Certain business concepts can be hard to understand. However, grasping the importance of earning and keeping your customers’ trust is an idea that easily transfers from numerous parts of your personal life. All the same, establishing, cultivating, and maintaining this all-important relationship with your customers will be essential to your business’s survival and ultimate sales success.

As a fellow human being and a consumer in your own right, you already intuitively know that claims without basis mean virtually nothing. In fact, they can even have the opposite effect. For example, aren’t you inclined to be all the more suspicious if someone says, “You can trust me”?

That is why you, as a business owner whose top priority is providing top-shelf products and services to your patrons, need to back your promises with legitimate facts. The following trust signals — and the foundations that support them — will inspire your customers to view you as a legitimate, credible operation worthy of their dollars and long-term loyalty. What’s more, they will help you to get yourself a higher rank on the search engines, attract more visitors, and convert more sales.

1. A clear, optimized website.

When users can navigate your clutter-free website quickly and without frustrating complications, this sends a strong message about the transparency of your brand. While it may be tempting to pack as much rich information onto your homepage as possible, doing so will quickly overwhelm your visitors, usually resulting in both confusion and a fast click to one of your competitors.

Instead, opt for a page that loads quickly and is optimized for whatever type of device or screen a potential customer might have. Replace clunky, text-heavy menus with drop-downs, and make it easy for customers to always have a way to return to their shopping cart and your homepage.

2. Reviews from peers.

Taking the time to gather and post the words and images that real buyers send gives your store credibility with those who might be on the fence about whether to invest in what you are selling. When you are soliciting feedback after someone has made a purchase, request that they give some general details about themselves such as gender, age, and even a few descriptive words that they can highlight about the product. That way, future patrons can click on the opinions of people similar to themselves, which may be just the impetus they need to convert a browse into a full-scale sale.

3. Additional types of endorsement badges.

As well as input from customers, there are several other kinds of endorsement badges that you can feature on your website. These include the following.

• Customer logos. These are companies you already do business with that are willing to support you by allowing you to display their logo.
• Employee certification badges. These let you toot your workers’ horns by lauding their achievements that relate to the products and services you are selling.
• “As seen in” badges that show where your business or products have been featured in the media or industry publications.
• Partnership badges that highlight your relationship with high-profile third-party companies.
• Industry award badges that broadcast how you have been recognized by your peers.
• Better Business Bureau accreditation.
• Social media badges. Each site, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, has its own process that qualifies businesses as “verified” accounts.

4. Security badges.

There is no question that buyers take a leap of faith when they provide their credit card information to a faceless merchant in hopes that they will eventually receive the item they ordered. As a seller, it’s your job to make this leap as smooth and cushioned as possible. One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to allay customers’ fears about payment security.

Some of the most effective security badges include the following.

• A “safe checkout” badge lets the consumer know that your shopping cart and payment gateway software are in compliance with the latest data security standards from the Payment Card Industry.
• Seals from third-party platforms like PayPal and Shopify, which can testify to the steps these platforms take to ensure cardholder security.
• The TRUSTe Certified Privacy badge sends the message that your site protects sensitive user data.

For maximum effectiveness, display these badges near your “add to cart” icon.

5. Payment trust badges.

Consumers also tend to feel better about doing business with your website if you can show them that you accept a wide variety of payment options. These include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, and American Express. Additionally, people tend to feel safer when you participate in programs like Visa Secure that work in tandem with their credit card accounts. Finally, instituting standards such as 3-D Secure (and prominently displaying the fact that you have done so) will illustrate to anyone who visits your website that you take fraud seriously and are willing to go the extra mile to protect your valued customers from cybercriminals and identity theft.

6. Guarantee trust badges.

Standing behind what you sell with a clear, prominently displayed guarantee is a surefire way to inspire trust. A simple “30-day money back” or “free one-year warranty” badge shows potential buyers that you are proud of what you are selling. Don’t be shy about featuring this badge close to your checkout button.

7. Shipping and return trust badges.

Like it or not, Amazon has set the standard when it comes to easy and affordable deliveries, returns, and exchanges. Although it might cost you more to offer low- or no-cost shipping and easy returns, you will most likely find that providing these services inspires feelings of appreciation and loyalty in your customers that can lead to current and future sales.

In many respects, your website should feel like a homey, safe, and comfortable place for your visitors. Once any of their concerns or reservations have been allayed thanks to your thoughtful design and intelligent use of trust badges, your guests will be far more likely to bestow upon you that all-important element that your success is impossible to realize without: Their trust. 

Take the time to build your brand with care and consideration; let your customers know the lengths to which you have gone to protect their security and provide them with gold-standard merchandise and service. Once you do, you’re likely to be rewarded with increased sales and happy buyers who want nothing more than to spread the word about your business.