Running a successful business means operating with trust and integrity

As Marketing Director for Better Business Bureau, I often get asked what do businesses gain from being accredited? It’s a fair question — after all the BBB isn’t selling golf clubs, it sells trust. And that can be a difficult sell to a business that may not be familiar with all the services BBB provides.

So I’ve started doing case studies with BBB Accredited Businesses — asking them why BBB? How has it helped their business? Is your business better off being accredited?

Here’s one business owner’s perspective on why trust, integrity, and standards go a long way into making his company better.

When owner Eric Long first opened his pest control company, it was his big chance to start a family business and create a legacy. With a vision of being the people’s best pest control company, Eric has proudly served the Greater Dayton, Ohio area for five years. He measures his success by the fact that he has been self-employed for the last two years, and he no longer works three different jobs to make ends meet.

Today, Free Bee Pest Control is a BBB Accredited Business, known by its customers as a trustworthy and honest company committed to doing the best work possible.

Top Business Challenges and Goals

As a new business owner, Eric says the number one challenge he experienced was how to respond when customers asked if his company was BBB Accredited. He says customers wanted to see the trusted BBB seal, and when he didn’t have it, Eric missed potential job opportunities.

Eric’s top goal was to improve the reputation of the industry by building a reliable and reputable business focused on integrity and treating customers fairly. He says BBB Accreditation certainly helped communicate that message.

How BBB Accreditation Helped

Eric learned early on about the value of BBB Accreditation. His father, also a business owner, taught Eric that the BBB wasn’t an enemy — but a supporter of small business. Today, Eric takes full advantage of his BBB Accreditation that goes beyond his A+ rating and more than 60 five-star BBB Customer Reviews. You can find the BBB Seal on just about every area of Free Bee Pest Control, including its trucks, website, business cards, and letterhead. Eric says when customers see the seal, they know his company is committed to excellence.

Since being BBB Accredited, Eric says Free Bee Pest Control secured additional jobs through the Get a Quote service. He has plans to grow the business while keeping the personal touches and added customer satisfaction.

“Our BBB Accreditation helped to immediately add credibility to our business, even right out of the gate. We are a one-person operation doing great things, and our BBB Business Profile helps tell our story. I proudly tell people our business is BBB Accredited.”

Why BBB Accreditation and the BBB Standards for Trust Matter

The BBB Standards for Trust are a guiding light for Free Bee Pest Control, Eric explains, especially when it comes to integrity. He says by embodying integrity, his company is doing the right thing, and that matters most to his customers. Customer satisfaction is number one at Free Bee Pest Control, and Eric is not shy about letting people know, especially on his BBB Business Profile page.

Here are Eric’s top ways he’s leveraged BBB Accreditation.

• Adds integrity and trust to his brand
• Get a Quote program
• Marketing assets

Final Results

With more than ten years of experience as an exterminator, Eric had the vision to be the best pest control business in town. He created his company from the ground up and today serves several hundred customers a year. He’s proud to say he is self-employed, generating more than $100,000 in business annually. Free Bee Pest Control is a BBB Accredited Business and an award-winning business with an A+ rating and dozens of five-star reviews. Eric credits much of his success to the way he conducts business — with integrity, the cornerstone of the BBB Standards for Trust. As a third-generation exterminator, Eric takes pride in his work and wishes to not only keep his customers happy but also to create a legacy for his kids.