Here’s the thing with the internet: it’s become very easy to set up a website. (I’m not taking away anything from us here but really, if you want a basic informational website, you have lots of options.)
So as someone navigating online, it might be hard to figure out: Is this person/company trustworthy? And people are looking at your website and asking this same question.
And since people are giving them your time or money or both, you want to figure out how to show them they can trust you. ‘Trust symbols’ are ways you can do that.
Now when I talk trust symbols, I’m not talking about this:
I am talking about something that means something to your customer in a deeper way that a self issued guarantee.
Here are some things you may (or may not) think of as trust symbols and how to use them on your website.
Trust Symbol #1: Recognizable brands
Now if you carry Makita drills or Nike running shoes, showing these logos on your website is a way of affiliating yourselves with these companies that people already trust. If you are trying to get someone to buy something from you AND educate them as to why Vizio computers are equally as good as Macs, you have a tougher road ahead of it (one you shouldn’t be discouraged taking necessarily but still, something to think of).
Trust Symbol #2: Logos/Quotes from clients
Showing your current or past clients (and ideally having a name of someone at the company to associate some kind of testimonial with) shows your potential customer that other people have bought things from you and did not live to regret it. Also if they happen to be bigger clients or clients like the ones you are trying to attract, all the better.
Trust Symbol #3: Professional Affiliations/certifications
By showing that you are, say, a member of your local Chamber of Commerce or a certified electrician, you make yourself stand out from the average fly-by-night handyman. Not only have you invested money in these affiliations but also likely your time in getting them, which is worth something to people in that market.
Trust Symbol #4: A lot of information that is easy to browse
A lot of people throw up four to five informational pages about their business online and call it good, while others write blog posts, answer FAQs, and otherwise put out a lot of information. Looking at our Google Analytics data, we know the average person who fills out our contact form has looked around our website for awhile, likely getting information about who we are, what we do, and our approach. If you act vague or secretive about your offerings, it doesn’t make you necessarily seem exclusive so much as shady.
Trust Symbol #5: Photos/Videos of you and your team on your website
If you opt for stock photos instead of who works for you, I as a consumer assume one of three things:
1) You don’t keep employees around long enough that this is relevant.
2) You aren’t organized enough to pick up your smartphone when your employee is in the vicinity.
3) Your employees are ashamed to work for you and don’t want to be associated.
Trust symbol #6: Links to Social Media
Social media sites and online review sites are where people can post information about a company and a good company will let them do that. By clicking on your Facebook page or your TripAdvisor link, you are telling people ‘I trust my reputation enough for you to go onto other sites and look me up.’
Case Study
Let’s say you were going to hire someone to clean your home. Would you rather have these guys do it:
Or these guys:
Sure the second website is slicker but they seem much more interested in selling me a franchise and having me call them right now then building any kind of rapport with me. So if I am going to hand my housekeys and leave my dog with someone, I’ll go with the Green Clean Maine team any day of the week.
Small businesses and non-profits have a great opportunity to be the opposite of generic. Show your customers and potential customers they can trust you online and they will, online and off.