New BBB brand: Look has changed, values remain

It’s a brand new day at your Better Business Bureau – a new look, a fresh message and the introduction of BBB Accredited Businesses.

What hasn’t changed is BBB’s commitment to advancing trust in the marketplace.

“Start With Trust” is our new tagline, one that embraces everything that BBB stands for, and one that is especially important in today’s constantly changing world. With such change, it is imperative that your BBB remain in touch with the pulse of both businesses and consumers in a highly competitive market.

Why start with BBB? We are seasoned. No one has been in this game longer than BBB, now in its 95th year. We have a specific energy and passion for advancing a marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other.

Today’s savvy consumers are looking for control, security and confidence in their choices, and they know the importance of doing business with a company that has made a public commitment to doing what is right. Evaluating trust is certainly one of the first steps in the purchasing process.

BBB’s “Start With Trust” campaign reminds consumers that there are measurable standards for trust in the marketplace – high ones, in fact, reflected in our BBB Standards outlined below.

One of many exciting changes to our brand is the BBB Seal Program. “BBB Members” are now identified as “BBB Accredited Businesses.” The reason for the change is significant.

In the face of record-breaking levels of complaints handling by BBB, independent research conducted this year by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on behalf of BBB found that 41 percent of American adult consumers didn’t know that BBB accepts only those businesses that meet and maintain high standards.

The Princeton Research survey also found that seven in 10 consumers said they are more likely to buy from a company designated a “BBB Accredited Business,” and felt accreditation is a clearer representation of what businesses and charities have achieved and what they stand for.

And the new BBB logo and tagline “Start With Trust” is a reminder to consumers that when they start with a BBB business, they can be confident they are starting with a foundation of trust. BBB is the seasoned independent expert on marketplace trust as our services rely on fair-mindedness and neutrality instead of subjectivity.

One of the most exciting innovations BBB is delivering as part of its new branding initiative is the redesign of our Web site, bbb.org. We have adopted a more uniform look and feel that will help guide consumers through the site, providing them the information they want and an assurance that they are starting with trust.

The redesigned site is faster with direct access to other BBBs’ information through a new global site search process. This tool, in addition to BBB local directories and accredited business malls, helps consumers find BBB Accredited Businesses in their area.

BBB Principles for Trust

These are exciting times for your BBB and all of our BBB Accredited Businesses. Though much has changed, our core principles have not. Every BBB Accredited Business makes a commitment to act in accordance with BBB principles that advance trust in the marketplace.

• Start with trust – Establish and maintain a positive track record in the marketplace.

• Advertise honestly – Adhere to established standards of advertising and selling.

• Tell the truth – Reveal all related conditions or exceptions regarding products or services offered.

• Be transparent – Openly identify the nature, location and ownership of the business, and clearly disclose all policies, guarantees and procedures that bear on a customer’s decision to buy.

• Honor promises – Abide by all written and verbal agreements.

• Be responsive – Address marketplace disputes quickly, respectfully, and reasonably.

• Embody integrity – Approach all business dealings, marketplace transactions and commitments with integrity.

Ultimately, people want to be assured about the companies they do business with and are interested in the company’s character. They want to be certain about the honesty and integrity of a company, and they want to know that business will be conducted to the highest of standards.

Consumers are also interested in the track record of the company, what BBB defines as competence – that the company delivers on its promises, and if mistakes are made, that the company takes appropriate actions to address the issues.

We see the Principles of Trust as a call to action: Action that is character- and competency-based is demanded by today’s consumers.

Pamela King is president/CEO of BBB serving Northern Colorado and East Central Wyoming. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 128 BBBs serve communities across the United States and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities.

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