Want 2020 to be your most successful year yet? You need to run your website like a world-class strategic thinker, rising above the competition and adapting to the changing market. These days, trust is more important to your customers than ever before. They want a brand they can rely on, and they won’t settle for anything less. The good news is, inspiring confidence isn’t difficult. Once you start focusing on the needs of your users and working with them to achieve their goals, you’ll be on your way to building trust in no time flat.
Use Educational Content on Your Site
Maybe you already have a stellar website. So why aren’t you making the kind of sales you expected? One reason could be your lack of educational content. A solid base of informative articles, blogs, and how-to guides is essential to build customer trust. It’s the only way to help your audience learn more about your services and allow them to get the most out of your product conveniently and quickly.
If you’re selling something and nobody’s buying, that doesn’t necessarily mean your product is terrible. It could be that your customer base just doesn’t understand how it could benefit them or how they can use it. To make them understand, you need to educate them on what you provide and how they can take full advantage of it. The only way to do that is with educational content, and the numbers don’t lie: if you have a wealth of good-quality informative content, users are 131% more likely to buy your products. The reason for that is pretty simple.
Educational content serves both to enhance the overall user experience of your site and to place your brand in the role of a trusted advisor. What exactly does that look like? We can see a great example of user-focused educational content in popular online gaming brand 888 Poker, which offers up a full library of how-to guides and strategy lessons for its users.
Players here can rest easy knowing that they’ll be able to use these resources to learn how to play Texas Hold ‘em or other poker variants with ease and confidence, becoming better players in the process and getting the most out of the experience. Likewise, your site should show users how to take charge of your product and use it to its fullest potential.
Pay Attention to Voice & Tone
If you want to dominate the online e-commerce game like a poker master, it isn’t enough just to publish content and walk away. You want your content and your copywriting to shine and express you as a brand. The tone and voice of the writing you post on your site is almost as important as having the content itself. While respecting and adhering to the basics of search engine optimization, your writing must stand out from the crowd.
Think of the overall voice of your writing as the lucky hand of cards you’ll need to win that game of Texas Hold ‘em—except unlike in poker, you can actually control your copywriting. How can you ensure it brings you good fortune? It should be a resounding reflection of your brand’s image and what you want that to convey, inspiring confidence in your product and you as a merchant. You cannot have a weak voice when promoting yourself, or you’ll be drowned out by the voices of competitors.
The tone of your writing is more subtle than the voice, but it’s just as important. The tone will set the audience’s mood throughout an article or blog, and it will define which emotions they walk away with. Though your tone can vary from piece to piece, it shouldn’t change drastically—you want all your content to be done in the same general style, so readers don’t get confused.
To determine the style which is right for you, you’ll need to know your audience and what kind of overall tone and voice they’ll feel most comfortable with. You must write in a style that is appropriate for your product and your users, or there won’t be any trust.
Only you can determine your voice and tone, but it’s always good to stay professional. Be fun and upbeat without being immature or childish, and strive to sound confident in yourself without coming off as aloof. When you write conscientiously, your customers will know and understand that you care. They’ll trust in your intentions and put more faith in your product, while you rake in the sales like chips at the poker table.
Gather Feedback and Take Action
How many times have you visited a website and wished that the merchant would offer more payment options? More images? More testimonials? Anything your users dislike about your site can make you lose out on sales, so you need to find out what those things are as soon as possible. The only way to do that is by gathering feedback from the customer base.
There are quite a few ways to get feedback, from surveys to comment boxes to simply offering up a contact email for users to store in their phonebook. These things are simple to do and easy to integrate on your website, and they work wonders to improve your relationship with the people who buy your product. It’s a simple tactic, but it really works.
Gathering this feedback makes your clients feel heard and valued. Voicing their opinion makes them feel as though they’re connected to you and that you appreciate them. Knowing that you’re available to listen to complaints makes you more accessible, boosting their confidence in you and your product.
Of course, merely offering up your contact information won’t work all the magic. You need to take action when complaints do get filed, or when your customers have a technical problem with any part of your site. Make sure you respond to feedback in a friendly and timely manner, and your customers will stay happy even though they may have an issue.
Building trust is imperative for your e-commerce site to thrive in 2020. Right now, it’s easier than ever before to lend an ear to your users and provide them with the kind of high-quality, confidence-inspiring content they crave. With that in mind, there’s no reason to wait—go ahead and get started on the road to success today.