It’s important that your business website evokes trust in your site visitors. Not only do you have to gain their trust in order to encourage them to make an initial purchase, you have to gain their loyalty as well. After all, the more trust and loyalty consumers have with your business, the more likely they will be to buy from you again and again.
But, how can you gain that trust and loyalty with just your website? Luckily, there are a number of simple things you can do to your website to encourage your website visitors to feel total trust in your business.
Check out these 5 easy ways to build loyalty and trust on your website.
Showcase user-generated content.
Being able to see real people using and loving a product/service is powerful to your website visitors. If they had any doubts about your business, real-life proof of your happy customers can turn it all around. In fact, according to Stackla, 79% of people say user-generated content (UGC) highly impacts their purchasing decisions. So, you need to showcase UGC on your website.
User-generated content is any form of content, such as images and videos, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as Instagram.
For example, on ColorPop Cosmetics’ website, they include user-generated content from their Instagram feed. These photos feature delighted customers and Instagram influencers trying out makeup looks with their products. They also encourage more customers to share UGC with them by creating a unique hashtag.
These aren’t marketing photos, they’re from real, satisfied customers which makes them more authentic. And authenticity is important when building customer loyalty and trust.
Display real-time stats.
When a user visits your website, they don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes; they have no idea how many people are on the website at the same time becoming email subscribers or making purchases. But, you can change that by displaying real-time stats.
With a tool like TrustPulse you can easily display real user activity on your site. Like in the example below, everytime a user on your site becomes a subscriber, registers for a demo, or makes a purchase, a small notification will appear on the bottom of the screen.
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There’s safety in numbers, so when a user can see that others are on the website buying, it will increase their trust with your company and make them more likely to buy from you as well. According to TrustPulse, displaying real-time social proof can increase conversions by up to 15%.
Offer 24/7 live chat.
When a user first visits your website, they’ll naturally have questions they want answered before they make a purchase. Plus, your existing customers will want to be able to get in touch with you easily any time they run into an issue too. That’s why it’s important that you offer 24/7 live chat on your site.
By providing live chat on your site, your visitors will have complete trust in your company because they’ll know that you’ll be there for them at all times. Instead of filling out a contact form and waiting for a response, users will get the information they need immediately.
You might think that your company would need a huge customer support team in order to offer 24/7 live chat, but that’s not true. Luckily, you can outsource your customer service so that you can provide lightning-fast customer support to users all over the world, day and night.
Display customer reviews — good and bad.
Consumers seek out reviews before making a purchase from a company. In fact, according to BrightLocal, a staggering 97% of customers read online reviews before they buy. As you can see, online reviews are key to building trust and loyalty with your audience. But, instead of having users go searching for reviews on the web, display them right on your website.
There are a number of WordPress plugins that allow you to easily display customer reviews on your website. For instance, the WordPress product review plugin called Site Reviews is easy-to-use and lets you control how you want to gather reviews and how you want to display them.
Don’t just display good customer reviews though, display the bad ones too. Showing both the positive and the negative reviews on your site will make your company more transparent. Plus, when you respond to negative reviews, others will see the interaction and it will show that your company cares about their customers .
Add awards, credentials, and trust badges.
Another great way to build loyalty and trust on your website is by adding awards, credentials, certificates, and trust badges. By showcasing the awards and credentials your business has received, your website visitors will know that your business is worthy of your trust. If another important institution believes in your business, consumers will feel more comfortable doing so too.
As an example, take a look at the Yellow Leaf Hammocks website. In the corner of the page, they display an icon letting website visitors know that their product was featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2017.
Aside from certificates and awards, display trust badges as well. Trust badges will let your website visitors feel secure, making them more likely to purchase. These trust badges include 100% money back guarantee badges, credit card processor logos, fully secured SSL checkout icons, and more.
Over to you.
Gaining trust from consumers can be difficult. But, with just a few simple tweaks, you can turn your website into a trust and loyalty-building machine. With just one look at your site, website visitors will be able to tell that your business is one they can count on.