Better Business Bureau Reviews Give You Extra Credibility
Business credibility has become vital in an era when even a single negative online review or customer complaint can threaten new sales and existing relationships with your clients. To establish and maintain credibility, contractors should find new methods and expend greater resources to build and maintain trust with clients.
Communicating with clients and the public in order to build business credibility requires most businesses to build an expansive online presence. Using the Internet to build credibility requires more than creating a top-quality website.
Backing up your online presence with verifiable evidence of your skills and the quality of your work is essential. The Better Business Bureau, long considered an authority on the review, verification and accreditation of reliable, ethical and trustworthy businesses, has a long and respected history in the construction industry.
While it's not the only company to do what it does, the BBB has been in the business of business long before the arrival of the Internet and has upheld its high standards of business behavior for at least triple the time other business review sit's have been around. Any business earning BBB accreditation knows that its customers regard its professional record as being honorable and dependable.
Since most potential customer inquiries still start at the BBB website, member businesses will reach those consumers first.
Why Join the Better Business Bureau?
Most of the reasons for joining the BBB are well known and self-explanatory to those in the business world. Yet, BBB accreditation provides your business with many often overlooked online benefits.
Joining the BBB can improve and increase a business?s local online presence. While the BBB is widely considered a national organization, its strongest business assistance takes place at the local level. A business whose citation (name, address and phone number) is listed with the BBB will ensure that citation is seen by every local customer who queries the BBB for businesses of their industry.
The BBB also provides a diverse list of support services for its accredited member businesses. Marketing services include the right to display the BBB logo in your place of business, on your website and job sit's, on company vehicles and on advertising materials.
Your company is given a free listing in the BBB Yellow Pages directory and a link to your business webpage will be featured on the BBB site. Your business information will be included in the BBB?s customer outreach efforts, special events and the organization?s own ad campaigns.
The BBB also provides direct support in the forms of dispute resolution between businesses and customers, direct notice when a complaint is lodged or a customer seeks information about each business and connections with other local BBB member businesses.
Joining the BBB is not free, but members have the financial benefits of both being able to deduct the BBB dues on their tax returns and knowing that those dues go to assist other local member businesses.
The BBB Increases Your Online Presence
The information on your BBB Business Review, including the link back to your company?s website, provides search engines with important information about your business. While a BBB listing is no guarantee of ensuring high search engine rankings every time, it will help to boost your overall Internet marketing efforts and provide other benefits as well.
When you display your BBB citation on your website, it will show up in local search results for your particular industry. This not only doubles your site?s presence in a general web search, it puts your credibility front and center from an SEO perspective. When partnered with industry directories, your local chamber of commerce and other online review sit's, being connected to the BBB site can be the foundation for some serious citation and credibility building.
Studies have shown that displaying reputable seals on your website can dramatically increase online visitors? confidence in your business and make them more likely to contact you. Attracting new clients to your company?s website if there's little to no proof of your skills, dependability and credibility can be challenging. Displaying the BBB seal on your site shows that your business not only meets the organization?s accreditation standards, potential customers can easily access your business reviews on either your or the organization?s site for visible proof.
Are Reviews That Significant?
Yes, they are. Consumers can learn the basics about your services by looking at your website or advertisement, but reading testimonials and good reviews can compel them to consider doing business with you. While word of mouth will always be an important method of gaining new clients, customer reviews provide great credibility for a business ? they can help you get into doors that other competitors Don't ? simply because of the number of consumers who read your public review.
As a member of the BBB, your reviews will automatically link to their main site, so make a point of actively inviting your customers to post a review on the BBB site. Consider giving your clients a card that says, ?Please rate us at BBB.org,? when you finish a construction job. Most people are more than willing to let others know about a company that does superior work.
Finally, display your reviews prominently on your website or even in your office. Because of the ever-increasing number of business review sit's on the Internet, it would be nearly impossible for a potential customer to find every single one of your positive reviews. Why not make it easier for them by compiling a list of all the sit's where your work is reviewed and feature it on your website? This allows visitors to your and the BBB sit's to check out your complete online reputation with just one or two clicks.
For prospective clients to become repeat clients, they must be confident that a company is trustworthy, delivers value and does so in a professional manner.
For these reasons, building your business credibility should be an important part of your overall marketing strategy. One of the most historically beneficial methods of doing just that is by joining the BBB. Customer reviews can drive your business to success. Are you willing to make the most of them?