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December 5, 2023 16 mins

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The first step to fostering long-lasting customer relationships is creating trust. However, how do we do that? In the second episode of our Customer Trust series, we dive into how you can set realistic expectations & avoid blindsiding your customers with the unexpected. 

From using clear language that your customers can understand to presenting products & buying process with transparency, we aim to transform your eCommerce business into a trusted brand! Equip yourself with valuable insights and strategies that will make trust-building a breeze.

Mentioned Resources: 

Customer Trust Series Part 1: The Power of Testimonials

This week’s episode is sponsored by our Search Engine Optimization Mini Course.  Our Free online digital course that teaches eCommerce and website owners how to level up their search engine rankings with some simple, doable steps!  Join us at www.ecommercemadeeasypodcast.com/seominicourse/


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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:01):
A lot of clients ask me how they can
build customer trust.
It's actually one of the firstthings I look for when I'm doing
a website audit.
I want to see if the website isbuilding customer trust right
away and pretty much immediatelywhen you look at it.
Without customer trust, acustomer is far, far less likely
to buy.
So if you wondered if you'redoing an effective job or

(00:24):
wondered if you're missing a keyelement in building customer
trust, then this episode is foryou.
Welcome to the eCommerce MadeEasy podcast.
I'm your host, kCarri Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine-month old.
My main goal To help others.
Now, with over 20 years in theeCommerce building industry and
even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.

(00:46):
I love breaking down the hardtech and to easily
understandable bits to helpothers be successful in their
online business.
Whether you're a seasonedeCommerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of eCommerce
together.
Welcome back to the eCommerceMade Easy podcast.

(01:06):
I'm your host, kiri Saunders.
This is the second episode in aseries talking about customer
trust and how to build it,especially online.
Be sure to visit the show noteswhen we're done with this
episode, as we will link to theprevious one, where we talked
about customer trust when itcomes to testimonials and
reviews, but today we're talkingabout customer trust by setting

(01:28):
expectations through honestyand transparency on your website
.
No customer wants to beblindsided.
Now, blindsided might be a bitof a dramatic word to use for it
, but even small surprises orunexpected delays or services
can really make a customer feelthat way.
So how do we prevent that?

(01:50):
How do we prevent them fromhaving something unexpected come
their way when they're workingwith you?
So, first off, we need to bereally clear and authentic in
our language.
What do you do?
Really describe this in termsthat don't use your lingo.
Use the consumer's lingo whenit comes to your products or

(02:12):
services.
This is a really case.
You don't create a languagebarrier there if you're using
language they aren't used toseeing and aren't used to using.
And also make sure you reallydescribe what are you really
offering them, whether you sellproducts or services or digital
goods.
What are you really offering?
What is that going to do forthem and their life?

(02:34):
Think about it from thecustomer's perspective.
And who is this for?
Describe your perfect customer,describe what they think, what
they're feeling, try to get tounderstand them and use language
that helps them realize thatyou understand them as well.
And this is where having a peeror a business friend to review

(02:56):
your language is really key,because it is so easy when we're
looking at our own stuff overand over again.
Sure, it seems clear to us andintuitive, but when you have an
outside person review yourthings, they can pick up on
those little nuances that it'svery easy for you to look over.
I find this time and time again.

(03:17):
I know with our stuff, it's soeasy for me to miss some details
that our consumers might getconfused on.
But if I have a peer or abusiness friend look at it, they
can really be like what doesthis mean, carrie?
I don't understand this.
And then that helps me be likeoh yeah, I need to make that
more clear.
I use too much of our jargon.
I need to use the consumer'sjargon and then I can be more

(03:40):
clear.
Alright, so if you sell products, specifically physical products
, you really want to make sureyour images are accurate.
We don't want to surprise aconsumer with a product that
they receive.
That is nothing like what theyexpected by looking at the
images on your website.

(04:01):
So you want to be verymeticulous and detailed on your
product images.
Show multiple angles if needed.
Make sure you're doing sizecomparison.
You want to make sure you putthe dimensions with your images,
particularly if it's somethingthat would be important to know
the dimensions of.
This could be home goods thatare sitting around your house

(04:25):
that you're selling, or it couldbe clothing.
You know people want to knowhow long that t-shirt is,
because some people are tallerthan others and they might need
that extra length.
So you really want to make sureyou're there.
You're really putting out thedetails in your physical
products.
Talk about the durability, ifyou can.
You know how well does yourproduct stand out?

