|
Building Credibility To Increase Sales
© 2002
by
Cathy Kessler
The invention of Internet gateways is one of the most
miraculous innovations to date. It allows us to sell
products and services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the
simple click of a few buttons. However, this ease of
selling has a downside as well.
Because it is so simple, all businesses - legitimate and
illegitimate companies - can sell whatever they want.
As a result, credibility suffers! How can you make
sure your site portrays a high level of credibility?
I'll gladly show you!
Back Up Your Statements - The Net gives an open
forum to any breathing person that wants to speak his/her
mind. Truly outrageous statements are being made in
order to turn a buck.
When you make a statement on your website - back it up with
some sound research. Instead of simply claiming that
"Over 2/3 of most Internet businesses fail without a
proper marketing plan," say "According to The
American Management Association, over 2/3 of most Internet
businesses fail without a proper marketing plan."
Then provide a link to the statistics you've found.
Create A Truly Professional Site - This means no
"homemade" site designs. Whether you are
actually a scam business or not - homemade designs only
damage your image. Your image is the best way a site
visitor has to form an opinion of you. Although you
may be excited about launching your online business, resist
the temptation to quickly set up a site and then redesign it
later. When you do it right the first time, you save a lot
of time, money, and heartache.
Make Sure Your Site Is In Order - Scam artists move
about the Internet so quickly that they rarely have time to
have their sites checked. They are too busy worrying about
getting as many sales as possible before they are
"discovered." To prove you are legit, give
due attention to your site. Be sure that all of your
links work, that your pages load quickly, and that your text
is proofread. Broken links and copy filled with typos
only downgrade your credibility with visitors.
Communicate With Your Visitors - Most scam businesses
simply will not communicate with their customers. They
don't want to hear your complaints and could care less about
what you think. To show you are a true pro, answer
your emails (good or bad) quickly and professionally.
Clearly Display Your Privacy Policy - Many site
visitors look for privacy policies before giving any
information online. If you don't have a privacy
policy, create one. It can be a simple statement of
what you plan to do with the information you collect
(emails, credit card numbers, etc.) and who will see it.
If you already have a privacy policy, make sure a link to it
is clearly placed.
Trust is one thing that can't be bought. However, by
taking the steps necessary to build a website that
demonstrates your credibility, you will instill a strong
sense of trust with your visitors. Remember that when
you instill trust, you increase sales at the same time!
-----------------------------------------
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cathy Kessler is a Certified Professional Virtual Assistant
specializing in proofreading, copyediting, and research. Do
you have books, ebooks, brochures, websites, articles,
newsletters, or other documents that need to be proofread or
researched? Visit http://www.kesslerva.com
today for additional information, or contact Cathy directly
at mailto:cathy@kesslerva.com.
|
Adlandpro
Toolbar gives you instant access to your
Free Email Account, Free Website, submission to
over 8,900 sites, learning tools, free discussion
list on marketing and promotion with 26,000
subscribers, Free 5 day Website Success course by
email, plus instant search. Click
Here. |
|