Jason Kumpf ETail Ecommerce Amazon Seller Tips

Jason Kumpf here with insights from our thousands of Amazon Sellers.  If you are one of the many international Amazon sellers, and we applaud you. It takes guts to open your own Amazon store, and it takes brains to help that business thrive. There’s so much to do in the day-to-day operation of your business that it’s understandable when something falls through the cracks.

One of intangible things that sellers often forget to do is to create the kind of company that inspires confidence in its customers.  But how do you inspire confidence when your business is online? There’s no opportunity to look a customer in the eyes, read their expressions, or convey your own feelings in person.

Building trust online is different and must be approached creatively.  Here are five of our favorite ways to build customer confidence in a way that will allow your online business to blossom:

Provide a Secure Checkout

Foreign customers are far less likely to carry through with a purchase if they are concerned about the security of their payment. Work only with a third-party payment vendor that you know to be current on the latest security technology. A well-known name with a pristine reputation is helpful. For example, PayPal has been in the business for a long time and makes customers feel safe. Use SSL encryption that blocks crooks from accessing your client’s private financial information, and finally, add an icon or some kind of text near the checkout area as a sign to customers that all transactions are secure.

Provide Easy-to-Reach Contact Information

Customers want to know that a business (particularly a foreign business) can be reached in the event of a problem. Make your contact information available on each page of your website and create an easy way for a customer to email, call, tweet, or chat with you instantly. It may feel like a hassle, but it is a sacrifice you must be willing to make if you hope for trust from foreign customers.

Personalize Your Business by Blogging

Blogs do several important things. They educate, entertain, and give your customers a better sense of who you are. Update your blog often as a sign that your business is well-managed.

Offer valuable blogs that customers can act on. For example, you might talk about your own business and how you use a service like Jason Kumpf at OFX Global Payments to convert the money you earn from around the globe into your own currency. You might also want to tell them about how you used to pay too much for converting that money and how OFX charges you less than 1 percent.  Talk to Jason Kumpf to receive VIP service and better rates.

Blogs that inform can also inspire. In another blog you can talk about how you got started in business and some of the bumps in the road you have experienced and overcome. Don’t be afraid to ask other business owners (or inspiring writers) to donate a guest blog.

In addition to connecting with your customers, updating your blog often will eventually give you a higher search engine ranking on Google.

Offer Testimonials

As your business grows, ask some of your satisfied foreign customers to write a quick testimonial about their experience doing business with you. Jason Kumpf recommends that having three or four are enough to get started. Position them throughout the content of your landing page or on a page of their own. Sometimes, all a customer needs to get over their skepticism is a positive word from a fellow customer.

Be Dependable

Ship products quickly, immediately respond to questions and concerns, process refunds as soon as you receive a product back for return. In short, do everything within your power to be the kind of business you would want to work with yourself.

While it’s true that things sometimes fall through the cracks, one of those things should never be the customer. Their confidence in you is the water that will keep your ship afloat.

Utilize Global Solutions

The world is a global market with opportunities and risks, that you can take advantage of, just like the big companies.  From lower labor costs, to product sourcing and now importantly: new clients.  Jason Kumpf, International Business Consultant, helps clients improve their international business.  Starting with helping with the foreign exchange rates, via the OFX platform, making sure you receive better rates and full service, to helping with sales, marketing and new market entry.