4 Types of Trust Signals You Should Use Today

If you don’t trust someone, would you be likely to do business with them?

Of course not. This is why a small business needs to establish itself as a legitimate company, delivering on the promises made to its customers.

Trust signals play a key role in the lead generation landscape and, as strong evidence suggests, these subliminal cues have the power to improve the initial value judgment of your website.

A study by Taylor Nelson Sofres found that customers stop 70% of online purchases because of a lack of trust. According to another study, 92% of customers say they rely on recommendations from friends before making a purchase decision.

There are many types of trust signals you can include in your landing pages and your website, but these 4 are the most important.

1. Reviews

According to Econsultancy, 88% of customers will check out reviews before making a purchase decision. Some of them even go to third-party websites, such as Yelp or discussion forums to examine other users’ experience and satisfaction with the product / service they are interested in.

This is why reviews are so powerful. They offer an objective third-party perspective and they can make your business feel more authentic.

Make sure to include more than a couple reviews to support your product. Studies have shown that most users read between 2 and 10 reviews before making a decision.

2. Affiliations

There’s a reason why highly successful business owners surround themselves with like-minded people. Even if they are the ones running the show, they know that the people they associate with can influence their image of success.

Being connected with other successful businesses within or outside your industry can get you a vote of confidence. Partnering with other reliable companies will give customers the impression that you too are a reliable business.

3. Awards

If your local business has ever gotten an award, you have a chance to improve your credibility and gain the trust of your prospective new clients. Right there on the homepage, show proof of your achievements and boost the confidence of your customers.

4. Testimonials

Around 90% of people believe that testimonials included in marketing messages are made up. While they might trust reviews from third-party websites, most of them do not trust testimonials when they see them on a website.

However, if used correctly, testimonials can be a very powerful trust signal.

Despite what you believe, consumers don’t want testimonials from their peers. They listen to their friends’ recommendations and read online reviews, but this rationale breaks down when it comes to testimonials. As it turns out, sharing testimonials from authoritative sources is much more effective.

Make sure the testimonials are specific and talk about how your product / service helped the recipient. Don’t forget to include a photo of the happy customer next to their quote to boost trust.

Building trust is one of the biggest challenges for a small business. By now, hopefully you are convinced that using trust signals is crucial to long-term brand growth.

What trust signals worked best for you? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.