How Seals Of Approval Can Increase Your Sales

If you want an Internet viewer to buy from you, you have to engender their trust. They need to trust you enough to provide their sensitive personal financial information, send the product that you advertised and stand by the product if there is any problem.

There are a number of ways to establish trust with the customer. Some of the typical methods are:

- Providing the company name, address and telephone number so that your existence can be verified.

- Publishing your warranties and customer service policies on returns, defective merchandise and so on.

- Publish your privacy policy.

- Accept payment using a reputable, secure payment processing company.

- Publish customer reviews.

One of the other ways you can inspire trust is by displaying approval seals from organizations that have reviewed and validated your company trustworthiness.

According to the Better Business Bureau Online, 78% of people surveyed said that evidence of third party review of a company would greatly enhance their trust in that company, suggesting that displaying seals of approval could have an excellent positive effect on sales.

Chinese researchers conducted a study of consumer confidence based on seals of approval and found that some seals of approval boosted likelihood of purchase, especially if the purchaser was already familiar with the seal of approval. Specifically, participants were most familiar with VeriSign, then AOL certified merchant, then Bizrate, then BBBonline. They were more likely to buy based on the presence of all seals except Bizrate, which was statistically insignificant.

VeriSign provides certification for payment handling is widely known and costs under $500 for the most basic certification package.

The oldest and best known certifying organization is, in fact, the Better Business Bureau. Their seal of approval is the most respected designation on the Internet, according to PC World. While their accreditation procedure is exhaustive and somewhat pricey, they are the gold standard in verifying business integrity, even though they were less widely recognized in the study.

What if you cannot afford the BBB seal or if you are new on the Internet and could not qualify for BBB rating for at least twelve months? Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate) allows you to sign up and participate in their certification program for free. You have to agree to allow your business to be reviewed by Shopzilla shoppers.

The cited study showed no appreciable effect from Bizrate but since it was a limited study and the rating is free, it probably cannot hurt.

You can also look for a certifying group within either your product category such as children's products or tools. Just do an Internet search for your product category and website certification or product certification.

Beware of certifying companies that are essentially in business to sell you a pretty graphic that suggests some sort of certification that does not really exist. Internet users are savvy. It takes nothing more than a blog comment about a certification being bogus that spreads and if your site is carrying that seal, all of your work on building credibility is gone. It is not worth it.