Establishing Trust is Vital for an Online Business
If there’s one thing that businesses can never lose, it’s the trust of their customer. If they get even an idea that you’re not doing things legit, then you’re likely to never hear from them again. However, aside from always doing the right thing, what exactly can you do to assure them that your business is a safe and secure place to spend money?
Secure Your Website
Security certificates for the website are not the end-all and be-all of web safety, but they are a good start. One of the first things that many customers will do is look at the website URL, and if the ‘https’ and padlock are not there, then they may end up abandoning the prospect altogether. SSL certificates are not difficult to get, and there are plenty of good, free options that are worth looking into. That said, investing in a higher-quality SSL can offer you some peace of mind, too.
Have A Strong Dedication to Customer Protection
You should have a page on your website that details everything that you do to protect your customer’s data and personal information. This includes secure data servers, cybersecurity tips that can help them protect their own accounts, as well as using up-to-date software behind the website, especially if you’re using third-party widgets.
Offer Additional Protection for Their Accounts
The biggest threat in the mind of many customers is losing access to their account, especially if their account has their financial details saved on them. Someone accessing that account could do some real damage, so you should always offer multi-step authentication for those who want that extra security. This ensures that customers have to take additional steps to verify that it really is them trying to access the account. This should be an option so that customers have their choice in how they want to balance service and convenience.
Ensure Extra Security for Transactions
The point of the transaction is where you want your customers to feel most at ease and that they’re not at risk of delivering their financial details to someone who would misuse them. Just like multi-step authentication for accounts, 3D secure payment processing can ensure that customers can secure their purchases while being able to keep things streamlined for trusted customers making repeat transactions. That way, you don’t have to add additional barriers to every purchase while securing them.
Make Good Use of Trust Badges
Trust badges are those icons that appear on many websites, which basically serve as the indicator that a third-party organization or body approves of or vouches for the legitimacy of the website. You can get all kinds of trust badges, but few are more immediately recognizable as those from the Better Business Bureau. Take your time to see which trust badges are most trusted by customers, and what you need to do to get them on your site.
In the online world, there is no face-to-face connection that allows you to build trust naturally. You have to do it by ensuring that every protection is in place that will allow your customers to shop with peace of mind.