The Strategy of Zappos Regarding Building Consumer Trust - Essay Example

? MG3037 Internet Marketing User trust is recognized as a primary success and survival factor of online business. In essence, a user’s compliance and enthusiasm to give personal data is a prerequisite for online transactions. Research by Hoffman et al (1999, p. 80-85) reveals that willingness and enthusiasm are based on the identified trustworthiness of the transaction partner. Consumer’s online trust is built through the corporate communications and perspectives of the consumers. Trust management is a significant aspect in stakeholder relationship management by building trust to encourage people to engage in online transactions. In reference to Chen (2007, p. 76), trust refers to a psychological condition where an individual accepts susceptibility based upon positive anticipations of the intentions of the other. The secret to building of strong relationships with online consumers lies not only on being where consumers are but by building trust. Joseph-Vaidyan (2008, p. 25) notes that there are common things associated with trust which organizations use to build strong, trustworthy relations with consumers. These items include assurance, brand, belief, care, choice, confidence, certainty, familiarity, hope, reputation, security, truth and obligation. Zappos.com has created consumer trust through providing correct contact addresses and numbers. Someone cannot put contact information such as a phone number if he or she does not intend to answer it. Zappos.com provides contact information, which users can use to reach the customer support team or services. For this reason, most of the subscribers use their real names and provide valid contact information. This implies that the website has no pseudonyms or generic addresses used by the subscribers. Joseph-Vaidyan (2008, p. 27) asserts that many businesses acquire low trust from clients by using “Infor@” e-mail addresses. People need to connect with a real, caring person with an authentic, valid email address and contact number. Zappos.com provides a customer support system or service where it takes care of the customer issues or requests. It has a standby customer care team that responds promptly to customer requests. In addition, the team follows up on the client to ensure that the information provided was helpful. For instance, when a customer or client forgets his or her login details, zappos.com provides immediate feedback. This is done through undergoing a small security test and provision of the login details, if one passes the security test. Debatably, before customers can trust a firm, they need to be sure that whenever they raise concerns the firm will take their requests and provide a resolution (Chen, 2004, p. 78). For this reason, providing positive feedback to the customers instills hope in them and builds trustworthy relationships between customers and the company. Zappos.com website respects people’s confidentiality and privacy. This website has a privacy policy which each of customers or clients should agree to abide by before registering as a user. The privacy policy indicates how the company treats personal information. In addition, the policy includes statements on how the company intends to use the given personal information and how it does not intend to use it. This company also articulates its commitment to keeping personal information private and secure by providing a contact for inquiries and more information regarding one’s data. In addition, security for an individual’s personal data is replicated in the security questions a subscriber should fill for identification. In this regard, security for ones information boosts trust between customers and the company. Ultimately, the most effectual way for commercial web providers to generate beneficial exchange relationships with online clients is to bring in their trust. The techniques for attaining customer trust are straightforward, although they may deviate fundamentally from traditional business practice. Joseph-Vaidyan (2008, p. 41) notes that trust is best attained by permitting balance of power to move towards more supportive associations between customers and online business. Realizing the customers’ rights to data privacy and confidentiality is a fundamental step in this balancing process (Chen, 2004, p. 80). At a minimum, it calls for market oriented industry where there is acceptance and implementation of policies regarding exchange of information. Arguably, the industry should assent to customer needs and shift to informed-consent policies in computer mediated environments (Hoffman et al, 1999, p. 84). A consumer focused information privacy model results to valuable relationships with significant benefits for consumers and businesses doing their transactions online. In essence, such companies are awarded through customer trust and increased loyalty. Familiarity plays a key role in building customer trust. No matter how beautiful, appealing and colorful a site is, no one can visit it if he or she does not know about it (Chen, 2004, p. 83). Zappos.com proactively optimizes and promotes its site. The company has widely advertised its URL to different other sites and search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. In reference to Joseph-Vaidyan (2009, p. 46), a business should advertise its products through pop-ups and the use of search engines to acquire popularity and visibility. This creates