infoProducts > Michel Fortin

Today, one of the most important aspects of doing business online is the ability to build a certain trust among the people with whom you do business. What I call the infamous "3 S's" (i.e., scams, snake oils and get-rich-quick schemes) have somewhat found a niche on the web, and people are understandably cautious and leery of making a purchase online.

A recent article on Internet Day (http://www.InternetDay.com) revealed an interesting statistic. It explained that 64% of online orders are abandoned at some point before being processed. In other words, people will visit a site, decide that they want what it offers, proceed to the ordering page, and provide all the relevant details. But over half will abruptly end their purchase the moment they are confronted with the dreaded "submit" button.

Concerns about security and privacy are definitely at the root, for people fear that their information will be shared or misused. It is therefore exceedingly vital for an online business to not only communicate a certain level of credibility but also a certain assurance that potential clients are not abused in any way. In fact, some recent statistics prove this undeniable truth.

According to a recent survey conducted by the folks at AT&T Laboratories, research suggests that "a combination of privacy policies and seals of approval significantly raise people's confidence" (for more, see highlights from the study at http://www.research.att.com/projects/privacystudy/).

It also found that people are willing to provide simple information such as their names and even their email addresses to a certain extent. But when it comes to unique identifying information such as their age, phone numbers, postal addresses, credit card numbers, and social security numbers (or social insurance numbers for us Canadians), they run away.

AT&T's Lorrie Faith Cranor, the author of the above study, mentioned that people are willing to give information -- although with a certain degree of trepidation. But what mostly concerns them the most is the sharing of that information. To be more precise, knowing what a site will do with one's information is at the heart of the issue. Says Cranor: "Information to be shared with other companies or organizations is more sensitive. While respondents were concerned about the kind of information they provided to a web site, how it would be used, and whether it would identify them, the most important factor was whether it would be shared with others."

The crux of the survey is the fact that people felt most pessimistic about a site's use of "cookies," which are pieces of data that a web site uses to "brand" a user's computer in order to identify them throughout the site let alone other sites on the Internet. "52% said they were concerned about cookies," Cranor points out. "And most people said they had changed their browser settings to something other than accepting all cookies without warning."

In comparison to an earlier study conducted in 1998, the numbers have increased significantly. While the percentage of consumers online have tripled in less than a year, concerns about threats to their personal online privacy rose to an astonishing 87%. In a comparable Georgia Tech study, called the "Graphics, Visualization, and Usability" study (or GVU, for short), researchers found that 62% of respondents valued privacy over convenience when in comes to buying online (see http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys). In other words, privacy is a key determinant in the number of online purchases.

According to the TRUSTe organization (http://www.etrust.org), the Internet privacy gurus, consumers' fears about privacy impede online sales and therefore limit ecommerce growth. In fact, they mention a recent BCG Consumer survey, which found that 70% of respondents worry about making purchases online and that, if their privacy concerns are successfully addressed, the likelihood that they will buy will multiply immensely.

Consequently, having a clear, straightforward privacy statement on one's web site is undoubtedly becoming an essential component of continued online commerce success. A user's proclivity to buy online increases dramatically when a site describes what information is being collected, how it is collected, and how that information is being used.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when developing your privacy policy. By simply looking at the "what," "why," "who," "where," "when," and "how," you can start defining the necessary elements of an effective privacy pledge. For instance, here are some the questions that your privacy statement should answer (keep in mind that this is an example and not 'the' example):

1) WHAT information is being collected
 

For added convenience, you can have it done for you with a neat wizard supplied by TRUSTe at http://www.etrust.com/wizard/. And if you would like to use specific tools to enhance your site's privacy practices, The Privacy Page at http://www.privacy.org/ offers many online tools, such as web, email, telnet, and data encryption resources. And there are many others, such as the Online Privacy Alliance (http://www.privacyalliance.org).

Ultimately, your goal as an Internet marketer is to increase your online sales. And the most effective way to do so is to ease your prospect's buying experience. On top of that, by catering to their privacy needs you will likely increase not only your sales but your repeat and referral sales as well.

In short, make a privacy pledge and they will take the purchasing plunge.
 

About the Author

Michel Fortin, of http://SuccessDoctor.com/, is a marketing professor and a highly sought-after consultant whose advice has helped countless clients earn millions in record time. His latest book, "Power Positioning Dot Com," reveals how to keep your business or product indelibly carved into your prospects' uppermost consciousness at all times -- see http://successdoctor.com/pp/.

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