When an overseas customer wishes to do business with an entrepreneur in India, the customer may not be sure about the credibility of the entrepreneur. What helps is a recognised neutral third party validating the entrepreneur and his business.
Acting on this logic, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a global business information provider, has designed a comprehensive solution to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) deal with overseas clients.
“We recently launched a new product called the D&B suite of Online Trust Solutions (OTS) that offers the business community an opportunity to enhance trust and confidence in its credentials in the online space by displaying verified and validated information,” says Kaushal Sampat, chief operating officer, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd.
Internet fraud and lack of trust bring an unnecessary apprehension in dealing with companies. To avoid loss of business for Indian entrepreneurs, D&B awards an authentication seal that appears on their company website, ensuring that a client understands that a certain company is credible.
“We have set certain internal benchmarks and guidelines with the completion of which we award a trust seal that allows companies to display it in the form of a registered logo on their websites. A click and it opens the company profile and business information as validated by the company,” informs Jayesh Bahadur, national sales manager at D&B.
Not all SMEs have a lavish budget, in which case having a sound website may also not be possible. In such cases D&B dedicates a unique webpage to the company on its registered website.
“In the local market, credibility is not much of an issue, as it can be verified easily. But, when it comes to the international market, our reputation is unknown to an international trader. So I feel such a trust seal will be of help,” feels Preetam Shirke, proprietor of Shirke Bricks Industries.
“So far we have awarded seals to 500 entities, of which 95 per cent are from the SME sector and they have bounced back with a very positive feedback. We aim to give out 8,000-10,000 seals in the coming one year,” adds Kaushal.
