If your business is online to sell its wares, it's important to create a new generation of consumers who trust you online, according to experts in the field. You have to make your customers feel secure about their identity and know that privacy is the first order of business.

A recent survey found that 56 percent of small business owners with websites don't have privacy policies and the remainder have them "cut and pasted" them from someplace else, according to CIO Magazine.

Unfortunately, many small businesses are not taking consumer privacy as seriously as they should. A recent survey by TRUSTe showed that 56 percent of small business owners with websites don't have privacy policies, and the remainder that do have policies admitted to cutting and pasting them from somewhere else.

Experts say that one-third of SMBs in the U.S. currently sell products online or use e-commerce as a business tool. Another 26 percent are planning to join them this year.

Here are some tips, from CIO.com, on how to generate trust among your customers:

• Display a third party "seal of approval" so consumers know that you are serious about privacy and security.
• Update your privacy policy and adhere to it.
• Be careful how you target potential customers.
• Make sure your site has ample security.

"A business that doesn't ensure site security is like a business without a lock on the door," CIO.com advises.

For more on building customer trust:
- check out this CIO.com article