Blog Marketing Academy - Latest Comments in Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

petecu — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:45:12 -0000

Not really needed anymore. All they provide is a means for someone to complain about you whether they are right or wrong. The more you pay for membership the higher your rating . They may have had their time to be but not anymore. Save your money.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Molly C. — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:30:10 -0000

I will be starting a new business, and it annoys me to no end that I may end up shelling out "Protection Money" (accreditation fee, yeah, whatever) to be on their accreditation list. This is pure extortion! A 20/20 Investigation here:

http://youtu.be/Yo8kfV9kONw

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Tnsauerkraut — Tue, 22 May 2012 06:50:40 -0000

I am not a member, have had one complaint, which was considered closed because I resolved it, but I still have a B- rating because I'm not a member.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Jason — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:43:56 -0000

But the reality is that any company that you pull up that is "Accredited" seems to have an A+ rating. You bring up Amazon which has two of its five locations accredited and currently has an A+ rating despite 3266 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years. If I had a single complaint with the BBB and was not accredited my current A+ rating would drop. I would even guess that it would drop to an F rating. It may be worth it to make an experiment...

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

The Computer Ox — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:05:55 -0000

The company used to carry a heavy weight when you said you were accredited, now it seems more people see it as a scam. The more business owners I speak with that have been solicited by the BBB have a similar experience to mine. Check your facts before posting. How is it that any company without an "Accreditation" (ie: paid for their services) can only receive an A- rating? Simple... Scam!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Movie Film Cool :) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:07:24 -0000

Troll level - Ultimate. :D

If what you're saying is true, I'd be glad to shake your hand one day, sir!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Jpmdoug — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:20:15 -0000

Google ranks the BBB in the top 1% of websites viewed and since "Trust" is a major factor in search engine optimization it's invaluable.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Betancourts — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:15:33 -0000

I have an interview and the company is showed as "Not BBB Accredited" should I be worried.....
After reviewing all comments, I think I shouldn't as a job seeker....but as a consumer I would be.
Please comment your concerns
Thanks
Job Seeker

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Guy Manningham — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:31:19 -0000

The BBB is kind of like Alexa rankings. Either of the two holds very little weight in terms of being an accurate measure of a company, but both can be used as tools for promoting a company's value to potential customers/clients. Good write-up, David.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

NewPendant — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:57:44 -0000

I was thing BBB is a government service. but ofter hear $600 fee it is sound more like a businesses. it be over 3 years i am selling jewelry on my website www.newpendant.com and non of my costumer ask me about is my business bbb accredit or not I was thing to get my business list in bbb to but ofter i read your article I don thing I will pay $600 for nothing. Since my costumers trusting my business and me I dan't need it Thank you for article

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

More Concerned — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:39:29 -0000

Sounds like Concerned Citizen is a BBB sales agent.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Donaldp — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:11:56 -0000

You are absolutely correct. When I use the BBB to look for a business really the only thing that matters is the amount of unsatisfied complaints. If I see a business that has been doing business for years and they have no complaints on Google and no complaints on the BBB, accredited or not, then it is a good chance they are not going to take your money and run.

Their pricing is a bit bias and frankly I don't see the difference if you are at least listed accredited or not, and all of your complaints show. It is all about the amount of complaints. The internet these days will definitely show if you are scamming people if you are doing it more than a month!!!

I looked up a company the other day that contacted me through email, American Media Distribution, and I found them on the BBB with a 3 year history of no complaints and no one saying anything bad about them on the net, so I proceeded to purchase their advertising program which seems to be working. You are correct that just because someone contacts you through email does not mean it is a scam. BUT I did my due diligence before deciding to move forward. I do not want to mention what it was to plug them. I always suggest that if you don't feel good doing business with a company for one reason or another just don't!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Paintball Barrel — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:32:04 -0000

i noticed a competitor was getting indexed links to their website from the bbb... so perhaps this is some morsel of value provided? a link from a big website?

