It goes without saying that every business exists to serve its clients, and without them, it would fail. For every service a business provides, there are hundreds and thousands of competing offers that the clients can opt for if they think they will benefit more by doing so. Although this may seem like the direct result of a healthy competitive market, there are times it isn’t so. There are instances when a business with a good product or service fails to attract a healthy number of customers simply because it is weak in marketing them, while another one with a similar and inferior product or service makes money hand over fist simply because they have a clever marketing strategy.

The ability to attract the desired amount of customers directly depends on what clients find when they arrive at a business’ website which serves as the window through which they get a glance at what is on offer inside. This window, if used wisely, could lead to the visitors eventually becoming paying customers. And so, let us look at what customers want and expect on a business’ website by posing questions they will be asking and will expect to be answered:

What Is So Special?

Every business website should show off the uniqueness of its products. Most first-time visitors to a business website are usually browsing as they compare the products or services being offered by competing businesses and brands.

Hence, as soon as they land on the website their attention should be focused towards the great benefits they will reap should they opt to go for this particular product or service. It should be presented in an interesting, captivating, and easy to understand way – without going into too much technicalities.

Who Are You?

Once they are satisfied they have found what they are looking for, the visitors will usually move on to finding out who it is they will be doing business with.

The website should therefore have contact information in as detailed as possible a manner. Every bit of uniquely identifying contact detail should be made used of – including that of partner and subsidiary businesses.

How Good Are You?

After they are sure they know where they can find the business, visitors will move on to finding out if the business can deliver quality.

Unless it is an already established brand, a business will need to provide as much proof of credentials, certifications, attestations and recognitions as it possibly can. Everything from accreditations to belonging to governing and controlling bodies should be mentioned to ease visitors’ doubts.

Do You Deliver As Promised?

Of course all the bells and whistles a business uses to promote a product can simply be a façade behind which hides a shoddy product or a substandard service. So, for them to find out if they will be getting their money’s worth they will be turning to the testimonies of people who have bought the products or services.

A business website should therefore have a dedicated page where clients can leave their testimonials. Also included with the individual testimonies should be their contact information so other visitors can actually verify their authenticity.

Nobody is fooled by those bogus testimonies some sites put up which announce how happy the customers are but have no contact information for new visitors to make inquires with.

At the very least, there should be a forum on the site where new and old customers can exchange views – it’s very hard (not impossible) to fake conversations between hundreds of people.

What Happens If You Don’t (Deliver As Promised)?

By this stage the visitors are almost ready to pull their wallets out, they are just nervous about what happens if they are not satisfied with what they have purchased or if it arrives after sustaining damages along the way.

A business should have a clear and detailed policy page that explains what happens in case of returns, request for refunds, cancellations, losses and/or damages etc. It should also make sure it abides by its own rules and policies when the customers come a-knocking.

What More Will I get?

Apart from simply giving the customers what they want, it makes good business sense to offer them additional deals, free stuff, coupons or sale prices for a limited time etc., to sweeten the deal and make them feel like they are already benefiting before they have even paid for a product or service.

Such gifts are never forgotten and lead to return customers.

How Secure Will Transactions Be?

Once all obstacles have been overcome, it is time to pay and the client will now search to see if all the necessary security precautions are in place. A good indication that most people automatically look for is the “https” in the domain name.

Businesses should make sure all the latest online security measures have been applied on their website – especially on pages that are used for transactions.

A business website that manages to address these 7 questions truthfully can expect to see happy customers who will keep coming back for more. After all, honesty is the best policy.