for a face-to-face meeting – It can be seen as a little presumptuous. Whereas a live chat box for them to ask questions is a little less intimidating.
Likewise, completing a short questionnaire with the intention of receiving a guidance document is less forward than insisting they call you or provide all their contact details for you to call them back. Treat visitors like you are making new friends and building relationships, don’t rush, take it slowly!
Lack of consistency across channels, branding and messaging.
Being consistent promotes trust in your brand. You are reliable, they know what they are getting and who they are dealing with. It helps you to appear professional and organised.
When there is no consistency there is confusion. Why is your address different on different platforms, You are promoting an offer on your social media but no mention of it on your website. Potential customers maybe come a little more cautious when dealing with you.
Having inconsistency regarding contact details etc across the web can cause confusion for Google to; which address are you actually based at, and what are the correct contact details? The last thing Google wants to do is promote one address to their customers, which proves to be wrong. So consistency can even help with your SEO. Remember to check your messaging across directories etc, as well as your more obvious platforms such as your main social media accounts, website and don’t forget to check your Google Business Profile is up to date too!