Secrets of Online Entrepreneurs: How Australia's Online Mavericks, Innovators and Disruptors Built Their Businesses ... And How You Can Too

CHAPTER FIVE POSITIONING

Trust everybody, but cut the cards.

Finley Peter Dunne

The trust quotient: would you buy from you?

When dining at restaurants, my 75-year-old dad used to follow the waiter to the cash register to check they didn't copy down the number of his credit card.

‘Dad, this is a reputable restaurant! Look, they have tablecloths and everything!'

‘Bernadette, you can never be too careful,' he'd say.

He was of that old-school generation that didn't, and still doesn't, trust online transactions. Was he paranoid? A bit. Was I embarrassed watching Dad follow the waiter to the cash register? A lot. But was he right to be cautious? Yes. He's on the far end of the spectrum in terms of lack of trust. I'm probably too far the other way.

But he represents what most people fear when they give their credit-card details over the internet. And that is, ‘Can I trust them?'

The Zero Moment of Truth and how to influence it

One of the biggest reasons online businesses go under is because they fail to position their business as a trusted authority — to instil a sense of security in the buyer.

Think about it.

They've landed on your page. Big tick for you.

They want to buy your product. Another big tick.

But just as they're about to push the ‘Buy' button, they stop. They pause, fingers hovering over the mouse. At that precise moment, which Google has termed the ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth), your site's positioning — its credibility — is being weighed up. In the blink of an eye, ...