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What is TrustLink?
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TrustLink is a program that assists businesses and consumers in building trusted relationships in an online community. TrustLink publishes hundreds of thousands of business storefronts containing valuable feedback from customers along with other important information on the businesses. The service is free to the public.
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What's a 'TrustLink Verified' review?
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- When a review is labeled 'TrustLink Verified Review', it means that the customer who wrote the review was engaged in some type of business transaction with the company. This label is added to the review only if we can verify that the experience in the review took place. Potential customers reading a 'TrustLink Verified' review can use the information to help them decide which reviews are helpful in their decision to do business with the company.If a review is not marked as 'TrustLink Verified Review', it doesn't mean that the customer didn't have that experience with the company. It simply means that we weren't able to verify that the transaction took place because the customer did not go through one of our channels of communication with the company.
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Why include customer reviews?
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- We often hear from businesses that want to give their customers an opportunity to post comments. Also, consumers want to help spread the word to others about their experiences. We believe both businesses and consumers benefit by collaboration and customer feedback generated through social networking. Of course, all customer reviews are monitored for authenticity and to prevent the use of inappropriate language.
- According to a Gallup survey, 93% of consumer respondents rated a company’s reputation for honesty and fairness as most important. Also, consumer research shows that a majority of online shoppers use consumer product reviews and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores who make this available.
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How do consumers file a complaint?
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- TrustLink doesn’t handle individual customer complaints.
However, if a negative review is posted, often a business will make an effort to rectify the problem so that the writer will modify the review and the rating.
Most businesses recognize the importance of maintaining a good rating with TrustLink.
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Will my email address be provided to businesses
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- Your email address will not be directly provided to any business. TrustLink has a private messaging portal where businesses are able to respond to TrustLink Community participants who submit reviews on any company.
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Can a business that is not a Preferred Member business participate in TrustLink, and if so, how?
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- Any business can post a profile on TrustLink, but certain features such as promotional tools are only available to our Preferred Member businesses. We highly recommend that you register your business and create a TrustLink storefront to begin enjoying some of the valuable benefits TrustLink can offer all businesses.
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Why should my business participate in TrustLink?
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- As a TrustLink participant, you will receive unequaled tools for promoting your business and managing your online business reputation. You can tell your customers, and potential customers about your business like never before.
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How does being on TrustLink increase my website's traffic?
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- Being on TrustLink can improve your internet traffic a few different ways: it raises your ranking with major search engines, such as MSN Live, Yahoo, and Google. The more information, content and links your business has out on the internet, the higher your business moves in the search engine results. Being on TrustLink gives your business more web content and more links, making your business easier for potential customers to find.
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What are some benefits of being on TrustLink?
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- 77% (Jupiter Research, August 2006) of consumers use online reviews and ratings to make purchasing decisions.
- Upload Business Photos – Show pictures of your staff, your storefront, etc. to your potential customers.
- Enhanced Business Description – Include hours of operation in your profile, descriptions of your products and services, link to your website.
- Widgets – using our widget on your website your can highlight your
TrustLink "star" rating and link to your customer reviews.
- Coupons – Include electronic and if need be, printable coupons to help you gain new customers.
- Comment Cards –distribute these to your customers to encourage them to post compliments on your business.
- Elevated Search Results – Activity on your TrustLink report will increase the likelihood of your customers finding you through the large Internet search engines like Google.
- Highlight Preferred Reviews – Draw your potential customer's attention to the opinions of your happy customers.
- Showcase your business in the TrustLink Community – Use our TrustLink Community page as your web presence and leverage your marketing dollars. You'll have your own storefront in the TrustLink Community, where you can display photos of your business or products, tell potential customers about your expertise, detail your hours of operation, make special offers, and more.
- Members Only Instant Email Connection – Use our "Members Only" email connection to get quick, personal service.
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Why include customer reviews?
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- Most businesses want to give their customers an opportunity to post complimentary reviews. Also, consumers want to help spread the word to others about their experiences. We believe both businesses and consumers benefit by collaboration and customer feedback generated through social networking. Of course, all customer reviews are monitored for authenticity and to prevent the use of inappropriate language.
- According to a Gallup survey, 93% of consumer respondents rated a company's reputation for honesty and fairness as most important. The majority of online shoppers use consumer product reviews and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores who make this available.
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Am I notified when a consumer writes a review about my business?
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- Yes. We will do our very best to inform business owners when a customer has written a review about their business. Our automatic alert messages operate by email. Naturally our ability to contact the business depends on the quality of the contact information we have for the business and naturally that information is more complete for members' businesses.
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Can I respond to a negative review about my business?
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- Yes. TrustLink believes that our forum for public comment should work both ways, for both consumers and businesses. Businesses can post a response to a review which will appear below the customer’s review. A response can be posted regardless of whether the review is negative or positive.
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Can anyone write a review?
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- Anybody who has had a valid shopping or customer experience with a business can write a review after they complete the registration process. Reviews are authenticated through our quality review processes internally.
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What is the TrustLink widget?
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- The TrustLink "widget" enables you to plug-in or embed an icon into your own website. It is a symbol that allows your visitors to see your TrustLink accumulated star rating and number of your customer reviews and if they click through it they can read the reviews themselves. It's automatically updated. You will need to be registered in our system so our widget can compile your business data.
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What does the widget look like?
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Can any business use the widget?
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- Yes, the widget above is available to all businesses registered at TrustLink.
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How does a business access and install the widget?
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- First of all, the business needs to register at TrustLink. We have to have a record on the business before the business can access the widget. The directions to use the widget are on the business profile page - click the link "Show off your TrustLink page! Get the widget".
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Can charities participate in TrustLink?
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- Yes, they can, just like any other business.
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Are customer reviews monitored?
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- Yes. Reviews are monitored by experienced staff to ensure that they comply with our policies. We evaluate postings for authenticity and will remove reviews we believe have been deliberately planted. We also remove reviews containing abusive or inappropriate language. Personal reviews reflect one person's experience with a business but they lack industry context or other historical data.
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