Public Interaction On The Internet
All people who utilize
the Internet have a right to privacy, security, and confidence in the
practices and procedures
of the web businesses and sites that they access. TrustAssure ©
defines and protects
these rights.
You can browse and
purchase products and services from any TrustAssure © member with
total assurance that
your personal and private information will be protected and handled in
a completely professional
manner. Parents may let their children browse a member's pages
without the fear that
they will stumble onto inappropriate web page content.
These regulatory conditions
are undertaken by TrustAssure © member sites and businesses
in an effort to provide
the public with a consistent and useful environment on the web. Given
that fact we urge
people to shop and browse our registered member sites and support their
efforts. As the general
public uses TrustAssure © member sites it validates the entire program
in a way that attracts
new members from various industries. This serves to improve the
diversity of the TrustAssure
© community for each web user.
Web Business And eCommerce
As a business on the
Internet you have a responsibility to provide the very best web content
to
your visitors with
procedures in place to protect their personal information. In providing
simple
documentation to inform
your site users of the privacy and security precautions you have within
the boundaries of
your web site you decrease their fear of transacting business on the open
web
and increase your
potential for a better sales ratio, repeat business, and referrals.
By providing a TrustAssure
© member logo seal on your web site you are telling your site visitors
that you are serious
about the professionalism of your business and that you value their rights
to privacy and security.
Here at TrustAssure © we also endorse the Better Business Bureau ©
and
Truste © services.
However, we have developed TrustAssure © specifically to provide business
bureau
association to web
sites and businesses that cannot afford or want reduced membership costs.
We urge all viable
businesses not currently associated with a business bureau to join a service,
regardless of which,
so that the privacy and security of the Internet can become structured.
At
TrustAssure ©
we will do everything in our power to enhance your presence on the web.
Creating And Maintaining The Customer
A customer is the
result of the synergy between a web user and a business. You don't become
a
customer until several
key elements fall correctly into place. First, not only must the business
you
are looking at have
a product or service that interests you, but they also must meet your personal
requirements as a
secure and viable entity that you want to do business with. Until those
criteria
are in place you are
just another web surfer and the business remains just another web site.
TrustAssure ©
members provide the key ingredients that create an attractive site to browse
and do
business with. As
a customer you have nothing to fear because the information, security,
and
privacy are already
provided to your family from the moment you access any TrustAssure ©
member
web site.
TrustAssure ©
members handle warranty claims quickly and efficiently and resolve complaints
in a
prompt and professional
fashion. Plus, you are free to review any TrustAssure © professional
member
report record with
improtant company contact and reliability information and to forward any
comments,
complaints, or compliments
to TrustAssure © and we will forward them to the respective member
site.
Reliability
Not something which
can be just claimed, reliability is created by consistent performance over
time.
It is the total package
and the sum of it's component words. People rely on your ability to deliver
each
and every time with
consistency and professionalism. TrustAssure © members are constantly
challenged
to provide up to date
family value content and maintain a high level of performance reliability.
We want
the public to view
our TrustAssure © logo seal on any site as a sign of the utmost in
quality.
As a business you should
regularly review your reliability level. Do you provide consistent service
to
each customer and
transaction? Reliability is the one factor that determines how much repeat
business
and how many referrals
your business will get. It is the factor that turns a web user into a customer
and
eventually bonds the
customer to a particular business or web site.
One of the major complaints
of web users regrading many new "business opportunity" web sites is that
they make unrealistic
claims, don't provide personal service, and don't follow through on what
they say
they are going to
do. They lack the reliability factor of established companies that creates
a comfort
level during the transaction
process. To elevate your business or web site seek credibility and reliability.
Confidence
The transition of
a web user into a customer comes about through the agent of confidence.
Confidence is
the byproduct of our
general observation and interaction with business reliability. At TrustAssure
© we
believe
that
all web users should have complete confidence in the policies and procedures
of every
business or
web
site. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and for good reason.
However, we also believe
that the future will hold some great improvements in the way business is
to be
conducted on the Internet
and we're trying to lead the way. Disregard for the rights of the customer
will
become a thing of
the past as companies are forced to improve their methods, policies, procedures,
and
documentation in order
to prove their worth in securing the customer's approval and business.
Customers must meet
business halfway and begin to release their feelings of apprehension as
web sites
provide the mechanisms
for reliability review. We understand that a business must provide certain
proof
of intentions and
assurance, but once having done so the business should not be forced to
constantly
reprove themselves
provided they are performing on a professional level. This is the very
reason that logo
seal certification
programs like TrustAssure ©, Truste ©, and the Better Business
Bureau © exist.
Referrals & Repeat Business
The offspring of web
user confidence and customer transition are referrals and repeat business.
Once a
customer finds a reputable
business that performs as they say they will it is a natural process to
go back
to that company or
web site whenever the customer requires that particular product or service
again. Also
people tend to refer
others to services that they find useful or functional.
