The first article was written from the point of view of the user assessing the credibility of a website and drew parallels with going on a blind date. This article is written from the point of view of the website owner trying to encourage the user to interact with their site by creating and maintaining credibility.
In dating terms, this article is about how to impress your new friend and turn the friendship into a long term relationship.
So you’ve had the blind date and decided you’d like to spend some more time together to progress the new friendship and see if it can develop into a relationship. Naturally you will be keen to impress and be nervous about doing anything that would scare them off.
Contact points
One of the cornerstones to a good relationship is communication. It is important to ensure that all channels are open as you’ll not know immediately how your new friend prefers to communicate with you.
At the end of the blind date you’ll have had to exchange contact details. The type and number of details you give out will send a signal as to how keen you are to continue the relationship and how much your trust the other person.
Giving out an email address is a good first step but emails can be easily ignored so doesn’t send the best signal. It is also a virtual address and not attached to the real world. A mobile phone number is an improvement but is still a little annoymous. Mobile phones can be turned off, set to silent and also come with caller display so you can easily screen calls before you answer.
However, giving out your home phone number sends a very positive signal. It is directly connected to the real world, rarely turned off and most don’t include caller display so screening is difficult. It is actually quite invasive as it requires the person who answers to stop what they are doing an engage in a conversation. Finally, giving out your home address sends the best signal. It is a very trusting move and it lets the other person know exactly were to find you.
Don’t call me, I’ll call you!
In terms of your website it is important to think about the ways it which you allow visitors to communicate with you and the perception it gives. Credibility is built by bridging the offline and online worlds which is best done by providing real phone numbers and a physical address. A lack of physical contact points suggests either that the organisation doesn’t really exist or doesn’t trust its visitors. It can seem rather hypocritical to ask users to provide their personal address when registering if the website itself refuses to give out that information. Providing just a contact or feedback form is the equivalent of saying, “don’t call me, I’ll call you”?
Don’t ask for personal contact details which you aren’t prepared to provide yourself.
Rapid response
Having established points of contact you’ll hopefully hear something from your friend within in the next few days.
If you receive an email, letter or SMS (text) message from your new friend and do not reply for a couple of weeks they will think you are ignoring them. This doesn’t help the relationship. Replying promptly shows enthusiasm.
The same is true for telephone conversations, putting your prospective partner on hold for half an hour is never going to be popular!
Online this means that you need to respond promptly to any requests made by visitors to your website. This helps reinforce the connection to the real world and indicates that you are attentive to their needs. If you only use a feedback form this is even more important.
Many sites are using automated responses to emails or forms, which is a good way of indicating the request has been received but does not negate the importance of replying quickly.
In summary
- Provide multiple contact points
- Physical addresses and telephone numbers help bridge the offline and online worlds
- Whatever contact points you open make sure you respond in a timely fashion!
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