Home

Being a good corporate citizen carries with it the satisfaction in knowing that BBB Accredited Businesses are helping to support an organization that is making a daily difference in the lives of thousands of people. The BBB's free strategic public services are available through the support of selective firms in the business community. In addition, legitimate firms benefit through the BBB's self-regulating efforts. By tracking unscrupulous businesses and exposing them, the BBB helps legitimate businesses by putting a stop to unfair and/or illegal practices that otherwise lure away potential customers. Therefore the BBB helps to channel the market dollar away from scams and toward the legitimate business community. In addition to these types of intangible benefits, there are also many tangible ones. The average accreditation dues is approximately $400 annually. In some cases it is less and depending on the size of the applicant firm, the dues structure may be higher.

BBB Accredited Businesses can take advantage of benefits and services designed to help a business enhance their image, increase revenue and cut costs.

File Reports, Industry Lists & Customer Requests for Quotes/Bids
The BBB receives thousands of phone calls and web site "hits" from consumers and businesses every day. These folks are doing their due diligence and checking on the reliability of a firm before they do business with them. When a potential customer contacts the BBB for information about a given firm, the BBB reports the fact that a given firm is accredited. Reporting accreditation is a positive message to relay about qualified firms and it is something that customers want and look for when making buying decisions. In other cases people contact the BBB to obtain a list of Accredited Businesses in a particular industry category. And, people who are in need of a product or service can request a quote/bid and Accredited Businesses in the given industry category will be provided information as it relates to the customer.

Discount Programs
BBB Accredited Businesses can obtain competitive discounts on reliable shipping services, local or long-distance telephone services, and merchant credit card processing. Accredited Businesses can also take advantage of an electronic NSF recovery program.

Dispute Resolution Services: Customer Care/Accredited Business Id Program
When the normal conciliation efforts have been exhausted, BBB Accredited Businesses can have customer disputes resolved through arbitration services. In addition, Accredited Businesses can use the BBB Arbitration Clause in their customer contracts. BBB arbitration is a great way to retain valuable customers, cut legal costs and is a valid alternative to court.

BBB Accredited Business Identification
BBB Accredited Businesses can display a BBB plaque and/or sticker decal in their place of business. Accredited Businesses who participate in the Customer Care/Accredited Business Id Program can use a specially designed logo for use in advertising and promotional material. Accredited Businesses who participate in the BBBonline program can utilize a BBBonline seal on their web site.

Accredited Business Newsletter
Accredited Businesses receive a bimonthly newsletter publication. The newsletter has breaking marketplace alerts and news, educational articles and other valuable information.

Co-op Advertising & Sponsorships
BBB Accredited Businesses can gain added value image advertising through co-op TV Commercials. The TV Commercials air locally on major networks and reach hundreds of thousands of people. In addition, Accredited Businesses can sponsor pages of the BBB web-site. With each click on the web-site, participating Accredited Businesses rotate on a banner-type ad. An opportunity also exists to obtain exposure by having the Accredited Business logo prominently displayed on the BBB newsletter that is mailed to other business Accredited Businesses.