The TrustAssure ©
motto is not only to certify each individual member web site or business,
but to create
a community of certified
"good business" sites that allow a web user to browse for products and
services
in a protected environment
where security and privacy are assured and apprehension is minimized. As
a
business it is the
residual effect of repeat business and referrals along with increased customer
use and
support that validate
the process of third party business reliance bureau membership and certification.
It is the responsibility
of the web user and potential customer to insist on doing business with
only web
sites that are certified
and provide provisions for your privacy and security. As long as you are
a patron
of potentially unscrupulous
web sites there will be no initiative for them to improve their policies
and
procedures or provide
you with any form of transaction or information security, privacy, or documentation.
Privacy & Security Issues
Without a doubt the
main issues that web users and potential customers want addressed by web
sites and
businesses are the
privacy of personal information asked for and given to webmasters and the
security of
any and all transactions
including sensitive information, card numbers, and passwords. Web users
must
try to understand
that webmasters have a valid need for user and customer personal information
in order
to develop and maintain
the web site and business functions. However, that need must be balanced
with
policies, procedures,
and controls that secure the user or customer information as confidential.
If you choose to join
a web site membership, program, or purchase any service or product online
you have
already made the commitment
to provide the necessary information required to complete that transaction.
TrustAssure ©
members are required to provide you with documentation on what information
is gathered,
why the information
is being gathered, and which parties will have access to that information.
TrustAssure ©
members agree to adhere to a strict Code Of Ethics
and any member found to be in violation
is immediately terminated.
TrustAssure © works with local, state, federal, and international
authorities when
any member is found
to have violated any law. TrustAssure © does not approve or endorse
any business or
person that discloses,
sells, or otherwise distributes email addresses, names, or private information.
Building
A Foundation Of Trust
The cornerstone of
the TrustAssure © program is helping the web site, webmaster, or business
provide a set
of structured policies
and procedures to the web user or potential customer that lead to trust
and business
cooperation between
all parties. Trust is the byproduct of the synergistic interaction between
all of the
various components
of the customer/business relationship. It is the ultimate result that provides
the key to
unlocking a great
working relationship with discounts and personal service for the customer
and a steady
flow of profitable
commerce for the business owner.
However, this trust
cannot be taken for granted. Businesses must continue to refine their overall
design and
web users should demand
that web related enterprises adopt a set of structured rules that govern
how they
do business with the
public. The Internet, like any medium, will probably never be completely
devoid of the
problems generated
by bad business intentions and practices, but with a joint effort we can
all help to
reduce such problems
through organized regulatory programs such as TrustAssure ©.
We sincerely hope that
regardless of your position as a web user, customer, webmaster, or business
owner
you will see the merit
and the future of third party business reliance bureau certification and
will view the
TrustAssure ©
logo seal a symbolic key to proper business techniques, practices, and
most of all trust.
Advertising
And Email
The web marketer has
a responsibility to adhere to certain rules when dealing with the general
public.
These rules are no
different than the moral and ethical requirements of doing non-web based
business.
The web business and
it's representatives must curtail outrageous marketing claims if they are
to be
taken seriously by
the buying public. More and more there is the trend to require substantiation
of all
claims before business
is truly transacted.
Email is another serious
offense. Originally developed as the online medium of communication recently
email accounts have
become the medium of advertising choice. Even though "spam" or unsolicited
messages are considered
taboo and punished in some cases many businesses, especially small or
new enterprises still
forward email marketing everyday cloaked in the cover of a response message
to everything from
memberships to web promotion submissions.
Advertising and marketing
techniques need to be as refined on the Internet as in any other avenue
of
the business industries,
perhaps more so. Email is a form of communication not an online billboard
for
indiscretionary use.
Structured and professional companies request permission to forward any
future
email or transmission
messages to web users or customers. They also describe online opportunities
and business offers
without "marketing hype" . Taking on a professional image goes a long way
toward
building a solid business
image on the web.
Interacting
With Children On The Internet
Quite possibly one
of the most sensitive areas of interactive ecommerce is the contact and
open
interaction with children,
especially children 13 years of age or younger. This is a world where a
different set of rules
apply. TrustAssure © members must abide by strict guidelines with children
of this age bracket. The TrustAssure © certification
stipulates exact rules to be followed.
Web businesses should
always get parental approval and permission before directly contacting,
communicating with,
or gathering information from children. The information gathered should
be no
more than exactly
what is required to provide the child with the online service, such as
activities or
games, and young children
should not be required to submit more information than is necessary for
the transaction. Parents
have a right to access, review, correct, and delete any information gathered.
When directly communicating
with children by email there should be an option to discontinue the
email process provided
to the child after the first contact. At no time are web businesses in
a position
to distribute any
information gathered from children to any other parties. Explanations and
warnings
should be provided
on web sites in an easy-to-read language and all hyperlinks and content
should
be monitored by the
webmaster to insure that children are not accessing inappropriate contacts.