Why Small Businesses Need To Utilize The Better Business Bureau
The Internet has been experiencing continuous growth since the very beginning.
With all that growth, everyone’s access to information is becoming limitless! The depth of information you can find online can be overwhelming, especially for consumers trying to make purchasing decisions. Proving to your potential clients that you’re trustworthy is so much easier with the Better Business Bureau!
What is the Better Business Bureau?
For over a century, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has helped people find businesses, brands, and charities that they can trust. The Better Business Bureau holds their members accountable to trustworthy business practices and speaks out against bad market behavior.
Today, there are numerous local, independent Better Business Bureaus across North America, including five right here in Louisiana! We’re big fans of the Better Business Bureau, because we know just how impactful it can be for small businesses competing online.
Top 4 Benefits of the Better Business Bureau for Small Businesses
In the age of the internet, it can be difficult to build trust with new clients. Having an accreditation from the Better Business Bureau helps build that trust and is more valuable than ever before.
Gain and Promote Trust
Instill a sense of trust, especially with your clientele that didn’t grow up using the Internet. With the presence of the BBB seal (aka the seal of approval) on your business’ website, you can establish trust with potential customers while gaining website conversions.
Gain a Backlink
A backlink is a link that one website gets from another website. This helps to tell search engines that your website is legitimate. Getting a backlink from a highly trusted website, like the Better Business Bureau, will make a huge impact on your website’s prominence in search engine results.
Customer Reviews
With many fraudulent positive and negative reviews on sites like Facebook, Yelp, or Angie’s List, consumers need a review system they can trust. Any and all BBB complaints and reviews are actually vetted, unlike most other review platforms. This makes customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau’s site more trustworthy.
They don’t allow anyone to post just anonymous reviews. Each and every review is analyzed before being posted. The BBB also sends the review to the business, so you have the chance to provide additional feedback to address the reviewer’s issue.
Build New Leads
In 2015, people turned to the BBB more than 172 million times for reviews and reports. You can even gain clients and drive traffic to your business simply from being featured on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
Gain a Positive Reputation
Your business is required the follow and meet eight requirements of the Better Business Bureau’s Accreditation. When you become accredited and can display the logo on your website and in your storefront, you show consumers that your business is honest and has integrity!
Why People Trust The Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau also strives to make the consumer experience better through ethical, fair, and unbiased practices.
- Quotes: Anyone can request a quote, obtain an estimate, acquire information, or get a proposal from BBB Accredited Businesses for free. From Air Conditioning Contractors to Zoological Gardens, you can search the type of service needed and receive a list of credible businesses in your area under a minute.
- Customer Reviews: Leave a review about a business or read others’ experience with BBB Customer Reviews.
- Report a Scam: You can report any business or offer that seems like a scheme or fraud to the BBB Scam Tracker! By reporting the scam, you help the Better Business Bureau investigate the business and warn others.
- File a Complaint: The Better Business Bureau resolves thousands of disputes per year for both accredited and non-accredited businesses. Once members of the BBB have complaints against them that go unresolved, they become public. The public can check complaints before doing business with companies.
- Check the Background of a Company: With nearly 400,000 local businesses accredited by the Better Business Bureau, the BBB website is a great tool for consumers to check out the background of a company! Especially since all accredited companies must follow the Better Business Bureau’s Code of Business Practices.
How to Get Accredited
To become a BBB Accredited Business, your company must have been in business for at least one year, demonstrated sound business practices, and meet all of their accreditation standards. The BBB Standards for Trust are eight principles that accredited businesses must follow to create and maintain trust. The eight standards include:
- Telling the truth.
- Building trust.
- Advertising honestly.
- Honoring promises
- Being transparent.
- Being responsive.
- Embodying integrity.
- Safeguarding privacy.
The application process usually includes filling out an application, providing trade references, paying the membership fee(s), and providing proof that there is a privacy policy of business’ site. Plus, not have any outstanding BBB complaints.
As a BBB Accredited Business, we know all about building trust with our customers! Want to learn how you can build trust through marketing? Schedule a free strategy session to get the ball rolling, sign up today!