In a saturated market in which consumers have immediate access to all your competitors, how do you make your business stand out? Yet, perhaps more importantly, how do you establish a reliable reputation for your brand? This is crucial because it’s the best way for building a dependable, returning customer base. Check out the tried and tested ways for building a trustworthy name for your online retail business:
Packaging Is Important
Printed mailing bags, boxes, padded envelopes, wrapping paper and packaging tape – there are so many options when it comes to packaging your goods, it’s all about choosing the right one for your business. Failing to choose a suitable packaging option could put your reputation at risk. This is because goods could turn up damaged from poor padding during transit.
There’s no reason to risk it. Invest in good quality packaging materials and take advantage of the branding opportunities, too! You can customise the materials to feature brand names, promotional information or just to showcase a message you want to shout about.
Professionally printed packaging also has the effect of making your business look like a big, bankrolled company – even if you’re not! This can help install trust with your customers, because they feel confident that their purchases are protected, and they are more likely to get good-quality items! It really is the small things that will make the difference.
Treat Your Website Like Your Shop Floor
In the world of e-commerce, your website is literally your shop. You wouldn’t proudly open the doors to a brick and mortar shop without it being clean, stylish and on-brand! The same rules apply and your e-commerce site should be well kept, too.
The functionality of your website is crucial for customer experience – it’s the same as in person browsing. Everything should be easy to find and flicking through items should be simple and enjoyable. This means images should be good quality, load time should be as quick as possible and all the necessary information or options (different colours, sizes, product information) should be readily available on the page, too.
A professional design for your website will also help to make sure your platforms meets the needs and expectations of prospective clients. Failing to meet all these basic needs is likely to deter customers from buying or converting with you, because you won’t seem like a reliable business.
Promote An Authentic Brand
Although you might be looking to curate a capitalised, professional brand image, it’s always important to maintain your authenticity. The internet now means that false information is very hard to keep a secret from consumers – and this can ruin a reputation!
Make sure the information on your site is clear and provide every possible opportunity for customers to ask information or get in touch with you. This will present a helpful and genuine image for your business, no matter how big or small you are!
Meeting the needs of your audience is great, but make sure you don’t stray too far away from your original mission or project. This can help customers understand your motivation for starting your business. People don’t like to believe that businesses are in the game to make money – give them an alternative story to believe in – make sure you include an About Us on your website and promote user generated content on your social channels and on your platforms to make sure you look like you’re there for the customer to build a trustworthy image!
