It’s day two of Affiliate Dot Com Live and Scott Brandley and Garrett Pierson of TrustGuard are talking to a room of about 100 early risers —the people who didn’t stay up late partying on the Las Vegas Strip. Next to me is John Chow, the world’s most earnest blogger.
They’re here to talk about the power of persuasion and the importance of establishing and increasing trust—therefore sales—on your website. So without further ado:
Great Web Design
22.8 seconds is all you have to retain someone’s attention (I actually thought it was less than that). The very first impression you’ll make is through your web design, sometimes even before people get to your site.
Before I got into blogging and marketing, I spent a long time trying to become a web designer. I failed miserably, but I’m now a lifelong believer in always having excellent web design.
Listen to me: Great web design is worth spending money on.
Killer Guarantee
Scott and Garrett threw this one out there — why not offer “Double your money back guarantee”? Sounds crazy, right?
The reasoning behind a double your money back guarantee is twofold: 1) it’s a huge vote of confidence of your product, and 2) nobody ever requests double their money back.
You’ll need to add some basic requirements and details to claim the guarantee as well.
Multiple Contact Options
95% of website visitors want to know they can access you by email, phone or physical address. Without these assurances in place, a customer is far more likely to go to a competitor that does. Make sure you have all of these on your site:
- Email / ticket system
- Live chat
- 800 number with PBX
- Help ticket system
- Physical address
3rd Party Business Verification
Getting a Better Business Bureau seal:
- gives you instant trust
- gives you instant credibility
- authenticates your business
- sets you apart from competitors
Professional Policies
Add a privacy policy and terms of service.
A privacy policy protects your customers and assures them you take their privacy seriously. A terms of service agreement tells people what they can and can’t do. Plus it outlines your trademark and copyright policy, establishes relationship and outlines both parties legal responsibilities.
Create your own — don’t go out and steal one. And make it professional!
Security Scanning
Security scanning is like anti-virus for your website. Security is THE number one concern when shopping online — nobody wants to get their stuff stolen — more than than terrorism, computer viruses and their own personal safely.
73% of all websites on the internet have med, high or severe vulnerabilities—more than 38,000. It’s important to get your website security scanned and then display a PCI compliant seal so your potential customers know it’s safe from hackers.
Without a PCI compliant seal, all liability flows to you, the PCI SSC can shut you down, you’ll be blacklisted from the MasterCard MATCH list, you’ll get fined $100,000 or more and the publicity will destroy your reputation!
Social Proof
Social proof is the key to your success, and it’s definitely the secret to Amazon.com. Their customer ratings and reviews is their sales engine, and it’s more influential than any other form of advertising!
Every customer rating and review is a personal endorsement, so adding social proof to your website is incredibly powerful.
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Like most of the Affiliate Dot Com Live presentations, there was a sales pitch at the end. This one wasn’t so abrasive because I liked the tone of presenters and they weren’t selling me a dream — just very logical assurances. For more info, visit: Trust Guard or Shopper Approved.
Scary motorcycle image by jurvetson.
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