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Triggers of trust on the site: 36 ways to convince the client

A person is more likely to buy from a company he trusts, even if it costs more than a competitor. To show that you can be trusted and encourage people to buy from your site, use special elements - trust triggers.


What are the trust triggers


Trust triggers are features or content on a site designed to draw the user to the company. Such triggers are used to increase website conversion rates and improve brand reputation.
The word "trigger" is borrowed from the English "trigger" - a trigger. Triggers are decisive factors that force a choice, make a decision or trigger a process. Imagine a user who is exploring your site in search of the right product and has not yet made a final decision to buy. Suddenly he sees a banner ad with his favorite star and the product he's looking for, and the ad finally convinces him to buy. "That's it, I'll take it"-the celebrity with the product served as the trigger for the decision. That's how triggers work.


Who and why use trust triggers


If your business operates in a low-competitive environment with high demand, and customers are looking for the product themselves and can only find it from you, then you don't need to use trust triggers.
If you read the previous paragraph and thought, "This is not the case, there are almost no low-competitive niches today, and you should always fight for customers," then place trust triggers on your site. They will help you increase the credibility of the company, broadcast expertise to users and show them that you will not cheat them.
Let's now look at what exactly can serve as a trust trigger on the site.


36 trust triggers


1. Testimonials and video reviews
In the psychology of influence there is the principle of "Social Proof" - so called the phenomenon when people cannot make a decision themselves and assume that those around them know better. According to this principle, users rely on the experience of your customers and decide whether to give you their money or not.

2. Author's product photos
"Live" photos of the products show that you actually have something to do with the products, not just collecting applications on the site.

3. Photo of employees
It's easier for users to trust real people, not an abstract "team of experts".

4. Photo of production
If your company is a manufacturer, show a little bit of the inside kitchen. "These are the products we make in this shop. This will add to your realism in the eyes of your customers.

5. 3D tours of the company
Works the same way as photo production, but additionally increases engagement and page view time: users are always curious to explore such functionality.

6. Live streaming of the work
Works the same way as 3D tours, only in real time.

7. Non-stock photos 
Internet users are so bored with obviously stock images that they've already started making up memes with them. Template and too-perfect photos will cause rejection among visitors to your site. Do you need it?

8. Detailed description of the work process
Tell your future buyers what the steps are on the way to the finished result and what you charge.

9. Customer logos
If you have well-known companies among your clients, place their logos in a carousel or a list with the headings "They work with us" or "We are trusted by”. The status of these companies will extend in part to your organization.

10. List of Partners 
It works in a similar way to the customer list. If famous brands cooperate with you, in the eyes of users you stand on the same level as them.

11. Letters of commendation
Works the same way as reviews, but for the B2B sphere.

12. Product certificates
If your products require certification, post scans of supporting documents on your site. This way users will understand that your products can be trusted.

13. Awards, ratings
A company's good rankings and awards show your expertise and help set you apart from the competition.

14. Links to live accounts in social networks
The key word here is "live". Include links to those social networks that you run regularly. If you have registered a company profile in a dozen social networks, but you lead only two of them, and the last publications in the rest were published five years ago - hide the inactive. They will only show that you do not have enough resources for promotion in these social networks. At the same time, active accounts will show that there is a community around you, that you are communicating with your audience and posting additional content.

15. Online consultant with quick response and prompt responses in messengers
There's nothing worse than waiting and catching up. The user of your site has a question, and he wants an answer as soon as possible. It's better to meet the expectations of your potential customers. Plus his question in a chat or messenger is an extra opportunity for you to make contact and subsequently close the deal.

16. Company results in numbers: infographics and VideoScribing)
Show the result of your cooperation with customers in a simple and clear format.

17. Section "About the Company"
Companies with history and values are trusted more. But don't forget that the text on Wikipedia "Horns and Spurs was founded in 1999" is of no interest to anyone and sells nothing. Tell your position through "what you get" rather than "what we do".

18. Video about the company, its history
A video will tell a better story about you and your company.

19. Greeting on the phone with a voiceover
With a message to customers instead of beeps, you can reduce the negativity of waiting and inform the caller about promotions and terms of service. However, if the recording has a voice with speech defects, it may alienate potential clients.

20. Publicly available requisites
If you are not a fly-by-night company, and you are not hiding from your clients, place your details in the public domain. In addition to the credibility of customers, you can get promotion in search engines - search engines love it when commercial sites have company details.

21. Product Warranty
People want to make sure that things don't go out of plan. it won't inconvenience them too much. When you give a guarantee, you remove the expectation of inconvenience and reassure customers. Stress-free customers come back to shop more often. Unless you're selling calming or anti-stress toys.

22. Returns and exchanges
The more transparent the terms of working with you, the more trust people have in your company. They know what to expect from you, so they are more likely to want to work with you to avoid the unknown.

23. Completeness of contact information
Place all possible ways of contacting you. So the client will understand that if you're not available on one channel, you can be contacted in another way. And at the beginning of the contact the user will be able to choose a convenient way of contact, rather than adjusting to the existing ones.

24. Consent to personal data processing
For some users, it's important to know that you won't give their personal data to third parties, and they won't start receiving phone or email offers of varying degrees of dubiousness from someone they don't know. In fact, the law requires companies to store and process personal data in a certain way and only with the consent of the user can details be given to another.

25. Official representation
If you have official representation, it means that in people's eyes you are ready to solve problems with customers. If you have such a representative office, provide its contact information.

26. The owner's personal brand
If the company is headed by an expert with a personal brand, his expertise is also distributed to the company as a whole.

27. Management contacts in the public domain, "Letter to the Director" functionality
The director's openness to criticism or suggestions helps reassure those customers who think "the managers sit there and doesn’t decide anything" that the director is directly involved with clients' opinions also.

28. Publications in the media, participation in TV programs
The media and television are places in the public mind for big, cool professionals. Any publications or mentions of your company in the big media? Tell us and show us.

29. Celebrity
Users believe that if a person excels in one area and becomes an expert, he or she becomes an expert in other areas as well. If possible, use star communications so that those who trust them trust you as well.

30. Company blog with its insights
The blog shows the expertise of the team and that you are not afraid to share your experience, despite the disclosure of information, including competitors als

31. Progress of the project, history of product improvements
Show your progress, how you refine the product, how you improve technology, materials, or service. A company that improves the customer experience stands out from the competition.

32. Vacancy section
If your staff is growing and there are active job openings, then your company probably won't disappear when the sun goes down.

33. Branch network
The presence of a network of branches in a company indicates its scale, therefore a large number of customers according to the principle of social proof (see point 1) people will prefer you.

34. Cases
"If someone has had super results with a company, why can't I?" - the user thinks, reading the case, and then leaves a request.

35. Section QA
Answers to frequent questions close the areas of uncertainty and risk in working with you in the representation of clients.

36. Informal photos from company life, from corporate vacations
Live people have an easier customer experience than robo-managers.


Open this list of trust triggers in one tab and your site in another. See what else you could add to the site to make a better impression on users? Go through the list, check what you need, and get to work.