This may be the most important chapter in the entire book. In my opinion, trust is the most vital factor when it comes to conversions from your website. On the surface, it seems that customers are most concerned with price, process, service guarantee, etc. Underneath all the rational thought, is the basic human desire to work with someone they can trust. Your potential customers are waiting for you to convince them that you are THE one company that can solve their problems.
We are going to talk about trust in the context of your website, but these principles can be applied to all aspects of your marketing. If you take the following information to heart, you will be way ahead of your competition both online and offline. We all like to do business with people we can know, like and trust.
Using Your Website To Establish Trust
It is very likely that when visitors land on your website, they bounce off within a matter of seconds. Why? These are the main four reasons that people are not staying on your website long enough to make a buying decision:
- Your website may have poor design and bad user experience (which we discussed in Chapter 2).
- Your website may be an online “brochure.” It’s static, flat and boring.
- Your website may be too busy and confusing. There are too many pictures, too many buttons, too much text, too many menu items and it’s crammed together. There is no focus.
- Most importantly, your website may fail to convey trust. It may not make you or your business seem approachable and human. It’s not engaging with the visitor. It doesn’t make the visitor feel welcome.
So how do we change this and stand out from the competition? You want to give them a good feeling by personally greeting them. And at the same time you want to establish trust by showing them a clear path to answers. You want to prove that other people (like them) are satisfied and happy with you and your company. And you want to do all this within a few seconds so they stay on your website and pick up the phone.
Even though I tell my clients over and over to do this, most just won’t do what I’m about to share with you. It is such an easy tweak, and yet many fail to put it into practice. If you are one of the brave ones, you will separate yourself and have a HUGE advantage. And it’s so simple: All you do is put a quality picture of you (smiling) on the Home page. The photo doesn’t have to be just you. It can be you and the family, you and the crew, you and your dog. Then next to the picture in quotes you give a short heartfelt “message from the owner.”
Like I said, you must personally greet them and show that you are there to serve them and help solve their problems.
It’s interesting that whenever I have a one-on-one consultation with a potential client, I start out asking about their business. Most people will have an amazing genuine story that explains why they really shine. I really love hearing that. Owning any kind of business that supports you and your family is a huge accomplishment. But when you go to their website, it’s just flat and generic. It might look nice and professional but there is nothing personal.
Quality clients want to connect with someone trustworthy who will be coming into their home or business. A smiling face and warm message will establish this connection. And if you want to go even farther, make a personalized welcome video. I will show you how to use the true power of video in the next chapter.
So why do most business owners not do this? I keep hearing that they are too ugly, too old, too fat, or something along those lines. Listen, I’m 5’6”, chubby, balding and hate looking at my picture, but what I’ve come to realize is that it’s the smile that makes all the difference. People tell me this. They say things like: “I saw your picture…” or “I saw your video and you seem like a good guy that I can trust.”
Another reason business owners don’t want to do this is because they don’t want people to know they are a small operation. They want to compete with the franchises or the Big Brands head-to-head. If this is your goal then you are also going to have to spend like them. That means TV, radio, mass mail-outs, etc.
Do you have that kind of budget?
If you are a one-man-show or even a two- or three-truck operation, be proud of that. Quality clients want to work with people like you and that will never change. More and more, potential customers look for the local small business. They want to support their neighbors. The kind of clients you want to attract don’t want the underpaid employee that shows up just for a paycheck and is in a hurry to get done so they can go meet their buddies to play video games. If they do want to use a Big Brand then they are going to call the Big Brand, not someone who is trying to look like a Big Brand that they have never heard of.
This strategy is also the best way to beat out bait-and-switch competitors. If that’s not enough, it will also help you charge more for your services and weed out the bottom-of-the-barrel clients that only care about the cheapest price in town. No quality service business should charge dirt-cheap prices for their services. You work too hard to play that game.
So hopefully you get the idea: make it personal and make a connection. Be proud of you and what you have to offer, and you will be building a business to last a lifetime. Your pride and confidence will be an instant trust (and phone call) magnet.
Website Reviews and Testimonials
We have already discussed the importance of have a dedicated Testimonials page on your website, but you also want one or more short testimonials on your Home page from someone that fits the profile of your target customer. Who is your ideal customer? Who typically writes the check? If you put their picture next to the testimonial, you can expect double the results. Do you want to expect triple or more results? Then also include video testimonials!
Third Party Reviews and Testimonials
Local service businesses often underestimate the effectiveness of customer reviews on websites like Google and Yelp. According to an extensive survey from BrightLocal.com here is why you should care:
- 92% of consumers read online reviews
- 68% say positive reviews make them trust a local business more
- 40% of consumers form an opinion by reading just one to three reviews
You should definitely have a system in place to get online reviews. At the very least there should be links from your website over to the review pages on specific online directories such as Yelp.com or your Facebook Business page.
There are also numerous third party review programs that will help guide customers to your directory pages, increasing the chances of them posting their reviews. This seems like a great idea, but there are drawbacks to these programs. Most of them are typically recurring monthly services ranging from $30/mo to $400/month and you have to learn a new piece of software. If you are not a techy person, it may be confusing and have way more bells and whistles than you will ever use.
Trust Icons
Trust icons are simple badges or graphics that you place on your website. Examples include: Industry Certification, Association Memberships, local Chamber of Commerce, etc.
Use anything that looks official, even if they have no idea what it is. This is a psychological trigger that gives you instant trust and authority. You’re not just a guy with a truck and a cell phone; you are a pro and have proof right here on your website.
The Guarantee
It is imperative that you offer customer satisfaction. Just a simple 100% Satisfaction Guarantee that shows you stand by your work. I know some websites will have a whole page dedicated to their complicated guarantee policy. And that is fine, but I think that is overkill. Keep it simple, mean what you say and honor the guarantee if you are ever asked to do so by a customer. You will be surprised at how many people will write a favorable review about a company who has had to redo work. Do it with a smile and they will be your cheerleaders forever.
In summary, to establish trust on your website, implement a personal greeting, testimonials, trust icons and a guarantee. These simple improvements to your website are truly powerful and yet very simple and easy to do.
In the next chapter I will give you a step-by-step blueprint to creating a simple video that can boost your trust factor even higher and establish you as the authority in your community.