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Hispanic Market Advisors ® — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:53:02 -0000

BBB website says that Annual Accreditation fees vary depending on the size of the company, so I look forward to learn what the cost would be for Hispanic Market Advisors. Among the accredited business benefits that I find more compelling are the public Trust and Confidence that the BBB online reliability seal instills in the minds of some customers. Also, the access to mediation and business arbitration to settle business-customer disputes, in case these are ever needed.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

BOBBY — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:40:45 -0000

The BBB is MISUSING the term "accreditation" They are a bullying, scamming, conning, pay dues and get a rating BS company!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

David — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:42:48 -0000

Um ... you are NOT accredited, according to the report that comes up when you click the "Accredited" link. Geez, you'd think the BBB Online folks would be smart enough to use REFERER code, or something, to prevent that. No doubt it's an unintentional misrepresentation - I assume you must have been accredited at one time, and they didn't notify you when you lost that status.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Concerned Citizen — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:03:43 -0000

You are in violation of a Trademarked symbol and your grade can change based on a number of factors. Your grade may drop when revealing details. There is no negotiating a fee. It does not sound like you're a truthful person.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

ColleaguesAnswer Rep. — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:35:37 -0000

Tom hit it on the nose, here: the main market for watermarks and seals like these are older folks who may be (rightfully) reluctant to pass their details out like candy. For our last site (http://www.colleaguesanswer...) we had to shell out and go through quite a lot of pain drafting out applications, taking calls etc. for the trust-instilling logotypes, but we do feel it was worth it.
Makes you part of the big boys, anyway!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Garrett Vogenbeck — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:37:41 -0000

bbb.org has a PageRank score of 8/10. I've seen some sites benefit from the links they get from their BBB profile. I've also noticed that that was the only apparent marketing benefit from it. Maybe just consider it an expensive backlink for your SEO with a slight secondary benefit?

If you are in a competitive field for you Google keywords, this might be good. If you are a local niche and don't need as much SEO, this might not be worth it at all. A competitive analysis could come in handy here.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

C. Elliott — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:28:36 -0000

We're working on having our company, Energy Guys, accredited. It takes some effort but the advertising on our website, www.goenergyguys.com will probably be worth it. Not many of our competition are members in Austin, Tx.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Ghillie Suit — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:13:56 -0000

Hmm, wondering if my organization should join. Is it worth it?

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Roadhunter — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:30:44 -0000

Thanks for the info. I just paid for my business, www.t-townphotoboothrentals... to become accredited. I do feel like I just paid $395 for the right to use their logo, but if that brings me just one more customer, my investment will pay off. None of my competitors are currently accredited, so I'll also be able to say we're "The only BBB accredited photo booth rental company in Oklahoma", which I believe will help business.

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Judi — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:15:58 -0000

I'm thinking about applying for accreditation with BBB as to give my website credibility. I'm noticing questionable sites that may be considered my competitors that are popping up but yet don't disclose anywhere on their website where they are located or how to contact them. They also don't come up on the BBB when I've run a check on them. The Organizer of Information @ http://TheOrganizationIndex...

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

Cioc — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 02:24:31 -0000

Is a new way to steal your money!

Re: Just Got BBB Accreditation. But, Does It Matter Anymore?

The Computer Ox — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:44:34 -0000

I was contacted by a BBB agent to have my companies accredited. The price started at $600 (on sales from the the normal $800) and quickly dropped to $400 when I didn't show any interest. I still did not see any reason to have my accreditation since my company in fact had an A+ rating without being a member. The guy did a last failed attempt to have me join by lowering the price further to $250. I still didn't bite.
However, when i looked back at my score a week later, I had dropped to an A- with no reasons listed. When I called the guy on it he didn't have an explanation. A week later it was raised again to an A+. What a scam!
I have a sticker on my company vehicle that states BBB A+ (note, not saying accredited) and I get some great feedback. I am not sure, and don't particularly care, if it is against their guidelines to use the BBB name without paying. When possible clients ask me whether I am accredited, I openly let them know I am not.