How many times have you researched a purchase online, just to go down to the store so you could personally inspect, hold, touch, or try on the product?

As an online merchant, how can you help your customers feel confident enough in your product to make the purchase without having personally seen or touched your merchandise?

A recent Entreprenuer magazine article discusses the need to make your online offerings “wow” customers:

Now that most of your customers have broadband, your site should offer rich media features such as zoom, virtual e-catalogs and dynamic color-swatching. “It’s basically a must-have for many retailers, especially those where touch and feel are critical to product conversion, says Sucharita Mulpuru, … “Anyone in this space who doesn’t have features such as zoom and alternative views is seen as being really behind.

Example #1: Dell

Although I’ve had my share of trouble with Dell’s customer service, their website does a good job of helping you see the product before you buy. Some techniques they use include:

• 360 degree views of the products where you can rotate the product
• Several product images from different angles
• Detailed specifications and pictures of all the plugs and cable jacks

You can basically take a product, spin it around and truly see what you’ll be getting out of the box.

Example #2: Lands End

Clothing retailer Lands End creates an online environment where you can get as close to trying on your purchase as possible. They feature:

• A virtual model of you that you can use to “try on” clothes
• A detailed zoom feature on product pages that lets you see not just the overall pattern but down to the type of grain on the fabric
• If the previous features aren’t enough, you can order a free swatch of fabric to physically inspect before purchasing.

These two companies offer a variety of options to help customers visualize and even try on their products — all online. Each feature will likely help different types of customers. The more visual aids you provide customers, the more likely they’ll be confident about their online purchase. Confident online shoppers will skip the trip to the store and buy directly from you today.

We recently bought a Little Tikes slide for our boys. Since we made our purchase via a listing on Craigslist, we didn’t get any assembly instructions.

I came home and found the pieces nearly impossible to assemble. I went online and found the manufacturer’s website and the actual product page. Fortunately for me, they had an “instructions” tab that offered step-by-step assembly diagrams. They worked great and the slide has already been put to good use.

Customers will often return to the point of sale seeking manuals, instructions, or support.

On the web, you can easily incorporate these elements in the product pages where you sell your merchandise. Don’t overlook customer support post-sale, as that is often the time they need you the most.

If customers can’t find the help they need from where they made their purchase, they may find comfort in the arms of a competitor who does provide superior support.

Even though customers may buy your product via third parties or used, your supporting relationship with them will influence future purchases of your product.

Here’s the test:

Which is the letter O as in Oscar and which is the number zero?

• o
• O
• 0

In case you couldn’t solve that little puzzle, here are the answers:

• o - little letter
• O - capital letter
• 0 - number

Now imagine a few zeros and letters sprinkled in a large 25 character sequence of random letters and numbers.

This is exactly what I encountered this weekend as I tried to reinstall my Quicken financial software. I had to retype the software activation code and couldn’t distinguish the letter O from the number zero to save my life. Fortunately, after much trial and error, I guessed the right combination of letters and zeros.

On screen or typed, zero and the letter O are nearly impossible to distinguish side by side.

Play it safe and spare your customer some agony and eye strain. Don’t include both zeros and O’s when customers have to identify them on-screen or in printed type. Pay particular attention to activation keys and serial numbers since these random alphanumeric sequences are already very confusing.

I was recently investigating the new Saturn Sky convertible on their website and tried out their “build your own” application.

To my surprise I saw this screen:

As you can see, I had two options for the Sky: the base model and an “undefined” model. Today the site is corrected, but that doesn’t change the fact that a little programming or database error made it all the way to my browser.

Double Check Data

“Undefined” errors are usually exceptions that aren’t properly handled in the code. These can easily slip in when assumptions are made about the availability of a variable or data from a database.

Always check to make sure you really have the data you think you do before showing it to the customer. “Undefined” cases should be hidden if they are encountered or you should safely default to an appropriate value.

Error Pages

In the worst case, you can always direct a user to a generic error page that tells them you’re having technical difficulties. Explain how they can start over or how to contact you if needed.

