Increase enquiries by creating trust
Anyone who reads/listens to me regularly will know that this is one of my favourite subjects – how to create trust on your website and thereby generate more enquiries.
This was inspired by a post on yoast.com which you can find here: http://yoast.com/7-ways-to-increase-sales-by-creating-trust/.
In his post, Michiel Heijmans outlines 7 ways to create trust (on your website):
- Use clear & normal language
- Testimonials
- Verified signs (e-commerce etc)
- Pictures – genuine!
- Physical (geographical) address
- Explaining what’s going to happen next in an e-commerce process
- Show you care more about making money (charity projects, etc)
I thought it might not go amiss to extend/elaborate on this list – based on my experience to date:
- Have a telephone number & make it prominent. For local businesses, this should ideally be a geographical number from the location you’re serving.
- Let your personality & values shine – people invariably want to know who you are, who they might be buying from. This applies to the content you write, the style with which you write, the graphical style of your website, the way you respond to comments… in other words, to everything on your website! Why try and be someone that you’re not?
- Use your ‘About’ page! Linked to the above – if I click on a company’s ‘About’ page, and I’m no further forward as to where the company is/who they are/etc etc, my suspicions are immediately raised. I know there are sometimes valid reasons about wanting to withhold certain information, but think long and hard as to whether your reasons really are valid. The ‘About’ page is usually the second most looked at page after the home page, so make it work for you! More on this here.
- Stay current – if you’ve got date-sensitive content on your website (e.g. blog posts, events, etc), make sure you add new stuff! Doesn’t have to be every day or week, but a complete lack of consistency starts sending the wrong messages.
- Reference external sources – good ones! We’re not all known throughout the globe. But by reading and referencing other bloggers and sources that have a good reputation, it helps to show that you are not just talking rubbish…
I’m sure there are more – let me have your thoughts!