Online Success … Starts with Trust
February 11, 2009.
Online success doesn’t need to be complicated. At Stone, we think it’s simply a matter of following a tried and true formula … T x T x T = R.
More specifically, online Results is a product of a Trustworthy website, website Traffic, and maximizing the Transaction rate of your website visitors.
Here, let’s discuss just what a Trustworthy website means.
On the macro level, a trustworthy website – or web experience – is a feeling. It’s an impression you’re left with. It’s the impression that greatly influences your next action … Do you want to work with this organization? Do you get the impression that they will come through for you? Do you TRUST them?
That trustworthiness is a function of many items. It includes your sites’s branding. (Not your firm’s branding. On the web, your site IS your firm.) Layout, usability, architecture, logo, fonts, images … they all work together to create your site’s design and your organization’s online brand.
It also includes your site’s functionality. Can your visitors hold their expected level of interaction on your site? If you exceed their expectations, you position your firm as a leader in your space. Fall short of their expectations, and you will be viewed as technological laggard.
Trustworthiness also includes content … your messaging, your supporting information, your tone / pace / language. Do you provide enough detail on your site? Is it current? Do you provide opportunities for visitors to get more information?
Lastly, your site’s performance factors into overall trust levels. A world-class site that drags, contains error messages, or requires visitors to download plug-ins will negate months of good thinking and hard work.
If you’re hoping to achieve improved online success in 2007, the right place to start is with creating a trustworthy online experience. From there you grow. From there you can build. From there you can begin to reach your online goals.