This will make your online shop more reliable for customers
- Background
- 25 April 2022
- Edited 31 October 2024
- 2 min
- Managing and growing
- Secure business
Have you ever wondered how reliable your website or online shop appears to potential customers? If you do not seem trustworthy, few customers will want to do business with you. With visible reviews and a quality mark, for example, you show customers that they can trust your website.
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Not all online shops are trustworthy. Customers are wary because scammers pretend to be honest entrepreneurs online. There are several ways to make your shop trustworthy for customers. Two experts give advice.
Quality marks
With a quality mark (keurmerk), you show your customers that you comply with the rules and regulations and offer a safe payment environment. There are various certified quality marks. Gerard Spierenburg, spokesperson for the Consumers' Association (consumentenbond), explains which quality marks inspire confidence in your customers. "We especially recommend consumers Thuiswinkel Waarborg or Webshop Keurmerk (in Dutch), because these quality marks have general terms and conditions, which have been agreed with us. Also, entrepreneurs who use these quality marks are affiliated to the independent Dispute Commission that helps with any conflicts between the webshop and consumer. Such a committee is quite a reassurance for many customers."
A good online shop shows everything at a glance and does not leave the customer searching for quality marks, reviews, and payment options.
Even more effective
Now you might think: a quality mark, a seal of approval, that is the most important thing. But according to Michiel Henneke of Foundation Internet Domain Registration Netherlands (SIDN), consumers also pay attention to other things. Henneke conducted research into this. "We asked almost 4,000 consumers the question: what do you look for when you want to know whether a website is reliable? Hallmarks came third (51%), below reviews from other consumers (66%) and safe payment options (60%)."
Reviews
Ratings from other consumers, or reviews, are the most influential factor, according to SIDN's research. Make sure reviews are highly visible on your site, so your customer can see reviews from other real customers right away. "It saves a customer searching for reviews themselves if you put them prominently on your site. That way, your customers stay in your siteand do not move to, say, Google to read reviews there,’ Henneke explains.
"These days, you see many online shops sharing logos from review sites such as Trustpilot and Klantenvertellen. These are not really quality marks, but in the customer's perception they are similar. Or even better, because just having a logo from a trusted review site gives customers confidence."
iDEAL
That the payment option is important for customer's trust is striking, according to Henneke. ‘So, it is wise to look critically at your payment options. IDEAL has also become a kind of hallmark. Customers know that IDEAL properly checks which parties offer their service.’
Design and domain name
When it comes to appearing reliable to customers, you should not underestimate the design and domain name of your site, Henneke believes. ‘Cool if you have a quality mark, but if you can then hardly see it because it is the same colour as your website, it is of little use. A good webshop shows everything at a glance and does not make the customer search for quality marks, reviews, and payment options.’
A domain name ending in .nl inspires the most confidence among Dutch consumers. Do you also want to sell abroad, for example in Belgium? Then also buy .be as a domain name. That way you will gain the trust of your Belgian customers faster.
