
Your landing page is the front door of your store; the main thing that customers will use to decide whether or not to continue and buy something or whether they will head off to another site. Landing pages run a fine line between enticing people and giving enough information to be trustworthy.
Although many people think of landing pages’ main theme being that of enticement, their hidden (and far more important) goal is to establish a sense of trust between the customer and the business. Customers who trust a business are far more likely to do regular and consistent shopping there than at a business where this trust has not been established. Now, of course, some of this will happen by you keeping your site free from viruses and having security up, but the rest has to happen in your landing page.
It does not matter at the end of the day how wonderful your flash banner ads were or how enticing your articles on other sites are. What it all boils down to is how much trust your landing page garners. That’s a pretty heavy burden, so how can you pull it off?
1. Your Real Address
This is always a trust builder. If you’re willing to put your physical address on your site, it means that you are willing to remain more or less transparent and that you are a real person with a real business, not some scammer.
Whether it’s an office, the location of your parent store, or somewhere else, a physical address is necessary to build trust. And if you are worried about being swamped, don’t be. There is absolutely no way to tell if someone is coming to you because they learned of your address from your site or not. Mostly, the physical address is just to provide some peace of mind and then most people tend to forget it a few seconds later.
2. Your Phone Number
A local phone number is a good idea if you have a business in the services; that way, people will choose your service over others because your local. The neighbourhood air of trust that still pervades is at work here; people are more likely to hire on someone nearby.
If you don’t want your local number displayed, you can use a mobile phone, a toll phone or your office line and see how that works. It should all be effective and furthermore, gives the customer peace mind because they know that if they call that number, they can contact you directly. This is really a boon for older customers who may not trust the internet and for savvy browsers who know full well that most e-mail goes straight to spam filters.
3. Show off Your Security
Whether you’re secured by McAfee, Norton’s or something else, show it off! Everyone has heard horror stories about their information being stolen or used against them and by showing that you will protect their information, you build trust. These badges are often small too, so they’re not hard to place in clear sight without damaging the overall appearance of your website.
Some examples of Security badges:
Placing your security badge in the check out part of your site is the best place, though putting it on your landing page will also show that you take your security very seriously. Really, putting your badge in both places would not be out of line.
4. What About After the Customer Buys?
There are a few things you can do to ensure trust right away in potential shoppers. Things like a 100% money back guarantee, a secure shopping cart to buy with, and a solid refund/return policy that is simple to follow are all great ways to put a customer’s mind at ease about what happens after they click ‘Buy’.
You should clearly outline things like how long it takes to ship a product, make sure you have an auto-email informing a customer of what they have bought and when it will ship (and even an auto-email that goes out once the item is shipped a la Amazon) and how long they have to do a return and what the policies are for that. It only takes a small paragraph, but laying all this out clearly puts a customer’s mind at ease and prevents potential legal issues later on.
And of course make sure you have a completely secure check-out procedure and that there are a few ways to pay. Popular ones are PayPal and credit card, but some checkouts also allow pay with debit and other options.
5. Post What Others Have Said About You
Real, honest to God testimonials from happy customers are a must. When potential customers see that others have used your services and products and been happy, they are more likely to buy from you see for themselves. Ask your friends and family to test your products or services first and gather early testimonials and then as you get more people, you can replace these ones with ones from customers you don’t know.
6. Privacy Policy
Somewhere in your site (usually at the bottom or on another linked page), you will need your privacy policy. Almost always, this includes the promise not to resell your customer’s information and not to spam your customers or allow others to spam customers. It only has to be a couple lines, usually: Such and such promises we will never sell your private information to a third party and that all of your information will be kept private.
However, many business experts are advising longer privacy policies; once which outline exactly what your business will do to protect the privacy of others and what the customer should expect but is also obligated to do to remain secure. This document is not only important for building trust, but is also a legal form that will outline exactly what the obligations of the company is in regards to privacy and what the obligations of the customer are. It’s a longer process, but it protects everyone.
Conclusion
Establishing trust between the potential customer and your business is incredibly important and something that is often glossed over. The landing page is the main tool of trust building; if the internet user doesn’t feel as though you are trustworthy from your landing page, then he or she won’t buy from you, it’s as simple as that. Therefore, your landing page should not just the place where you talk about your product or services and why you are better than everyone else, but also a place where you establish that you are a secure business that is fully deserving of trust from even the most suspicious web browser.
Author Bio: Nitesh works with BannerWeaver.com – a site that specializes in designing Flash banners for you affiliate campaigns as as well as Ad campaigns, specifically, Adwords campaigns in Google’s Display network. So, next time you need a custom banner design, feel free to give us a shout!
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Twitter: bloggersethics
i am building a landing page pretty soon and these tips will surely be handy….
thanks for the share
Thanks for the comments Tushar. I am glad you found the article interesting
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Twitter: RyanBiddulph
Hi Nitesh,
Spot on tips!
Build trust. Online businesses need to build trust to gain credibility. It’s different, a very different experience opposed to walking into a brick and mortar store. We can’t touch the merchandise and we can’t see the store owner in front of us.
Do all you can to remain transparent. Be open. Be accessible. Most of all, be real.
Thanks for sharing your insight Nitesh.
