Building brand credibility and buyer trust are imperative when you’re trying to grow your business revenue. Increasing your conversion rates depends on your ability to convert a passive visitor into a confident customer. Buyers aren’t only looking for the best product, they also want to feel comfortable sharing their personal information. Trust seals or trust badges are an essential piece of building authority in the eyes of site visitors. It creates a sense of professionalism that removes buyer hesitation that could keep them from making the sale. Here is everything you need to know about trust badges and utilizing them for your business.
What are Trust Badges?
Trust badges are third-party proof from an outside source that verifies and legitimizes your website. When customers see these, they are more likely to buy. Why is this? Because it’s based on the fundamentals of buyer psychology. Most people want to make a purchase quickly and move on with their day. But if they waste valuable time trying to inspect your business credibility, you can easily lose a sale. These badges help them feel comfortable with payment security and the privacy of their personal information.
How to Use Trust Badges in Your Business?
Whether you have an e-commerce store, or an online website for your business, trust badges are a vital resource. However, they shouldn’t be your first line of action. It’s just as essential to perfect the UX design, copywriting, and customer testimonials on your site. This is what draws in buyers, verifies your merchandise quality, and assures that you are an established business front. A trust badge is a final step that can convert an anxious buyer and help them move further down the sales funnel. You can opt for free trust badges or purchase them depending on your needs.
A study from Actualinsights assessed the impact of trust badges on business sales. Over 60% of people didn’t purchase because there weren’t any trust badges. Over 75% of consumers didn’t buy because they didn’t recognize the trust badge symbol or logo. These statistics are a great example of the power of trust badges and why it’s just as important to use the right ones.
Types of Trust Badges for Your Business Website
While there are many free trust badges, it’s more important to identify what logos your consumer pool will recognize. Keep in mind that big-name brands like Target, Amazon, and Walmart have already built a strong foundation of brand credibility. Your website should reveal your professionalism and prove trust with consumers immediately. Trust badges are an essential business asset you may want to invest in, especially in the secure checkout category.
1. Money-Back Guarantee
While you may feel like you already make this apparent in your terms of service, a 100% money-back guarantee trust badge is a great way to prove you care about customer satisfaction. You can also choose a 30-day or 60-day money-back guarantee badge. If it’s an individual's first time purchasing with you, they don’t know the quality and efficacy of your product yet. This badge affirms that they have nothing to lose and can be reimbursed if they aren’t satisfied. Remember that you want to make it easier on buyers, not leave them scouring your website for answers.
2. BBB Rating
A BBB Rating represents the Better Business Bureau’s opinion of how the business is predicted to interact with customers. The BBB will pull information from your company and public records, not including customer reviews. The ratings range from F to A+ and are a great way to show your customers that you’re a reliable, high-performing business. It’s a well-recognized trust badge that may help you earn site visitors’ respect.
3. Fully Secured SSL Checkout
SSL means Secure Sockets Layer, which is an encryption-based internet security protocol. It guarantees privacy, authentication, and data integrity when buyers share information with your website. It’s important to show buyers that you take their safety seriously and conceal all their professional information with verified processing. You can also choose an AES 256-BIT SSL Secured trust badge. This shows that your checkout is safe and secured with 256-BIT SSL.
4. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
This is another way to guarantee your buyer's satisfaction if you don’t want to opt for a money-back guarantee badge. It’s a good rule of thumb to utilize one or both of these badges to help new buyers feel comfortable making a purchase. This can boost customer lifetime value, especially if a warm buyer turns into a loyal customer.
5. Years in Business
A years in business badge is a significant credential to display, mainly if you have been operating for a long time. It shows customers that you are professional and have successfully provided your products/services for x-amount of time. This is ideal if you are a multi-generational family business, a successful start-up, or anything in between. If you are just starting, don’t get stressed if you don’t have years under your belt yet. It’s always a resource that can be included later.
6. Free Shipping
There are a few free shipping trust badge options depending on your specific requirements. This can let customers know they receive free shipping when they buy a certain amount of products or reach your set monetary goal. For example, free shipping with a purchase of 100 dollars or more. This entices buyers and can increase the amount of money they spend on your website.
7. Industry Certifications or Accreditations
Depending on your industry, it’s always a good idea to showcase your certifications and accreditations. Consumers want to know you have authority in your industry and immediately trust you with their money. You need to prove that you are highly qualified and professionally skilled to convert more clients. Adding these badges makes it easy for consumers to quickly find and identify this information.
Where to Place Trust Badges on Your Website
Trust badges should be present whenever you ask for personal information from a site visitor. The most popular locations include landing pages and the checkout page. They can be utilized for eCommerce stores and any business website where you are exchanging information. There is no denying that trust badges can boost revenue, sales, and customer trust at astronomical levels.
Take your time assessing the best trust badges for your site, and keep in mind the importance of using recognizable logos. Depending on the number of badges you use, you may be able to combine free and purchased trust badges. Overall, the long-term boost trust badges can have on your business is apparent and should be utilized for anyone looking to grow their success. If you add them into your business model, keep track of the variation in your sales. This will help you judge the actual value of trust badges on your overall revenue and growth.