More Than Just a Warm Fuzzy
These third-party companies are referred to as trust-seal companies or trust-certification companies. There are different types of trust-seal companies that also have different products. In the end, it all boils down to what your organization’s particular needs are — if you’re a national or international organization, if you have commerce on your Web site or only information, etc.
You don’t want to pay out your nose for a trust seal that is completely unnecessary. Be wary of companies that basically will give their seals to anybody who is willing to pay the annual fee. Reputable firms will require an annual audit of your Web site policies.
Benefits of a trust seal
There are many more upsides than there are downsides when you have a trust seal on your Web site. This is a proven fact — both in customer satisfaction and also statistically.
Trust seals are good guarantees of security, and online visitors are getting increasingly used to seeing them and being assured by their presence. In a time where the call for transparency in all markets — especially in the nonprofit world — has increased, and a potential purchase or donation can disappear with a single click, a trust seal can be that little extra detail that will prevent that from happening.
* By using a trust-seal company’s experience, you most likely can avoid typical mistakes usually made on Web sites — most notably in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use sections.
*Trust-seal companies know about online commerce laws.
*Trust-seal companies know about online ethical demands.
*Trust-seal companies know about privacy and security issues.
*You almost certainly will get a much higher conversion rate (i.e., a click turn into a donation).
More and more organizations are investing money and resources in their ethical and social profiles. By doing so, they send a signal to their supporters that they are serious about conducting lawful and ethically correct business online.
