In today’s challenging economic climate, e-commerce businesses are finding that online reputation is more critical than ever to attract and serve customers. When it comes to sharing information with smaller Web sites, consumer confidence is shaky. A recent Marketing Sherpa study found that fifty-three percent of consumers worry about sharing personal information. To combat consumer fear, TRUSTe, the most widely recognized privacy seal on the Internet, today announced the launch of TRUSTe Privacy Services for Small and Medium Businesses. The new offering allows small businesses the chance to attract more customers and secure more sales by giving their customers a safe online experience

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TRUSTe Offers First Ever Online Privacy Solution for Small Businesses
By TRUSTe
Dated: Sep 11, 2009
New Privacy Services help Small Businesses Enhance Customer Trust and Boost Sales
(SAN FRANCISCO) – In today’s challenging economic climate, e-commerce businesses are finding that
online reputation is more critical than ever to attract and serve customers. When it comes to sharing
information with smaller Web sites, consumer confidence is shaky. A recent Marketing Sherpa study found
that fifty-three percent of consumers worry about sharing personal information. To combat consumer fear,
TRUSTe, the most widely recognized privacy seal on the Internet, today announced the launch of TRUSTe
Privacy Services for Small and Medium Businesses. The new offering allows small businesses the chance
to attract more customers and secure more sales by giving their customers a safe online experience.
Establishing clear policies and disclosures relating to information privacy is key to establishing customer
trust. Yet, in a recent survey, TRUSTe found that 56 percent of small business owners with web sites have
no privacy policy and one-third “cut and paste” their privacy policy from another site. With TRUSTe
Privacy Services, small businesses can now get an affordable and professional privacy policy and the
TRUSTe Verified seal tailored to their specific business needs. Utilizing TRUSTe’s advanced technology
to scan for privacy and security threats, TRUSTe is now able to offer automated privacy services to small
businesses.
Importantly, Consumers benefit from being able to rely on TRUSTe to let them know the small businesses
are legitimate and responsible with their personal information and can call on TRUSTe’s long-standing
consumer dispute resolution services to address privacy concerns.
TRUSTe Privacy Services include:
•TRUSTe Privacy Service provides Small and Medium Businesses a privacy policy that fits the business’
needs and practices as well as meets TRUSTe’s industry standard privacy requirements. Once the business
passes web-based privacy and security scans, the business is awarded the TRUSTe Verified Seal. TRUSTe
also offers A/B testing to measure the level of transactional improvements from displaying the trustmark.
Other benefits include regular updates on privacy issues, account portal, and effective consumer dispute
resolution services. Pricing starts at $49.00 per month.
•Basic Privacy Policy allows a small business owner to obtain an accurate and compliant privacy policy
based on their business practices through TRUSTe’s proprietary Privacy Policy Generator, Pricing starts at
$249.00 for the one-time service and does not include the TRUSTe seal.
SMB’s with more demanding privacy programs can continue to apply for TRUSTe’s flagship web privacy
certification program where they receive one-on-one privacy consultations from trained online privacy
specialists, customization assistance for privacy disclosures and practices, unlimited display of TRUSTe’s
well-established Web Privacy Seal, consumer dispute resolution services and more. Pricing starts at
$849.00 per year.
“Few entrepreneurs give enough attention to Web site privacy and security, nor do they understand the
risks associated,” said Fran Maier, CEO of TRUSTe. “As e-commerce sales rise and small businesses
migrate to online models, TRUSTe is making affordable, easy-to-use privacy services accessible to
companies of all size and type. This inexpensive solution will help small businesses build their brand
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reputation in order to address the needs and concerns of online customers, leading to greater trust and
increased sales conversion rates.”
"The retail industry has changed dramatically within the last 10 years, and credibility is paramount to
compete. Privacy services from TRUSTe are a perfect solution for us--for everyone starting out--because
it's easy to lose business when a website does not look secure to a potential customer, said Wesley Cutlip,
CEO of StoneRose Productions. “As an entrepreneur with a limited budget, improved standards in
consultation dealing with any aspect of business is key in making my dollar work for me. TRUSTe’s SMB
privacy services are simple to integrate because they’re so easy to understand, and using their services
allows more time for me to concentrate on my customers."
For more information on TRUSTe site services, go to www.truste.com . To learn more about the
importance of privacy for small businesses and get some useful tips, go to http://
www.truste.com/smb/web_site_tips.html
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe Privacy Seals help consumers click with confidence by guiding them to trustworthy Web sites.
Thousands of Web sites rely on TRUSTe industry best practices to help them make the right decisions
about privacy and protecting confidential user information. Half of the top fifty Web sites are certified to
TRUSTe’s leading practices including, Disney, eBay, Facebook, Intuit, Microsoft and Yahoo. To find out
more about privacy, visit http://www.truste.com.
TRUSTe Official Blog: www.truste.com/blog
TRUSTe on Twitter http://twitter.com/TRUSTesmallBiz
Additional Testimonials from TRUSTe Small Business Customers
Sasha Givency, WorldDanceShop.com
“In the retail industry, most of our sales come through online channels, so our web site is critical. I’ve been
looking for different ways to build credibility for my own Web site, and I’m thrilled that TRUSTe is
offering this service. Finally there is a solution that takes the legalese out of privacy and makes it simple so
that entrepreneurs like me can understand.”
Justin Severidt, DiscountFlea.com
“I’m looking for ways to get ahead of the competition and increase sales, and one of the ways I’m doing
that is by managing my Web site’s reputation. TRUSTe is a great option for me – as an entrepreneur with a
limited budget, I’ve never had an IT consultant or an in-house lawyer – they walked me through what I
needed to do to make my Web site in compliance and my customers safe.”
Peter Ellinwood, GreenPoma.com
“When we were preparing to re-launch our website last month, our search engine marketing firm advised
us to add a privacy seal to instill visitor confidence and boost conversion rates, says Peter Ellinwood, owner
of GreenPoma.com. He adds, “Our due diligence showed TRUSTe to be the best-in-class product for a
small business like ours and we’re pleased with the advantage the seal brings to our online business.”
Category Internet, Technology, Business
Tags truste, online safety, online trust, online privacy, internet privacy, privacy online, trustmark, web
privacy
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