Be Aware

You need to know when such errors are encountered so that you can correct your code with your next software release. When an error occurs, you can automatically email your programmer or log these types of errors for future analysis.

You are familiar with the ubiquitous registration forms that litter the Web. Most web applications have sign-up pages where you divulge some type of personal information before agreeing to some Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies.

The user experience on a typical online registration form requires some special handling. Traditionally, hyperlinks open in the same browser window in which you are browsing. This works great, except where the user has just filled out a form.

Problem

Most Terms of Service and Privacy Policy links are found near the “Submit” button. Users encounter this after they have dutifully filled out numerous form fields.

If these links open in the same window, the user must use the browser’s back button to return to the form. Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee that the form will keep all the original inputs.

Problem Example

I just ran across this problem on Technorati’s sign up page. Their ToS link took me to a new page. When I hit back to return to the form, my inputs were gone!

Solution

On registration pages, open the ToS and Privacy links in a popup or a new window. This will ensure the user’s inputs are preserved and that they don’t have to re-enter data.

Solution Example

37signal’s Backpack application has a sign up form that opens the links in a new window. Perfect!

On the heels of my Tale of 3 eCommerce Sites, I ran across an interesting article about building up your website’s credibility at The Conversion Chronicles.

The author, Trenton Moss, highlights several steps to gaining web credibility for your website:

1. You must prove there’s a real organization behind your website

The web has very low barriers to entry. Anyone can setup a website and start selling products literally overnight. If I’ve never heard of you before, why should I trust you? Prove to me you’ll support my purchase and be there tomorrow if I have questions.

2. Your website needs to provide ’sensitive’ information

People have reservations about buying online. These “sensitive” people need reassurances that everything will turn out properly. Make sure you include warranties, return information, shipping policies, and company contact information in prominent locations.

3. All statements should be backed up by third-party evidence

Would your statements stand up in a court of law? Authenticate your marketing claims by including testimonials, quotes, references, client names, studies, and survey results.

4. There has to be proof that the organization is growing and has clients

A large and growing customer base will, by its very existence, quell the uneasy minds of potential customers. Call it safety in numbers or the safety in the herd mentality. Either way it definitely applies to your online venture.

5. Your website needs to have an air of professionalism and confidence

I focused on #5 in my previous article, which as you can see, is just a piece of the puzzle. Credibility is more than skin deep on websites. Don’t forget to add the evidence necessary to validate your claims and encourage prospects to do business with you.

Moss’ points are critical in gaining a potential customer’s trust when they first come to your site. You may be lucky and someone will take a one-time chance on you. However, if you hope to start any type of long term relationship with a customer you need to resolve their doubts and remove any barriers to entry.

On my last two trips to Lowe’s and Home Depot I got a survey invitation printed with my receipt. When I took these surveys on their websites I saw a user interface problem that is commonly found in web applications: forcing the user to input data like you (the company) want to see it.

Your web application may require the customer to input data that isn’t familiar or that could be entered in numerous formats. Your job is to make that data entry as easy and quick as possible.

Examples

When asking for user input, provide some examples and hints as to where they’ll find the necessary information. Both my surveys asked for the numbers printed on my receipt. Home Depot was nice enough to show a sample receipt:

Lowe’s provided an example of what the number would look like:

I was able to easily identify which numbers to enter but then I hit a little annoying snag.

User Inputs

Lowe’s insisted that I input the numbers into several sequential text boxes. Home Depot wanted me to include the space between the numbers. Why can’t I just type in the whole number, spaces or not into one box? I could then avoid having to tab between boxes (Lowe’s) or move from the numeric pad on my keyboard to hit the space bar (Home Depot).

When you boil down the inputs both surveys requested, you get an integer. Programming languages are great at parsing data and can even reformat it on the fly. Don’t force the user to input data a certain way when you can handle it programmatically.

