• by Tom Hespos , August 9, 2005

In the realm of highly-considered purchases, the expectation of a click-to-buy online advertising model can be quite unrealistic. While big-ticket items can sometimes be sold successfully online, such purchases usually require a combination of both compelling persuasion and consumer confidence to succeed. Things like travel packages, jewelry, and consumer electronics are usually not bought online without careful consideration.

The compelling persuasion part isn't as big a variable as the consumer confidence one. When we advertise online, we often link our online ads and search links to landing pages or product pages that offer those who want to buy right away a streamlined process, while offering links and language for those who aren't as convinced. In this way, we cover as many bases as possible with regard to where a consumer might be in the consideration phase. By and large, your typical e-commerce player will optimize these landing pages over time to get the highest conversion rates possible and that process generally works well.

The bigger variable, as I mentioned, is consumer confidence. When someone arrives on your e-commerce site, you typically don't have much information that can shed light on how confident they are in your brand and your product. Someone might have visited simply because your listing was first for their query. Then again, the prospect might be completely familiar with your brand - even a fan of it - and any effort to further build confidence in the brand might be seen as overselling.

Just as we handle differing phases of the consideration process with parallel construction - that earlier-mentioned approach that lets the buyers move ahead while persuading the not-yet-convinced - we have the opportunity to use the same technique to address varying degrees of consumer confidence.

To do this, you need to take an inventory of potential assets for your brand and product that can put consumers at ease. Sales language will not be as effective at this as independent testimonials or conversations taking place outside your company's realm of influence. Two assets that come to mind are positive reviews on independent sites (like Epinions or BizRate) and positive comments within user communities.

If you sell, for instance, cruises to the Bahamas, there are a number of online communities where people discuss travel experiences. You could increase confidence in your brand and product by linking to areas where someone discusses a trip they took with your company and their positive experiences. You also might be tempted to pull the positive comments from the community and place them on your sales page - don't. Doing so might taint the validity of the comment in the consumer's mind.

What is often overlooked in e-commerce is the opportunity not only to make an immediate sale, but to influence consumers to choose your product when they're finally ready to make their choice. In high-consideration categories, nothing will influence consumers more than an independent voice casting a vote of confidence in your company or product.

Taking stock of the assets your brand has in this regard means actually listening to your customers when they offer up opinions in independent communities. It means looking for these opinions outside your usual realm of control and responding in a meaningful way. Most importantly, it means having respect for the influence independent voices have over the opinions and attitudes of their fellow consumer.