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Trust matters to your customers
More than 150 million BBB site visits in 2023 indicate that trust matters, and for Accredited Businesses, that all starts with the BBB Accredited Business Seal.
In 2020, 82 percent of consumers agreed that "trust sets the foundation for the purchase of goods and services" and In 2023, consumers cited honesty and integrity as the most important characteristic when choosing a business. The BBB Seal represents that trust; consumers recognize, respect, and trust it because it’s earned.
Over 80% of consumers would choose a BBB Accredited Business over a non-accredited business with an A+ rating. Source: IABBB Research, 2023
Why should you get BBB Accredited?
Your phone rings…
[Caller ID: Better Business Bureau]
…You answer.
Voice: Hi there. This is your Better Business Bureau®, and we’re calling because we’ve determined that your business may qualify for BBB Accreditation…
You start to picture it:
Your Business: Accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
If you’re considering BBB Accreditation, you might be imagining this moment; it’s one that resonates with current Accredited Business owners. On the one hand, receiving such a call is a rush. On the other, there’s a flood of questions that comes with this news.
One of those whoppers: Why does BBB Accreditation matter to my business?
The simple answer? Because trust matters. It matters to your consumers, your partners, your financial institutions, and your community…but here’s to whom it matters most:
You.
BBB’s mission to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust starts with you and is sustained by the relationships you’ve built with your consumers (ever since you first started learning how to start a business). The accreditation process strengthens those bonds. It involves wrangling and verifying all the trust you’ve earned so it can be broadcast to the millions seeking your products or services every year. In a nutshell, that’s why BBB Accreditation matters. But that’s the simple answer.
Here's a sample of just some of the services BBB provides to Accredited Businesses:
- Would you like to be represented on one of the most trusted review sites and have the BBB Accredited Business Seal next to your listing?
- Do you want consumers to be able to contact you for a quote from your BBB profile? As an AB, you can use our Get a Quote tool.
And what, exactly, are the requirements for accreditation? Glad you asked: When you apply, you’ll be asked to show evidence of how your business fulfills BBB’s Accreditation Standards. Keep in mind: This process is conducted by humans, not search engines. It’s always about the facts. It’s always unbiased, and the endgame is always about advancing marketplace trust.
Keep reading to learn not only why BBB Accreditation matters, but also how your BBB offers countless benefits that make one heckuva jumbo-sized jetpack to bolster your business.
The AB Seal is registered as a certification mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. By using the AB Seal under license from BBB, the AB demonstrates it has been evaluated and certified by BBB under our Standards.
When you’re BBB Accredited, it’s a representation of your ethical business practices synchronizing with BBB’s 8 Standards for Trust. Think of them as the scout badges you’ve earned on your path to becoming an Accredited Business:
BBB's 8 Standards for Trust
The Seal is basically all those merit badges wrapped up into one. As an Accredited Business, you gain exclusive rights to display the seal on everything from your front door to your company car; from your website to your TikTok videos.
When you display the BBB Accredited Business Seal, it’s a signal representing the code of ethics you abide by for your community, your customers, your co-workers, and even your competitors. When you show the Seal, people pay attention.
Your online presence matters
Online Directory:
In 2022, the BBB directory averaged 6.7 million page views per month. On the BBB site, consumers can view each business’s BBB rating and filter their results by “Accredited Businesses.” BBB data shows that 87% of users turn on the filter to show only BBB Accredited Businesses – shouldn’t you be one of them?
But even without the filter, a regular check of the directory displays the BBB Seal next to Accredited Businesses; they stand out from the competition with the help of the trusted torch symbol. Research by IABBB in 2021 determined that consumers prefer BBB Accredited Businesses.
Dynamic Seal:
The BBB Seal is strong on its own, no doubt. But for Accredited Businesses, the Dynamic Seal wields an even mightier power online. It contains a link that immediately ties your business to BBB’s online presence, allowing customers to immediately verify that you are part of a trusted community.
In a 2021 survey, 85% of consumers familiar with the BBB seal associated it with positive attributes.
