Building Trust Online

While web use and shopping are up, new reports underscore the need for the financial services industry to design sites for trust. Phishing and online fraud keep people from wanting to give out personally identifiable information like Social Security number, driver’s license number, phone number, even email address.

The reluctance to share on the part of the consumer can often cost an agent more time—filtering out fake leads and re-quoting prospects who didn’t feel comfortable providing more specific information the first time around.

Successful agencies are aware of these barriers and design their sites to deal with them from the outset, employing a variety of features most agencies don’t consider.

Successful, trust-building sites:

• Make it easy for visitors to accomplish their goal (finding information, getting a quote, etc.)
• Give resources
• Appear human
• Reassure visitors
• Are aesthetically pleasing

That last one may surprise you. After all, weren’t we taught in school not to judge a book by its cover? Newsflash: that doesn’t apply on the web.

Speaking at The Future of Web Apps last fall, Jeff Veen, Google’s user interface designer, said everything on a web site either builds visitor trust or undermines it. The startling statistic: visitors decide whether or not they trust your site in a little as one-twentieth of a second. Which is evocative of another childhood lesson: you only get one chance to make a first impression.

Of course, the aesthetics is only one part of building trust with your visitors. Successful web sites, like Miss America, bring the total package.

Ensuring Privacy and Security

As I prepared to write this article, I asked InsureMe Usability Manager David Lansdon to review a few insurance sites and tell me what was working…and what wasn’t. While he made a handful of great observations, David was most surprised by the lack of attention given to addressing privacy and security measures.

“We know that privacy and security are of primary importance to users—addressing these concerns with links to privacy policies and content explaining why the site needs certain personal information should be foremost in the minds of insurance site owners,” said David. “Combined with explanations of the measures the site takes to secure user information, visitors will be more willing to share.”

One of my favorite books, Hot Text: Web Writing That Works, offers a few more suggestions to use your security and privacy policies as trust-building tools:

Write a privacy policy that’s easy to understand. Spare heavy legal terminology and instead tell visitors how you’re going to protect their valuable info.

Give visitors reason and reward. If you need personal information from a visitor, tell them why—and how it will benefit them.

Don’t pontificate. Keep your security and privacy policies free of marketing hyperbole. It gets in the way of the important stuff.

Make a big deal when a screen goes to a secure server. Let users know when they’ve switched to a secure (https://) server and they’ll be more willing to give you the information you need.

In truth, most of your visitors won’t read your full privacy and security policies. But clearly displaying links and logos will encourage your visitor as they explore your site and build the kind of customer confidence you need to covert the prospect to a new sale.