The Power of Trust

Three things Basecamp does so well on their sign up page

Selling a product, or even getting someone to try your product for free, is tough. People are suspicious. That’s why trust plays such an important role in product design. After looking at Basecamp’s acquisition page, I noticed three great techniques that they use to help build trust.

Use your current customers as proof

Basecamp does two great things right from the start. First, they tell a user how many businesses signed up last week. It kind of reminds me of those old McDonald’s signs that displayed how many hamburgers they’ve sold. If they’ve never heard of Basecamp before, it helps make the product feel more legit.

Second, they use testimonials to serve as reviews for their product. In general, people want to know how other people feel about things. Think about the reviews on Amazon or asking a friend where they should go eat. It’s the same sort of thing here. We want opinions from real customers, not solely from the company making the thing or the restaurant selling the food.

Erasing any doubt

This might be my favorite thing Basecamp does on their acquisition page. They list out common questions that potential customers have (which looks like it mainly revolves around money) and give clear, concise, non-technical answers. Being this transparent makes the user feel confident about any potential concerns, such as hidden fees or automatic enrollment.

Started from the bottom now we’re here

If you’ve been in the game for awhile, let customers know. People tend to trust companies the longer they’ve been around. Not only does Basecamp show it, they also give a nice overview of how well they’ve done through the years. It’s impressive how fast they’ve grown, and customers will feel that they’re in good hands if they’ve lasted this long.

You could have the best product in the world, but it could easily fail if users don’t trust the company who built it.