BBB Profile:
File this under “How to Make Your BBB Accreditation Matter Even More.” For Accredited Businesses, the online directory is a portal for potential customers to visit your business profile, a landing page where you can share your story, website, contact information, images, videos, and more. Sure, you might already have a profile on LinkedIn, but are new consumers discovering your business there?
SEO and Analytics Impact:
Like the BBB Dynamic Seal, modern search engine optimization (SEO) practices also play a part in optimizing your BBB profile’s ranking for Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Though we can’t control Google, BBB focuses on keywords, analytics, and the latest SEO best practices to ensure BBB.org’s pages are optimized to attract web traffic.
Having an ally matters
Arbitration/mediation services
Even for Accredited Businesses, disputes happen. This happens in many industries, especially for private contractors, mechanics, builders, painters and more; these professionals want to maintain a solid track record of trust as their work is often performed onsite in someone’s home.
Many of these ABs have felt the value of being accredited when using their BBB’s alternative dispute resolution services, which help resolve disputes through mediation or arbitration. See if your BBB offers dispute resolution.
BBB Investigations and Scam Tracker
The BBB’s Scam Tracker℠ tool is not only for consumers; it’s for businesses, too. Businesses get scammed regularly. If you’ve been scammed or impersonated, or your ethical behavior is questioned because of someone else’s illegal activities, you can report it. Filing the report sets the wheels in motion to investigate the fraud or scheme at hand.
Having a seat at the table matters
When you do business in your community, you’re growing relationships with everyone. And when you’re an example of business integrity, you’re a cornerstone of your community, one whose voice is respected.
Many BBBs partner with chambers of commerce, industry associations, and the like. These important relationships are made stronger through reciprocal agreements, which allow BBB to experience, understand, and collaborate with local businesses better, while sharing its own resources and expertise on conducting business practices ethically and with integrity. See what programs your local BBB offers.
Community events
BBB always looks for community opportunities and collaborators for events like networking get-togethers, career fairs, educational events, webinars, and trade shows. These activities are excellent opportunities for Accredited Businesses to connect to both current and potential customers. Check out the events in your area.
BBB advisory committees
Many BBB locations work to assemble advisory committees made up of a select group of Accredited Business owners, esteemed entrepreneurs, board members, BBB Torch award winners and more, to tap into specific community industries throughout your region.
Assembling these knowledge squads allows BBB to create new products and processes to address pain points, industry trends, and local happenings in its pursuit of the best practices and tools of the trade to tackle them all.
Growing your business matters
Contact your local BBB for specific programs to improve and grow your business.
Hiring top talent
Are you hiring? It’s not always easy for jobseekers to glean if you act with integrity from a job listing, but the BBB Seal can tip the scales in your favor to attract prospects with similar values to your own.
Review services
Reviews are crucial to shaping your reputation with customers. BBB’s review services are provided to vet and verify these reviews before they’re posted. This process gives you a chance to respond or even challenge a review – a far cry from the countless sites allowing trigger-happy users to post a review without the element of accountability. Read more about BBB reviews.
Webinar series
Good businesses are always learning, and BBB is committed to fostering those educational experiences. BBB webinars are designed to educate Accredited Businesses on a wide range of topics that apply to many industries. Special guests are often featured to provide their own unique insights into the subject at hand for these events. Stay tuned to your BBB’s Events page to see what’s on the horizon.
BBB presentations
Accredited Businesses are always encouraged to reach out to their local PR and Communications Team to present at various events or give presentations to your business. These are opportunities for your team to gain new knowledge based on exploring topics from individual Accredited Businesses and BBB advisory committees, monitoring current news stories, and keeping pace with modern market trends. Contact your local BBB.
Get a quote feature
Customers use BBB’s Get a Quote tool because they know they’re ready to engage with a trusted business. These are leads – ones that could convert to sales quickly. These requests are forwarded to your email inbox. Of course, any sales lead matters, but as mentioned earlier, these customers result from you being Accredited; they’re lining up for you.
Torch Awards
Talk about weight. Accredited Businesses have the chance to be recognized for going above and beyond with BBB’s annual Torch Awards. Every year, a small group of outstanding businesses and organizations are recognized and celebrated for their commitment to ethical and trustworthy service in the community. It’s a blast, an honor, and the ultimate reminder of why your business matters.
