Trust is the key to online success

Trust is something that is in real short supply on the Internet, yet it is the basis of any successful online undertaking.

To some extent, even a blogger needs to engender trust amongst his/her readership - your readers trust that you'll be as off-the-wall and entertaining as last week, or that you'll be able to teach them something new. Blogging aside, let's focus on business...

I have to say, straight off the bat, that clearly I don't have all the answers because it is beyond me how "I have mastered a secret shortcut to success and will sell it to you for next to nothing" schemes survive. I mean, people must buy them or they wouldn't be there. It's like retail spam for dodgy goods - it only survives because a small percentage of people are tricked (or are genuinely stupid enough) into purchasing from spammers. If this wasn't the case, then there would be no profit in it.

With this oddity behind us, let's assume that for the sake of a genuine business it is important to be able to build trust - at least sufficient for a consumer to overcome their natural scepticism of an unkown service and put money on the table. Scepticism might be too strong a word here... sometimes it's plain old apathy.

How many times have you gone to a site that seemed alright, shopped around, put something in the cart, and then thought better of it? Chances are it's more than once. But why did you get cold feet at the last minute? It may be that you didn't really need the product or service. Ok, so some people aren't serious buyers - let's focus on those that are.

Assuming there is a serious buyer on your website then, what is the main reason they might get cold feet before parting with their cash? It's most likely that they don't know you, and I mean that literally. They don't know who they are dealing with. The product could be great, the service could be awesome, but they don't really know that because they don't really know who you are.

The question now becomes what to do in order to make it apparent that you (and ergo your business) possess all the above mentioned qualities. One good way is to show off your portfolio and experience and any accolades you might have been awarded. Great, except less scrupulous websites can easily make up any story they like, lowering the level of trust in this particular method - the vast majority of people aren't going to take the time to research each and every past project a company lays claim to beforehand.

I think one of the best ways to go about creating trust is simply to show off what you know. Write articles and start a blog, moderate a forum - anything like that. By becoming recognized as an expert, you immediately give yourself a great advantage over competitors. If people come to your website and find information they are looking for, it says to them this person knows this business. When the time comes for them to contract a firm for a job, or buy a product - they naturally want to speak to the experts.

Wouldn't you?