BBB talks trust at annual meeting

Staff report

WARREN

About 90 representatives from area businesses gathered at the Avalon Inn on Tuesday for the Better Business Bureau of Columbiana, Mahoning & Trumbull counties annual meeting.

The meeting recognized and celebrated BBB’s impact locally.

BBB works to help consumers find businesses, brands and charities they can trust.

BBB President Carol Potter pointed out that businesses here recognize the value of trust.

The local BBB stands as the BBB with the highest retention rate in the U.S. and Canada, retaining more than 92 percent of businesses this year. BBB of the Mahoning Valley has more than 1,200 accredited businesses.

Other local facts provided at the meeting were: Consumers inquired the most about roofing, flooring, construction, HVAC and auto transportation; BBB had 211,138 business profile views; 31,901 customer reviews read; 1,100 complaints; and nearly 2 million directory impressions.

“We know that trust is important, and we know that some consumers start with trust and others are skeptical,” Potter said.

BBB in collaboration with Nielsen has created the first BBB Trust Sentiment Index to gauge consumer sentiment on first-time engagement with a business.

The overall trust sentiment in the U.S. was rated 67.5, meaning there’s an inclination for consumers to start with a trusting view of a business. The index also found males are more trusting; consumers aged 18-34 are more trusting in businesses at first than consumers age 55 and older; and consumers making more than $100,000 a year are more trusting than those who make less than $50,000.

By region, the West is the most trusting and the Midwest and Southwest are the least trusting.