{"id":6560,"date":"2020-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwscinm1cs.wpdns.site\/blog\/establishing-your-store-s-credibility-and-reputation-online\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T11:11:16","slug":"establishing-your-store-s-credibility-and-reputation-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/blog\/establishing-your-store-s-credibility-and-reputation-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Establishing your store\u2019s credibility and reputation online"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s All About Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a customer walks into your store, it\u2019s not only your product selection that\u2019s on display – it\u2019s your exceptional customer service as well. So, how do you ensure that the reputation and credibility you\u2019ve worked so hard to achieve comes across when someone sitting at home at 11 PM clicks on your website?<\/p>\n

It really comes down to two elements that are also integral to your brick-and-mortar strategy – trust and transparency. According to Ross Cockerham, CEO and co-founder, Punchmark, a jewelry website-design agency based in Charlotte, North Carolina, 80 percent of their jewelry clients cited being trustworthy as the number one \u201cmust-have\u201d for their website.<\/p>\n

Cockerham identifies several criteria to help drive your credibility and trustworthiness online.<\/p>\n

Be Authentic<\/strong><\/p>\n

It all starts with an accurate visual representation of your store. \u201cThe design aspect is really big and there are several key components – product photography, store photography and people photography,\u201d says Cockerham.<\/p>\n

Jewelers agree that their website has to mirror the look of the store. This is even more important for independent jewelers since website visitors may be existing customers already familiar with the store or people who live nearby. Creating a totally different store image can result in alienating them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I looked at a pristine website and then walked into a store that was sloppy? How would I feel?\u201d asks Shannon Haas, owner, The Ring Austin in Round Rock, Texas, who will soon open a second store. \u201cWhen I started working on my website, we went with a traditional jewelry store feel and very quickly I realized it wasn\u2019t an image of who we are. We take jewelry very seriously, but we\u2019re silly and funny and enjoy our customers; our website has to tell that story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not into clutter,\u201d says Greg Faki\u00e9r, owner, Faki\u00e9r Jewelers in Houma, Louisiana. \u201cOur website is clean, open and airy – just like our store.\u201d And like his store, the website emanates trust because \u201cthat is what we believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Engaging the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur website features a lot of customer-generated content and endorsements,\u201d Faki\u00e9r points out. \u201cWe try to keep our social side extremely professional and credible with good, solid content and avoid making false claims. Furthermore, having a website tied into our social campaign helps driving traffic from social media to our website and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity is very important to us,\u201d explains Haas. \u201cVideos help to draw our customers in. Combined with Instagram and social media, these videos reinforce how we relate to our customers. We\u2019re like them – casual and down-to-earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faki\u00e9r believes including company mission and history on the website can foster more of a bond with online customers. But facilitating conversations with customers takes precedence.<\/p>\n

\u201cChat is huge,\u201d says Haas, citing her use of Podium that allows her to talk \u201cone-on-one\u201d with customers. According to Cockerham, this application transfers a customer\u2019s online message to the store, giving its associates the ability to respond back to the customer via text or e-mail.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the importance of quick response and follow-up, Faki\u00e9r admits that he will temporarily take down the chat capability if staffing issues prevent them from responding quickly.<\/p>\n

Tell Me More<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Cockerham, \u201cWe\u2019re living in an Amazon era with tremendous access to product data and people now expect a lot of information when buying jewelry online.\u201d It is no longer sufficient to see a ring described as a 1-carat diamond. What sizes are available? Can I order it in platinum or white gold? \u201cYou\u2019re not selling trust unless you provide extensive details about the jewelry,\u201d Cockerham points out.<\/p>\n

Buy with Confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPayment security is a huge factor in maintaining your reputation. Your customer has to be assured that the process is easy and safe,\u201d asserts Cockerham.<\/p>\n

Cockerham suggests incorporating Paypal or Amazon Pay, third-party systems that \u201copen the door to something they already know and trust.\u201d In addition, they simplify the buying process, which both Haas and Faki\u00e9r adamantly agree has to be seamless.<\/p>\n

Adding badges from recognized organizations, such as the Preferred Jewelers International, the Better Business Bureau or McAfee, attests to your transparency and trustworthiness.<\/p>\n

Cockerham also encourages including clearly stated shipping and return policies on your website, especially at the point of checkout to reinforce your high-level customer service.<\/p>\n

Show Me Your Badge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cockerham describes adding organizations\u2019 membership badges as \u201chit or miss.\u201d Haas and he agree that badges for jewelry trade groups are more effective for B2B websites. Yet, Faki\u00e9r points out, \u201cThe same customers who read about your history, may be interested in badges because it makes the website more professional. The man shopping for an engagement ring definitely knows the Gemological Institute of America (GIA<\/a>).\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both Haas and Faki\u00e9r acknowledge the challenge of creating an effective website. But they concur that a well-designed website allows you to \u201cmeet\u201d customers online. \u201cWe get to show these customers our professionalism and energy,\u201d says Faki\u00e9r. \u201cYou can speak to your customers through your website. But you have to be true to your story – that\u2019s how you create trust,\u201d advises Haas.<\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Rapaport or any other Rapaport Group entity or service, its officers, directors or employees. Rapaport does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or validity of any information presented by Rapaport or the views expressed therein.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s All About Trust When a customer walks into your store, it\u2019s not only your product selection that\u2019s on display – it\u2019s your exceptional customer service as well. So, how do you ensure that the reputation and credibility you\u2019ve worked so hard to achieve comes across when someone sitting at home at 11 PM clicks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":5291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14588,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions\/14588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}