This article originally appeared in Digital Dealer magazine - April 2006

Who Can You Trust on the Internet?

by Mark R. Dubis

People do business with people they trust. A customer on the dealer’s lot meets the sales associate and either feels comfortable with them or doesn't. If the customer trusts the sales associate the chances of a sale go way up. It’s that simple.

So, how do you convey a message of trust on a web site? While the Internet is a cold and often impersonal place there are steps you can take that convey a more open and user-friendly environment and thus a more trusting place to shop for a vehicle.

I visit 20 or 30 web sites a day to explore new products, get information on various vendors, review dealer sites and to shop for office or home products. After buying on the Internet for a few years now, I’ve established some personal rules that help me determine whether I will do business with an online store.

In no particular order here is a list of items I look for on the site:
•    A physical address of their office or place of business

•    A telephone number of their offices, and preferably a toll-free phone number for customer service

•    Clear information about shipping policies and costs
•    Purchase process that offers secure, encrypted pages for ordering products

•    A Frequently Asked Questions page with clear, complete answers to the questions a prospective buyer might ask

•    A simple way to track orders online
•    Solid consumer ratings. (If I found a site through a shopping aggregator like pricegrabber.com or shopping.com, I look for customer reviews. If I see more than a few negative ratings, I go elsewhere. )

Once they have all this functionality they have cleared my first set of hurdles. Now, I look to see what value they provide. Do they offer quality products at competitive prices? If I feel their products are a “good deal” I go ahead and make the purchase.
I also suggest calling their phone number for customer service. On a recent purchase, which I subsequently cancelled, I called the customer service line and was told the wait time was 56 minutes. If you can’t get through within 10 minutes, I would suggest you shop elsewhere.

Building trust on your store’s web site
Now let’s look at dealership web sites and the personal rules I shared with you. Are you making it easy for users to communicate with you and get the information they want? Do you have the address of the dealership and phone number on every page? Do you have a Frequently Asked Questions page about your dealership’s policies?

I told you why that’s important to me. Now, think about the process of buying a vehicle. It's not exactly like walking into Walgreens and buying some hair gel. It can be an intimidating and complicated process that befuddles many folks.

Why not take a page from other online retailers and develop a customer or auto shopper Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to make things easier for customers? Remember we work in this business every day, so we know the car buying process inside out. Problem is, most customers don't always know the in's and out's of our business, so this presents an opportunity for your dealership to befriend your prospects and start building their trust by sharing with them how the process works.

Here are some basic questions you should answer on a “Car Buying FAQ” page that customers can link to right from your home page:
1.    Are the vehicles shown on this web site described accurately?

2.    What's the difference between a certified used vehicle and one that is not certified?

3.    Do you have other vehicles not shown on the site?

4.    How are trade-in values determined?

5.    If I put money down do I get a better purchase price or interest rate?

6.    What type of financing is available?

7.    What are the benefits of financing at the dealership?

8.    Can you finance someone with past credit problems?

9.    Should I buy or lease?

10.    How long does it take to complete the transaction?

11.    What if I buy the vehicle and change my mind the next morning?

12.    Do you match competitors’ prices?

13.    Can you locate the vehicle I want?

14.    Do you have a first-time buyers program?

I’m sure you can think of a few others but these are the basic ones to start with on the site. Answering these questions in a straightforward and easy to understand fashion will help show a prospect that you care about providing an open atmosphere where you stand ready to answer any questions they pose to you.

The answers you provide to the questions should be honest, clear and straightforward. You should strive to keep your answers to three or four informative sentences.

Here is a sample answer to question 1:
“We make every attempt to accurately describe each vehicle posted on our web site, but unfortunately we sometimes make mistakes and an incorrect option or feature of the vehicle is listed in the description. When you locate a vehicle that interests you, our site offers you the ability to e-mail us to check on the equipment, confirm availability, and to arrange a test drive. An in-person inspection by you is the best way to assure that the desired options and features are on the vehicle.”

A well-thought FAQ page can differentiate you from your competitiors. Does your site offer a more compelling roadmap to a sale than your competitors? If so, your sales associates have another selling tool to help customers understand why it’s better to buy from you. The absence of a FAQ page leads to another key customer perception: If a dealer’s web site doesn't anticipate and answer questions, customers are likely to think you’re trying to hide something.

Your sales people might even point to this page as something that distinguishes you from your competitors. You provide an FAQ page and they don't. What are they hiding? If you help your customers to buy; they will.
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This article originally appeared in Digital Dealer magazine - April 2006