The Money Mustache Community

Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: swick on May 19, 2017, 10:20:45 AM

Title: What makes you "trust" an online business?
Post by: swick on May 19, 2017, 10:20:45 AM
Hi, everyone!

To save money on products and services, we all do a lot of online shopping and cost-comparisons. From a consumer side, I know a lot of my purchasing decisions (especially all other things being equal) is how much I "trust" a company.

It's something websites seem to have or not, and I have come to realise that there is a lot of unconscious information I take in that impacts me in making a "logical" decision about who I do business with. 

The research suggests you have about three seconds to capture interest/trust before someone clicks away, so that "instant impression" your website gives can make or break your business.

I started a thread here about how other businesses build trust into their websites here:https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/entrepreneurship/creating-instant-'trust'-with-your-website/ (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/entrepreneurship/creating-instant-'trust'-with-your-website/)

But I am also very curious about it from a consumers side, and how it plays out for other people, and how it plays out for myself as a consumer.

I would love to have a discussion if any of the below questions capture your interest, please share your thoughts! :)

What elements do you find inspire trust in a website you are looking at?

What elements promote trust on an intellectual level?

What elements promote trust at a feeling or emotional level?

What do you personally look for when you are considering purchasing from an online business?

Do you have friends and family who are not as online savvy as you? What do they immediately notice or look for?

What makes you trust a website you go to right off the bat?

What are instant red flags for you?


Thank you!



Title: Re: What makes you "trust" an online business?
Post by: Linea_Norway on May 19, 2017, 12:24:04 PM
I like to be able to investigate the full price including sending cost without having to log in as a user. Have an easy menu on every page where I can click to find sending methods and costs. Also offer a list of frequently asked questions. And how to contact us. Be good at answering fast and accurate.
Articles should have good specifications available, like size, weight and functionality of the product, so that I can compare products. Have a good and clear categorization and make it easy to find products, on name and on category.
Don't make screaming popups and imtimidate the user with extra products.
Offer different payment methods.
Showing feedback from other users on products is very good for providing trust.
Have excellent customer service in case of errors. This will make customers return.