You wouldn’t think that a small rectangular image on a Website would increase sales. But Stylin’ Concepts, an Independence, OH-based multititle mailer of sport utility vehicle and truck accessories, found that it has.
Of course, not just any image would do the trick. The icon on Stylin’ Concepts’ site reads “Hacker Safe” and comes courtesy of online security services provider ScanAlert.
For a company to earn the Hacker Safe designation, it must allow ScanAlert to scan its servers daily for security breaches. Should a breach be detected, ScanAlert notifies the Website via e-mail, and the company has 72 hours to fix the problem. If it doesn’t, ScanAlert removes the Hacker Safe logo.
ScanAlert generally runs the vulnerability scanning software between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., when the Website is likely experiencing little traffic. The Napa, CA-based provider charges $149 a month for the service.
Safety leads to sales
Stylin’ Concepts began using ScanAlert in April. Since then, Web sales have increased 12%, says marketing director Eric Barker. And the Website’s conversion rate of browsers to buyers rose from 1.2% to 1.65%. In addition to its Website, Stylin’ Concepts produces eight catalogs, including Sport Truck Accessories and Ford Truck & SUV.
Site security is paramount to Stylin’ Concepts, Barker says, as the company’s core audience of mechanics and blue-collar car enthusiasts may not yet feel comfortable making online transactions. But the Hacker Safe logo is evidently providing its Web customers with the reassurance they need to make a purchase.
Though ScanAlert prefers clients to place the Hacker Safe image on their home page, Stylin’ Concepts originally resisted; the cataloger felt the image might be too jarring for new visitors. Instead, it placed the certification logo everywhere but the home page. The logo is featured on the home page now, but on the bottom.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. “Merchants know that security issues affect their business, but most are unaware of how profound the effect is,” says ScanAlert CEO Ken Leonard. “The biggest single problem consumers face online is a feeling of safety, and if you address that, it will pay off.”