RB
Ryan Biddulph recently posted..How You Can Prosper as a Cash Gifting Sponsor
You said it Ryan. “Be open, be real and most of all, be accessible”. Thanks for your comments Ryan
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Twitter: kaiser081391
Trust between the company and clients is very important. Providing truthful facts about names, contact numbers, about the products an others also helps in establishing trust between the two.
You got the point! Costumers are the one that can understand what really the entrepreneur sell! That is why you need to trust them because they are the only one that can help you yo outgrowth you business!
TracyAnn0312 recently posted..שליחת SMS
Very true! and if you have customers trust your business starts growing.
I am glad you like it Tracy
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Customers are what brought us here in the market so it’s vital to value them and build relationship with trust and contentment. Your tips are really applicable and a must.
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Twitter: problogsuccess
Very nice presentation. Trust builds from the person. From the individual’s credentials to website’s security to customer’s feedback – It is a complete circle of TRUST!
Jane recently posted..Getting Your Blog Off the Ground
Thanks Jane.I am so glad you have liked the article.
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Really great post!
I strongly agree with this idea: “Your landing page is the front door of your store”. We all know that first impression is always important.
Our company is using LanderApp to create landing pages without help from IT or designers.
That is fantastic.
I am glad you like it.
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
I agree with transparency but putting your physical address? really? Have you done this before? I understand the effect, it just seems overkill. I guess if it was an office address but personal address, I like my privacy.
Twitter: fungiftidea
Posting others testimonials about the product or the service provided by you is very helpful since most customers are looking forward to these contents. Testimonials provide that assurance that each customer is buying a high quality of product or service.
Stan recently posted..Best Microwave Oven 2012
Giving testimonials helps instill the faith in your customers.
Thanks Stan!
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Twitter: manuelmarino
very good article! just a question. If you work at home, is it really safe to show your home address publicly?
considering all the identity thefts and “bad people” surfing the net.
Manuel Marino recently posted..The Variance Amongst Net Internet hosting and Domain Registration
It depends Manuel. As i have written peoptend to forget what they see and would hardly bother to
actaully visit you.
Moreover i think this is one area which is controversial and depends more on the individual if he/she wants to give the address or not.
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Really nice and useful article! Sometimes people forget about how important the opening page is. They hire a SEO company to increase their traffic, but nothing else. And then, they don’t understand why their buyers won’t increase, although the traffic to the site has grown. The opening page plays a very important role in the conversion, how to get people from visitors to buyers.
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Personally, i give my personal info and address in my clients.To let them know that they can trust me and I trust them also. I don’t hide anything about my identity. But there are clients not telling or not giving their personal info.It’s their choice, i respect it.
Exactly. Well said, i have also mentioned
above that its the individual to choose whether to give the address or not (in some cases)
Thanks David
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
I totally agree with you. It shows that you are a right person, doesn’t matter another person gives you the detail or not.
Arjun Rai recently posted..Repossessed Cars
I have a challenge with personal address as a person working from home. And given that I live in New Zealand but work with clients around the world, the home address means nothing.
Twitter: kaiser081391
In order to gain trust a website must provide facts. This includes the name, address, emails and contact numbers. Also, the content of the website must also content facts and truthful data.
Juphet Mislang recently posted..Six-Point Priority Site Audit For Large Websites on a Post Panda Update
Gaining the trust of the people that visit your site is something of great importance. You should ensure that a person visiting your site daily or for the first time is satisfied with whatever they see there. The tips you have shared here are great and can really improve the confidence and number of people visiting your site.
Thanks Brian for sharing your views. I am glad you like these tips.
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
A landing page is a page that is displayed when people click on a link. The page can be a sales page or home page of a website. It is a very important aspect of internet marketing when it comes to making money through sales of products and services.
Jizie recently posted..the best online deals
A great landing pages to your website is really important because it is the way of having the trust from the people that go to your site is something of excellent importance. You should ensure that a person visiting your website daily or for the initial time is content with whatever they see there. The ideas you’ve shared here are fantastic and no doubt so great and it may really improve the variety of individuals visiting your website.
Nicholle Olores recently posted..Timber Doors & Timber Windows, Bifold Doors, Allkind Joinery & Glass Cabinet Maker Brisbane
I totally agree with you Nicholle. I thank you and all others who have appreciated this article.
Nitesh recently posted..Custom Banner Design Vs Template
Twitter: dmcihomesonline
It is really important to provide reader true data. For instances that a person wanted to contact us, he can make use the information in our blog! That also establishes trust and that is very important!
[...] selling, so by using Facebook and Twitter you are advertising widely instead of putting a banner or landing page that is stagnant — spread the word through these social media outlets. Furthermore, you [...]
It’s also having a clear and concise voice. People like Frank Kern and Eben Pagan have mastered this. Writing as if you’re speaking is not easy. Right on with the other stuff. In terms of address, all you need a is a virtual office that gives you a mail box. You can get one for $50/month or so. Good post.
-Brid
Twitter: JupiterJimFLA
Great Post! Two things I look for are legitimate testimonials with a link back to the person’s site or a real name and city, etc. I hate to see a testimonial from Bob C. That seems so fake to me. The other thing that makes me want to buy is a good money-back guarantee.
Thanks for the post!
– Jupiter Jim
Jupiter Jim recently posted..Thesis Tutorial: Add Facebook Social Plugin for “Comments” to your WordPress Thesis Theme Site
Tremendous post. As a copywriter specializing in landing pages, I read a lot of blogs about landing pages and your post is one of the best I’ve read in a while.
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