So you are a business owner, with an eCommerce website. The website has all the product information, images and everything else that a customer needs to know. But the looming marketing question always remains – how do you keep your customers interested in buying your products or enjoying the services offered?
The role of buyer security in customer retention
Customer retention can be defined and categorized in different parameters and levels – product loyalty, business confidence, market preference and even network influence. However, it may also boil down to one very important and seemingly overlooked factor – security.
Because the current marketplace is a buyer’s market, online buyers are getting more fickle and customer loyalty can be equated to the sense of security when making a purchase online. The product can be the most expensive or the service can be the most peculiar, but when security is assured and not compromised, this plays a big part in the decision-making process of a customer.
That is why a responsible eCommerce website owner should make sure that the website is not only secured but the provided online payment facility is as well.
Keeping online transactions safe for consumers
Even big-named brand fall victim to cyber-attacks. Take HBO’s case, for instance. Their internal database and more than a terabyte of scripts and unreleased episodes were stolen from them by different hackers all the same time. You would think that their security setup would have prevented the theft from happening.
But what this also tells us is businesses, especially startups are more than vulnerable to sophisticated attacks like that. It is doubly important to make sure our customer’s most sensitive information will not be stolen from us.
Make sure you have an SSL certificate on your website
An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate provide secure, encrypted communications between a website and an internet browser. Google has recently also announced that they will be flagging unsecured websites in their search engine results page as a way of providing a security commitment when online.
For this reason, you must check whether an SSL certificate was part of the package you bought on your Internet registration site. With website builders like Sitebeat, all website templates automatically have security in mind. The package includes features on safeguarding customers’ payment details and gaining customer trust with an SSL Certificate, included free with Sitebeat eCommerce.
Review the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard parameters
The PCI DSS provides a set of security standards mandated by major credit card brands to ensure that all websites that accept, process, and store credit card information are safe from fraud and theft.
Non-compliance may mean that you will have to pay fines from payment processors which range from $10 to $1000 per month of operation. Brands may also place restrictions on your website and will not allow payments to be processed.
Being online takes extra vigilance nowadays. Remember that users are getting more knowledgeable about the digital landscape and knows what to look for in an online market. So make sure that you are able to create a website which has your customers’ online safety a top priority.