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About the Author
Mitch (@mitchellharper) is the co-founder and CEO of BigCommerce. Way back in 2007 he built what eventually became BigCommerce as you know it. Today he runs the company alongside Eddie and along with our 100+ team members, is passionate about helping businesses succeed with e-commerce. Mitch spends time between our Sydney and Austin offices and is giving the keynote at TechConnect 2012 in Sydney on April 19th. |
Products generally don’t sell themselves. People want to know who they are buying from and what the terms are. Establishing your own credibility is just as important as the credibility of your products.
Here are a few pages people tend to forget when setting up an online store that help establish credibility:
- Return Policy. According to Practical Ecommerce, returned orders cost online retailers more than $20 billion in 2008. Putting up a return policy will help you prevent costly returns as well as establish trust with your customer. You will need to consider how many days a customer has to return or exchange an item as well as the terms for a return (why and how a customer can return something).
- An “About Us” page. Unlike real life, a customer can’t see your face or what neighborhood you are in. Your “About Us” should tell a story about you and your mission behind your store. If you aren’t wanting to put yourself out on the internet, consider a MarketingSherpa study that concluded personable “About Us” pages increased conversion 30 percent.
- A “Contact Us” page. People have questions about your product, so you’ll want a way for them to email you easily straight from your website.
- Depending on your industry, you may want a Facebook page. Setting up a Facebook page is free and using one means your customers can share with their friends that they like your products. If you advertise on Facebook, it will display your ad and show a person’s friends that they are a fan of yours.
- A phone number. This obviously is not a page, but it is something people often forget. Many sites chose to put their phone number in the upper right hand corner of their website.
Remember, your potential customers probably don’t know anything about you when they see your site. You could be some scam trying to take their money. Taking the time to establishing who you and why people should trust you can go a long way towards converting sales.
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