familiarity between customers and the company which in turn promotes trustworthy relationships between the two (Chen, 2004, p. 90). Zappos.com has also advertised its site by incorporating a “inform a friend”,” email this to a friend” and a “like” tab which reflects on face book or twitter that one visited the site. Zappos.com is fantastic on all screen types and sizes and can be easily navigated to accomplish a task. Zappos.com has implemented the keep it comprehensible principle by making the site straightforward and informative. According to Chen (2004, p. 156), a lot of information provided by a company may leave the customers confused, and this may hamper trust by the customers towards the company. The works of graphic designers such as images, text and animations, have a significant impact on visibility and compatibility with other devices. Through the development process, it is vital to involve both a search engine optimization specialist and the usability engineer. This is because most of the graphic designers are frequently not trained on the impact of dynamically created content on visibility and compatibility. Hoffman et al (1999, p. 89) suggests that the graphic designers should be trained on how the size of the information posted, and the complexity of navigation will affect customer trust. A keen look at Zappos.com reveals that this site stands out as unique. This site differentiates its site from the rest of the competitors in the industry. This uniqueness is a factor that makes consumers choose a company over the other (Chen, 2004, p. 91). Zappos.com has branded its products well which makes its products and online services stand out from the rest. It has its logo in all its pages and icons navigated through and have used real life pictures of ladies wearing the products being sold. The pictures and images of the ladies wearing the shoes help in creating trust among the consumers. When transacting a business transaction with clients, Zappos.com ensures that it confirms the customer’s choice of products selected. For instance, if a customer has selected the purchase of shoes and places an order, zappos.com automatically requests the customer to confirm the transaction to ensure that they made the right choices. In confirmation, the site requires the customer to provide contact information again to confirm and to know where to deliver the goods. In addition, the company follows up with an email address to confirm that the client made online shopping. Research by Hoffman et al (1999, p. 85) indicates that a pro- active approach creates strong associations that have trust as its base. Arguably, customers require feeling that they made the right choice and assuring that their choice was the best is a significant driver to creating loyal relationships based on trust (Chen, 2004, p. 103). In addition, appreciating customers for shopping with the company can help create favorable relations with customers based on trust. Appreciation plays a fundamental role in fostering strong relations with customers (Joseph-Vaidyan, 2009, p. 75). Nothing hurts to a business than failure to appreciate customer’s purchases and devotion of their time. It takes a lot for the customer to choose your company and making him or her feel appreciated can make him or her trust the company more (Chen, 2004, p. 117). Notably, this builds on trust since trust refers to a psychological condition where an individual accepts susceptibility based upon positive anticipations of the intentions of the other. Responding to customer inquiries in time plays an imperative role in creating favorable and trustworthy relations with customers. Joseph-Vaidyan (2008, p. 87) denotes that failure to respond to customer requests in time can immensely affect the operations of the company. Zappos.com has standby customer support team that responds to customer inquiries. This implies that the company values its customers and that it keeps their interest at heart. On the other hand, failure to respond to the customer’s inquiries in time implies that customers are not vital enough to the company to call for an immediate feedback and results to low sales and lack of trust towards the company by the customers (Chen, 2004, p. 105). Most of zappos.com's target clients are the youth. They could either be working or studying. Research indicates that most of the young people spend a considerable part of their time in the social media sites. For this reason, zappos.com is a social media subscriber where it interacts with the youth. Presence of zappos.com in the social media creates a perception that the company is easily accessible since the company is available in nearly all the social media places the youth are at. Chen (2004, p. 128) notes that presence in social media implants a sense of trust towards the company among the youth and other social media users. Zappos.com offers tips and advice on fashion which interests most of the youth, and this makes them want to closer to the company, building on trust among the customers and clients. References Chen, C., 2007. Consumer Trust in an E-retailer: An integrative model Directed Toward Customer Retention. ProQuest. Hoffman, D. L., Novak, T. P., & Peralta, M., 1999. Building consumer trust. communications of the ACM, 42(4), 80-85. Joseph-Vaidyan, K. V., 2008. Factors that enhance Customer Trust in E-Commerce Websites : An examination of E-commerce Success Metrics Using Internet Auditing Rating. ProQuest. Read More