SmallBusinessNewz

It’s a rare person who, when in the market for a wedding ring, will wind up looking around on eBay.  Unfortunately, a new survey’s discovered many consumers are also leery of trusting sites owned by small businesses.

As reported in a Small Business Hub piece, PayPoint.net found that 81 percent of consumers worry about the security of small online businesses.  Alessandro Hatami, PayPoint.net’s managing director, stated, “Small online businesses lack the resources of their larger competitors but have an even greater interest in ensuring their customers have the safest possible experience on their site.  This situation has led to a haphazard approach to managing fraud - which is in stark contrast to what larger businesses are able to do.”

Considering that it takes all of ten minutes for a skilled developer to toss together a decent site, it’s not too hard to blame people for fearing the unknown.  The familiarity of a brand name – or at least the knowledge that there’s an established corporate office to complain to – can cause people to accept less original products, worse service, or a higher price.

So, although it may not help much on the haphazard front, this news makes it seem more important than ever to present would-be customers with some sort of security-related statement.  Consider including the logos of whatever business organizations you belong to and maybe a testimonial or three.

Maybe you’ll still need to conduct phone conversations or in-person meetings to facilitate really big purchases – ring-level stuff.  But hopefully these steps will at least keep consumers interested and not at red alert.