Seals Help Boost Customer Confidence

Have you ever been shopping on a website and noticed a seal at the bottom that proudly boasts their security level, or maybe how customer service friendly they are? Did you feel better about buying from that site once you saw that? Perhaps you did, and you would be one of many people that do. That is why ecommerce merchants should strive to meet the requirements of the organizations and companies that issue these seals. Luckily, they come in many flavors.

Even though good-clean site design and excellent customer service help boost consumer confidence, a site seal can lend credibility and stature to your business, simply by being displayed on your site! Many SSL certificates (which are imperative for an ecommerce site) will offer a site seal to their customers. This lets visitors know that your site is secured with this SSL technology. If nothing else, displaying an SSL certificate seal is crucial. Customers must know your site is safe and secure to shop on.

Industry associations will usually offer seals to their members. These can be effective because being a part of an industry association usually implies you are knowledgeable about your product or service, and active in your industry.

My favorite seals are the ones offered by Bizrate.com, Shopping.com, or other PPC services. These not only give your store some sense of legitimacy, but they also allow customers to give real reviews of your site and products. This is great for shops with good customer service track records. By clicking on the seal, customer’s gain access to real and credible testimonials! In most cases these seals are free for participating in the PPC advertising program.

The seal’s main purpose is to instill confidence in your customers. Remember, a seal cannot do this alone. As an ecommerce merchant you must follow other practices for delivering solid customer service each day. We will continue to discuss those methods each month.