Hello everyone. I started a home inspection business this year and I am seeking some business advice on this topic. Thank you in advance for any contribution to this post. I was contacted by the BBB for accreditation. I believe it’s around $40/month. As a new business I am working on improving visibility and marketing. Is this accreditation worth while, or is the money better spent elsewhere? What has been your experience?
Welcome Nicolae,
The BBB is not worth the $40/month, IMHO. Don’t be swayed by their hype.
What the BBB may have done in the past, the internet does more effectively, and free, nowadays.
You can build your internet presence with reviews, trustworthy blogging, localized marketing and a quality website. All free of charge.
Check out the marketing threads.
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IMO not worth it with money better spent elsewhere. Over the years the BBB has turned from an actual useful consumer based organization to one that is more about the business rather than the consumer. The only useful function again IMO is using them to find how many bad reviews and problems a business has. The more problems the more it is likely you want to stay away from that business.
I’ve been around a long time and watched the BBB as far back as I can remember and I remember a lot even from childhood with regards to the BBB. Back when businesses wanted to serve the consumer it was a useful tool for more than what I mentioned above. Since then it has evolved and not for the better. This is an example article displaying what happened to the BBB over the years.
https://lawecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=lclr
Because of the way the BBB is set up it relies just about exclusively on the honesty of the companies that join it. Even if the BBB were better run (none of the Pay To Play activity) companies have degraded so far that they know how to game the BBB system.
Now if you want to know how much it may be worth to your business step out on the street and take a poll of people only under the age of 40 and ask them what is the BBB and how can it help you? The BBB has become so irrelevant I believe most, if not the vast majority, don’t even know what it is.
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Got a website yet?
It don’t have to be great. Not even expensive or flashy. Ya just need one!
And then like Larry stated…
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Hamas paid for an A rating from the BBB. How can anyone take them serious?
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Thank you so much for this advice! I appreciate your time and honesty.
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Thank you Emmanuel for your honesty and I appreciate this greatly!
Last I checked you can still get a free listing, I agree with the others above about the monthly fee.
I stay away from them. Its been a documented pay-to-play racket for some time now. Spend your money elsewhere.
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I think we keep paying the annual fee and get nothing out of it simply because we have for many years. Probably meaningless.
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Whether the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is worth the fee depends on your business and its customer base, with potential benefits including increased trust and credibility, especially for service-oriented businesses and older demographics. However, younger customers may rely less on BBB ratings, and strong online reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp can provide greater return on investment. You should weigh the annual cost against how much your target customers value BBB accreditation and whether the fee aligns with your business goals and resources.
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