Accepting online payments can be a great way to help you expand your business and make it easier for your customers to give you money.
On the other hand, it seems as though every other day we hear about a data breach. And, even though many of these breaches aren’t online breaches, it can reduce how comfortable your customers feel when paying online.
In order to put them at ease, you need to make efforts to show that you’re serious about security. Here are five things you can do to help your customers feel comfortable paying online for your products and services:
1. Create a Professional Website
A professional look is the first step to putting your customers at ease. A website that looks professional immediately comes with a certain level of legitimacy. While a good-looking website doesn’t mean you’re secure, it is one way to help your customers feel as if you take your business (and their security) seriously.
Your website should also have a contact page explaining who you are, what you offer, and how you can be reached. When you present a professional face to the world, you are far more likely to be trusted.
2. Add Security to Your Website — And Display the Seals
Increasingly, customers want to see that you’re certified before paying online. So make sure you have the requisite SSL certificate and other security items for your website.
First of all, that’s just good practice. Make sure that you have the security in place, then prominently display the seals. Seeing that you’re properly verified and having those trust marks can go a long way toward providing comfort to your customers.
3. Share Your Social Proof
It’s not just about your security certificates or anti-virus software. You should also provide other proofs that you can be trusted. Do you participate in the Chamber of Commerce and have their seal of approval? How’s your rating with the Better Business Bureau?
Share that information on your website if it can improve your credibility. Seeing that you have a mark of approval from a trusted group can help customers feel better about paying online. There’s a reason businesses tout their media appearances and positive coverage. It makes them appear more trustworthy.
4. Use Card Verification
Require a CVV2 on your purchase page. Look at using Address Verification Service as well. These processes might seem a little cumbersome at first glance, but they help customers trust you.
I may sigh when asked for my CVV when paying online, but ultimately I feel a little uncomfortable if a business doesn’t ask for it. Could someone else steal my number and use my card quickly and easily because some business doesn’t get the CVV?
Allay customer fears by showing that you, at least, engage in best practices and it would be hard for someone to fraudulently use your card at that business.
5. Don’t Send Them through Several Different Pages
Yes, it’s good to use multiple layers of authentication. But that doesn’t mean you have to send customers through multiple pages when they’re paying online. When possible, it can also make sense to try to keep from sending them to an outside page and try to avoid using pop-ups during a transaction.
Multiple pages and popups make customers uncomfortable, and it worries them that each step compromises their information.
With a little attention to detail, it’s possible to reduce the changes that a customer will bail due to discomfort — and that means more sales for you in the long run.
