RatePoint Takes Aim at Better Business Bureau with New Consumer-Generated Quality Assurance Program

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RatePoint, Inc., today announced the RatePoint Consumer Approval Program, the first consumer-driven program that provides businesses with an affordable, interactive quality-assurance certification and customer feedback platform. Starting today, online and brick-and-mortar businesses may sign up for the program, which will compete directly with the Better Business Bureau.

Using the RatePoint program, consumers will be able to provide reviews and feedback to businesses through an easy-to-use platform. Ratings will be verified using several techniques to validate authenticity, and businesses will then have an opportunity to respond to feedback before the reviews are placed online. The RatePoint service then aggregates each experience into an overall site rating that truly represents the quality of the business. The RatePoint Consumer Approval Program is in stark contrast to the Better Business Bureau, which does little to foster interaction or strengthen the relationship between individual businesses and their customers.

“We believe that the Better Business Bureau has not kept pace with the changing online global economy,” said RatePoint CEO Neal Creighton. “Their programs don’t meet the increasing needs of small and mid-size businesses. They’re very inefficient, difficult to navigate for the consumer, and generally focus on the negative by soliciting complaints. All of this hurts both consumers and businesses by preventing them from recognizing where the quality actually is.”

RatePoint takes advantage of Web 2.0 trends by providing an easy and efficient method for consumers to interact with each other, while providing a mechanism for businesses to be involved in the process. Businesses are provided with a customer feedback platform that is displayed on their website in the form of an online badge. Consumers can then submit reviews through this system, which are authenticated, then passed along to the business where they can manage the reviews. In the case of a negative review, the system opens up the line of communication between the business and the consumer, providing the business with an opportunity to resolve consumer issues, turning a negative experience into a positive one.

For an organization to receive a dynamically generated “RatePoint Consumer Approval” badge on their website, they must carry a positive overall RatePoint rating, as well as pass a fraud check. Businesses who participate in a program such as the RatePoint Consumer Approval Program, have generally seen significant increases in revenue. In addition, all program members will be listed in RatePoint’s Merchant Directory, which will be connected to RatePoint’s rapidly growing online rating service.

“Other services require hundreds of ratings, or a mandatory sign-up for comparison or affiliate shopping, which pits smaller retailers against large competitors that they have little chance of out-pricing, but a higher likelihood of out-servicing,” said Marcia Woods of Taalwood Media Services, a marketing firm that provides strategic online services to hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses. “Our clients are looking for ways to build interaction and integrity with their customers and identify consumer behavior trends as early as possible in order to fine-tune their product and service offerings. The RatePoint Consumer Approval Program will level the playing field for small businesses and set a new benchmark for business quality and consumer interaction.”

The RatePoint Consumer Approval Program is launching with a free one-year trial for businesses that sign up within the first 60 days. After the free trial, membership is $49.99 per year, compared with the Better Business Bureau, which in major cities, charges anywhere from $500-$13,000 for a local membership and requires a one-year waiting period for new businesses.

About RatePoint

Founded in 2006, RatePoint, Inc. offers a powerful, quality-assurance certification and customer feedback platform for today’s growing businesses. Leveraging the latest in Web 2.0 trends, web content authentication and consumer ratings systems, RatePoint, Inc. is revolutionizing the way businesses and consumers define, identify and monitor quality. RatePoint, Inc. was founded by the founders of GeoTrust and is venture backed by Prism VentureWorks and .406 Ventures. For more information about RatePoint, Inc., please visit www.ratepoint.com.