(04:46):
That can really set you apart.
Say, your products like alittle bit more than competitors
, but yours, you know, lastslonger.
Talk about that.
And if you go back to theprevious episode about the
customer trust, have yourcustomers talk about that and
the reviews, the durability ofit.
Also, be very clear on yourcolor options, you know.

(05:10):
Also, make sure you if you haveother options available that
are currently sold out, makesure you indicate that and
particularly if you know you'llbe getting that back in stock
and you want them to be able tocome back and buy it, make sure
you show them that and possiblyprovide a way for them to be
notified when it's back in stock.
Also, if you're sellingphysical goods, this is super

(05:33):
key and I find this that a lotof people miss this, but it
seems obvious when you reallythink about it Make sure the
shipping options in timeframesare very clear and front and
center how long is it going totake to get the product, what
shipping options do you have andwhat is it going to cost?
Make sure that's very easy forthe consumer to find.

(05:55):
If they can't figure out whatit's going to cost them to ship
the product to them, they'reprobably going to go somewhere
else.
So using flat rate shipping isa really good idea when possible
.
I know there are certainproducts out there that that's
very hard to do.
Then make it really easy to doa shipping estimator on your

(06:15):
website and also make sure youdo accomplish those shipping
goals.
You want to distinguish betweenhow long it takes you to ship
it as well as how long it takesto receive it.
So if it takes you one or twobusiness days to get the item
out, or maybe it takes you threeto five business days, you need

(06:37):
to make sure that you're veryclear with that so they can
mentally add that on to theexpected delivery time on the
shipping method that they pick.
Now let's go on to digital goods, though.
In this type of situation sodigital goods we can also talk
about how fast your customerwill receive them.
Many times, digital goods areright away and they get it right

(07:01):
away.
But you also need to also beclear on how are they going to
get it.
Is it going to be right on thepage after they buy?
Are they going to get an emailabout it?
How do they get your serviceswhen it's digital?
Make sure that's very clear.
Maybe you have some fraudchecks in place before you
actually deliver the digitalgoods, so maybe it's going to

(07:22):
take about a day for them to getit.
Make sure that's clear as well.
If you're selling custom digitalgoods or custom physical
products, how long does it takefor you to build that for them?
Think about these things youwant to think about.
What are these decisions thatthey really need to make?
And don't be afraid of scaringsomebody off because your

(07:42):
shipping or your delivery isgoing to take too long.
You'd much rather have acustomer who doesn't buy because
you don't fit their needs asfar as how fast they're going to
get the product than have anangry customer who did buy your
product and it wasn't clear howlong it would take to get their
product and then they're angrybecause they expected it faster.

(08:04):
So make sure you're super clearon that.
That's going to create a lotbetter customer service for your
customers.
Also, make sure you have clearpricing.
So this goes whether you havephysical goods or digital goods.
But make sure that if there areany other extra costs they
might incur, that you be veryupfront with them.

(08:27):
For example, we have someclients who sell physical goods
that their products can vary ontheir price.
So a specific product cangreatly vary on how much it
costs.
So in that case you don't wantto put the prices.
Let's say $9.99.
You want to say starting at$9.99.

(08:49):
Because, depending upon theoptions, it could be that $9.99.
It could be $15.99.
It could be $25.99.
It just really depends uponwhat they built upon that
product.
So making sure that you're veryclear about your pricing is
super important.
And if you're doing services,make sure the services that

(09:11):
they're going to get from.
The price is very clear as well.
Make a nice bulletin list,something very easy to digest
that is very clear on whatthey're going to receive for
your services that they paid for.
And you also especially ifwe're talking about services,
which many of you are alsoservice providers address the

(09:35):
fact that if there are newfeatures or new items that they
want as you're going along,explain what that process is.
Say, hey, here's what we havelaid out for you for this price.
If you'd like to add on moreservices, or if we find more
items you want us to do as we goalong, then we can revisit that
as we're going through theproject and we can help you know

(09:57):
what else needs to be done andyou can let us know if that's in
your budget.
So, just kind of, you know,create that transparent
communication as to what mighthappen if what they're needing
is beyond what your idea oftheir scope was or beyond what
your services typically are.
Also, particularly when we'retalking about services, you want
to, like I said, give theexpectation of how long they're