Common Inputs

Web users are often asked to format data as they enter it. Data that is frequently displayed with punctuation and spaces can often appear in numerous formats. An individual’s preference will dictate how she would normally write out the information. For example, one could write (123) 555-6789 or 123.555.6789 for a phone number. Other types of data lend themselves to programmatic formatting by the web application as well:

• zip codes with/out +4 extension
• credit card numbers
• dates
• social security numbers
• serial numbers
• decimal numbers (i.e. 1,5 vs. 1.5)
• abbreviations
• license plate numbers

Simple Inputs

Keep your web application’s user inputs as simple as possible. You can use your programming skills (or someone else’s) to format data for company use on the server and out of the user’s sight. Forcing the user to input data a certain way will cause delay, possible confusion, and could lead to errors in your application.

The simpler the interface, the quicker a customer can get through the required steps and get on with their day. Leave the heavy lifting of formatting to your application.

Most of the transactions you complete on the web generate an automated confirmation email. These come from email addresses like these:

• auto-confirm@amazon.com
• SouthwestAirlines@mail.southwest.com
• system@backpackit.com

Have you ever hit reply and responded to one of these emails? Your email probably bounced right back to you.

I’ve written before about making your reply-to email address a real company monitored inbox. However, if companies insist on having no-reply emails they need to better communicate that the email address isn’t monitored.

Most companies throw a sentence in the email stating you shouldn’t reply to the message. Others have a more jovial approach. What if the “from” email address clearly stated the situation?

Website monitoring service Montastic sends emails from this address:

no-reply-i-am-a-computer@montastic.com

When I saw that address I immediately understood its purpose:

• I knew I couldn’t reply to the email
• I knew the email address wasn’t monitored
• I didn’t have to read the email message searching for an obscure “Please don’t reply” sentence
• I knew the Montastic guys had a sense of humor

If you’re stuck with automated emails for which you can’t monitor responses, at least spice up the return address!

My wife and I recently purchased some products from three sites we had never before used. I’m usually a little apprehensive about purchasing from a new online site because they haven’t yet established a relationship of trust.

The big thing that helps build trust for me is the professional appearance of a website. Take a look at the following three sites. Which one do you think would deliver the order accurately and in the most timely manner?

• dentaldepot.com
• isokineticsinc.com
• currentcatalog.com

So my guess is whichever one you picked to be the best, it wasn’t dentaldepot.com. Well to our surprise, dentaldepot.com came through with a timely and accurate delivery. The other two sites left us wondering “where is our order?” for too long.

Judging a Book by its Cover

How many customers has dentaldepot.com never gained because its website isn’t quite as spiffy as it could be? What does your site look like to a new customer? What message is it sending? Amateur or professional? Trustworthy or shady?

Dress the Part

Your ecommerce efforts should be wrapped in a clean, usable, and professional-looking design. These characteristics are then associated with your company. If you really are a great customer-centric company, your website should convey that message.

Dress Up

You may be a small company with a limited budget. Nevertheless, the web is a great leveling field. You can compete with the big boys because you can look like them. Now, I’m not saying go and copy somebody’s design, but you can dress up your site so it is professional. Doing so will at least alleviate people’s fears when they first visit your site. Once they’ve gotten over the initial hurdle, you can take that trust and deliver a great customer experience.

Bank of America has a very impressive on-line bill pay service. They keep tweaking and improving things every time I look.

I recently read some complaints about how Bank of America forces you to enter dates when paying bills. Almost on the heels of that commentary, I see Bank of America updated their user experience to address exactly that issue:

Old Way

Customer had to determine when they wanted the bill sent so it would arrive on time.

New Way

Now customers can just pick when they want the payment delivered.

Less is Better

Sometimes removing a feature is the path to a better user experience. Other times you need to remove hurdles that lie in the customer’s path. In our example here, Bank of America actually removed some of the decisions and mental processing the customer needed to do to complete their bill paying task.

Make it Easy

Continuously refine your product based on customer feedback and your own innovative ideas. However, don’t go overboard and pile on complexity. Empower your customers by simplifying and clarifying existing processes.