An Ordering Policy that Builds Trust

For many years, Sears has clearly displayed its simple policy: "Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back." Do you think this policy has lost Sears money over the years?: Hardly! It is one of the reasons people shop at Sears in the first place. http://www.sears.com/data/advertisements/1/073/896/146/mores_sears_exclu2a.html

Small business storeowners are often afraid to make strong, iron clad, no-questions-asked guarantees for fear that unscrupulous people will take advantage of them. And a few moral rejects will take advantage of them. But overwhelmingly, those who offer a money-back guarantee have found that it creates much more business than it causes problems.

Risk Reversal

One of the reasons people hesitate to place an order in your store is the risk to which they feel they are exposing themselves. If you can reverse this so you the merchant takes all the risk, and your customer takes none, you'll substantially increase the number of orders completed and expand your profit at the end of each month. Build trust by taking the risk on yourself.

Ordering Policy Page

Make sure you have easy-to-find links all over your site to your ordering policy page. You'll need to include:

• Return Policy
• Guarantee on Products
• Shipping policies

Here are some examples of what to include in your policy page:

• Drs. Foster & Smith http://www.drsfostersmith.com/general/guarantee.cfm
• Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468532/ref=hy_f_4/
• Lands' End http://www.landsend.com/spawn.cgi?target=EDITGRTEXXXX

The clearer you are, the more confidence you inspire. The more generous you are, the more trust you build. And remember, trust is the one essential business element you can't make sales without.