No matter if you are selling online or in a brick and mortar store feeling secure about your purchase and knowing that it will be handled with professionalism is a big factor in whether or not you pull out your wallet and fork over the cash.
Think about it if you are in the market for a car you may drive down the street and see someone selling theirs on the side of the street. Maybe it is in great condition almost new but even after you start it up and test it you are much less likely to offer full value (used value) because if you have problems the sale is final and you will not receive help.
Now if you pass a used car lot and see the same vehicle you may stop in and go through the same inspection and if the vehicle is in good condition you are probably more likely to make the purchase. However if the car lot does not have a building where they work on the cars and they are simply a lot on the side of the road where your purchase is filled out on a clipboard you are not going to feel good enough to give a full value payment.
Finally you drive past your new car dealer and see the same vehicle. It is used and a trade in. You inspect the vehicle and find it to be in the exact same shape as the previous two cars you looked at. As a matter of fact all of the cars are the same year, same miles and same condition… You almost think that someone was driving the car down the road in front of you and parking it in different places just so you would buy it. However even though the vehicle is exactly the same as the previous ones you are more likely to fork over a few hundred … maybe even a thousand or more then the guy who was selling it on his front yard.
Why did the vehicle’s location and the person selling it to you influence your purchase?
If all conditions are the same including transferred warranties and no added services then the only difference was the company that was selling you the product and how it was presented.
This is one of the reasons why the BBB Better Business Bureau exists… the fact is the BBB has no control over a company the only thing they can do is ask nice for a business to help a customer…. in the end the business makes the decision to join the BBB and in the end being a member does not mean that the business handles disputes any better or provides any more value..
Honestly this is true.. and the funny thing is i have heard many people say I am going to report them to the BBB.. well if the company is not a member of the BBB that won’t help you a bit.. and if the company wishes they can refuse to close the claim and not help you even if they are a member…
But for some reason when we see websites offering a BBB Label or a Hacker Safe Label or a Checked for Viruses Label on their website we feel like we are being treated with more care and our purchase will be better.
This is true for sites that sell through Paypal shopping carts Google or Amazon Checkout and still use SSL certificates.
It makes absolutely no difference if SSL is used on the Merchant’s website if the transaction and payment occurs on a third party payment system.
But for some reason people want that SSL or BBB or Hacker Safe label to be there…
Even if someone is not looking for it … its presence will be subliminal and the buyer is more likely to trust the merchant.
The same is true when we see Selected Top Business by Webmaster Merchants Association Of Luxemburg… WHAT?
Seriously…
Final Note
If your business has a BBB account in the real world make sure that you display that logo on your website.. It won’t help your customers we all know that … but it most likely will help your sales.
The same is true for any association or standard that you hold..
iso9000… does that even mean anything? look it up … but you will see it everywhere…
In reality many of these organizations can help your customer but in all honesty what you are doing is a hard sale… you are saying trust me.. my car is better.. I have the better location and store and staff… so feel better and buy now.
