There is something about the idea of sending a credit card number out over public telephone lines that makes many people cringe.
Although buying online may be safer than using your credit card at a restaurant, hacker attacks that disabled popular Web sites including eBay and Yahoo for the better part of a business day in February are high-profile proof that even the largest e-commerce sites can fall prey to online miscreants.
The reality of doing business online is that your customers need to trust that their personal information will be safe with you. In fact, there is a whole industry popping up around the concept of hiring an independent party to evaluate the safety and credibility of your e-commerce site.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is one of the newest entrants to the game with its “WebTrust” online seal. Al Van Ranst, a CPA in the Boston office of Big Five accounting firm KPMG, is working on the AICPA’s new program and has seen the good and the bad when it comes to instilling e-confidence in your customers.
Here are four ways Van Ranst says business owners can help establish online credibility:
Stick to your privacy policy
If you’ve drafted and posted on your site a policy regarding how sensitive customer information will be treated, make sure to stick with it.
“There have been some entities which disclose their privacy policy and then just don’t follow it,” says Van Ranst. “In most instances, that’s occurred because somebody wrote the policy but they never linked it to what goes on. It’s not that somebody violated it, there were just never procedures in place to carry out the policy in the first place.”
Partner with an established brand
A recognizable brand name with a solid track record of quality service is the best way to get consumers buying online. If your company doesn’t have a widely recognizable name just yet, work on landing partnerships with well-known companies. By selling their products, your site will benefit from your suppliers’ good standing with the public.
Support consumer-to-consumer dialogue
Offer a place on your site where consumers can post comments about their buying experiences and communicate with each other. Sites such as Amazon.com were early entrants to the idea of a customer forum, but Van Ranst expects the concept will become more popular for consumer e-commerce sites as the Web develops.
Empower the customer
Online shoppers will trust a site when they control access to their personal information. Customers will respect a site that asks permission to obtain personal details. Likewise, if you want to install a “cookie” on your customers’ hard drives so they don’t have to log on to your site each time they visit, ask for consent first.
“The real point here is there are some consumers who want Web sites to profile,” says Van Ranst. “Then, there are others, like myself, who really don’t want anyone to know about my personal activity.”
How to reach: AICPA, www.aicpa.org
Jim Vickers ([email protected]) is an associate editor at SBN.