(10:20):
going to get it.
But when you do that many timesyou want to.
You know there's things thatare outside of our control when
it comes to giving a servicestype Of work.
Whether you're a coach, whetheryou're a web developer too,
like us, you know things canhappen, but as long as you're
transparent and very upfrontwith the client and keep them

(10:42):
updated regularly, we have foundover 20 years, people are going
to be generally very happy aslong as you're communicating
with them regularly about theprocess and what is going on.
So this is something Idefinitely look for for sure
when I'm doing a website audit,for customer trust is making

(11:03):
sure that your About Us page isdone and done well.
The About Us page really needsto bring them into the story of
who you and or your business is.
You need to be very honest.
You know here's how we started.
You know.
Pull in some interestingstories on how things got
started, what you love to do,why you love doing what you love

(11:27):
to do.
Really kind of bring them intoyour story.
Obviously, don't be fake.
Be you that's going to be themost important thing here but
really don't overlook your AboutUs page.
I know for new people that Iwant to work with, that's one of
the first things I do, whetherit's shopping for physical or
digital goods or services.

(11:48):
I look at their About Us page.
I see if it resonates with me,I see if I can relate to that
person.
So make sure you put it inrelatable terms too.
When we can relate to others,when we can understand what
they're talking about, wherethey're coming from, that
creates a huge amount of trust,online especially.
Another thing that reallycreates trust is having a

(12:11):
Contact Us page that is veryeasy to find, with very clear
ways to get a hold of thatperson or that business.
There have been times that Ihave hesitated to buying from a
company, and I can think of onein particular.
I did this summer or maybe latespring, and I really considered
not purchasing from thembecause I couldn't find much on

(12:34):
the About Us page like we justtalked about, and I couldn't
find anything really on theContact Us page.
I don't even think they had one.
So I knew that if I had aproblem with the product I was
wanting to buy, it was going tobe hard to contact them, and I
ended up buying that product andI regretted it because it was

(12:55):
hard to contact them.
I did have trouble with it.
My instinct was right, my gutwas right and I couldn't get a
hold of them, not even an emailaddress.
So even if you don't havephones or phone system at your
business, you need to have areally easy way to be contacted,
whether that's email or directmessage on social media, text

(13:17):
messages, etc.
Make sure you make this super,super clear and easy.
It is very vital and very keyto building customer trust.
Some other ways we can buildcustomer trust, too, is
including a privacy policy.
Now, I know this sounds superboring, but it's standard and

(13:38):
it's really something you reallyhave to have on every single
website and you can have astandard.
You know privacy policy thatyou're comfortable with and that
your legal counsel has approved, but make sure you have a
privacy policy.
You also might want to havesome security information how do
you protect them and theirinformation and, very especially

(13:59):
, return policies.
So, whether it's digital orphysical goods, what is your
return policy if that's not easyto find?
Customers are going to hesitateto buy and they may not buy if
they don't see that, and manytimes, digital goods don't have
a return policy.

(14:20):
But you still need to statethat and make sure that's very
clear and I would.
If you don't have a returnpolicy, I would make it very
easy again to be contacted incase somebody has questions
before they buy.
That's going to help people becomfortable with buying.
If you have a no return policy,because you sell, say, digital
goods or maybe you have alimited number of days return

(14:43):
policy, that as well is going toneed a very easy way to contact
you so that they can understandwhether the product is right
for them.
So making sure that you arevery up to date and keep them
informed on privacy policies,security, information, return
policies and ways to contact youare super vital.

(15:05):
They sound like areas in yourwebsite that you could
potentially ignore or just kindof gloss over, but they really,
really, really are key.
That's it for this week'sepisode of the Ecommerce Made
Easy Podcast.
Be sure to visit our show notesat ecommercemadeeasypodcastcom
forward, slash 32.

(15:26):
Again, that isecommercemadeeasypodcastcom
forward, slash 32.
There we will link to the otherepisode that we've already done
on customer trust as well, asin the future we will add the
new links as we fill out theseries on customer trust and how
to build that online.
If you're watching us onYouTube, be sure to hit that

(15:47):
subscribe button and, if you'relistening on our podcast, be
sure to follow us on yourfavorite podcast app so you
don't miss out on any upcomingepisodes.
And, like always, we'd love tohear from you.
If you have any feedback,please do email us at podcast at
bcsinjineeringcom, or find uson social and send us a direct

(16:09):
message.
We'd be happy to chat with you.
That's all I have for you thisweek.
All right, we'll see you nextweek.
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