Better Business Bureau Of Eastern Nc Inc

WORK TO PROMOTE AND FOSTER THE HIGHEST ETHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESSES AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH VOLUNTARY SELF-REGULATION, EDUCATION, AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE. GENERAL MONITORING OF ADVERTISING IN THE MARKETPLACE, CONSUMER/BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES. WE DO THIS BY: - SETTING STANDARDS FOR MARKETPLACE TRUST- ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING BEST PRACTICES BY ENGAGING WITH AND EDUCATING CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES- CELEBRATING MARKETPLACE ROLE MODELS- CALLING OUT AND ADDRESSING SUBSTANDARD MARKETPLACE BEHAVIOR - CREATING A COMMUNITY OF TRUSTWORTHY BUSINESSES AND CHARITIES

BBB WORKS TO PROMOTE AND FOSTER THE HIGHEST ETHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH VOLUNTARY SELF-REGULATION RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE. WE DO SO THROUGH THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: 1. DISPUTE RESOLUTION: 11,658 COMPLAINTS HANDLED AND CLOSED AGAINST ACCREDITED AND NON-ACCREDITED BUSINESSES IN OUR SERVICE AREA IN 2023 2. BUSINESS/CHARITY REVIEWS AND CONSUMER HOTLINE: CONSUMERS CAN FIND INFORMATION ON BUSINESSES AND CHARITIES FROM OUR COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE. CONSUMERS ALSO SEEK INFORMATION ON SCAMS. INQUIRIES CAN BE MADE VIA WEBSITE AND PHONE. 2,496,981 INQUIRIES IN 20233. AD REVIEWS: 23 ADVERTISING REVIEW CASE HANDLED 4. CUSTOMER REVIEWS: CONSUMERS CAN LEAVE BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REVIEWS ON BUSINESSES IN OUR SERVICE AREA. REVIEWS ARE VERIFIED BY BBB PRIOR TO BEING PUBLISHED. 10,265 CUSTOMER REVIEWS RECEIVED BY BBB. 5. ARBITRATIONS: OFFERED TO BOTH ACCREDITED BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS CONSUMERS LOOKING TO RESOLVE LEMON LAW COMPLAINTS. 10 ARBITRATIONS HELD IN 2023 6. OUTREACH EVENTS, SPEECHES, PRESENTATION, EVENTS: 40 EVENTS/PRESENTATION/SPEECHES REACHING 2,690 7. ACCREDITED BUSINESS NEWSLETTER: 41,094 8. PROGRAMS GEARED TOWARD ACCREDITED BUSINESSES: BBB GOLF TOURNAMENT AT DRIVE SHACK - BBB HOSTED ITS 2ND GOLF TOURNAMENT AT DRIVE SHACK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE BBB EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (EF). THE EVENT WAS WELL ATTENDED AND, BETWEEN SPONSORSHIPS, TICKET SALES, RAFFLE ITEMS, AND AUCTION ITEMS THE EF WAS ABLE TO RAISE $8,000. BIG BLUE BASH BBB HOSTED THE BIG BLUE BASH IN MYRTLE BEACH FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO GET A GLIMPSE OF WHAT BBB'S NEW PRESENCE MEANS FOR THE AREA. THE EVENT WAS HOSTED OUTSIDE OF BBB'S MYRTLE BEACH OFFICE AND WAS A HUGE SUCCESS WITH GREAT INTERACTIONS AND SOCIALIZATIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE NETWORKING, BBB ALSO OFFERED FREE PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOTS, INCREDIBLE GIVEAWAYS FROM LOCAL ACCREDITED BUSINESSES, AND MORE. SPONSORSHIP WAS KEY IN MAKING THIS A GREAT EVENT WITH BARTERS IN PLACE TO HELP COVER FOOD, DESSERT, AND BARTENDING SERVICES. BBB COMMUNITY SHRED EVENTS - BBB PARTNERED WITH SHRED360 AND HOSTED NINE COMMUNITY SHRED EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ACROSS OUR SERVICE AREA. COMMUNITIES SERVED INCLUDED: MYRTLE BEACH (2), GEORGETOWN, FLORENCE, WILMINGTON, FAYETTEVILLE, HENDERSON, RALEIGH (2). BBB PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT EVENTS - IN 2023, BBB HELD 7 PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT EVENTS AND TOOK AND EDITED PHOTOS FOR APPROXIMATELY 250 INDIVIDUALS. EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN RALEIGH, WILSON (2), MYRTLE BEACH (2), WILMINGTON, AND FLORENCE. THESE EVENTS ALSO DOUBLED AS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDED AN ADDITIONAL TOUCHPOINT FOR BBB STAFF TO CONNECT WITH ABS OR NON-ABS LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION. BBB GOOD GUIDE TO BUSINESS PODCAST - THE GOOD GUIDE TO BUSINESS PODCAST IS ALL ABOUT CONVERSATIONS WITH BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND LOCAL LEADERS WHO ARE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE. HOSTS NICK HILL AND MEREDITH RADFORD RELEASED 16 EPISODES IN 2023 AND ELEVATED THE LEVEL OF CONTENT BY ADDING A VIDEO ELEMENT TO THE AUDIO MEDIUM. MEDIA - THROUGHOUT 2023, BBB WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OF THE MEDIA CONTACTS ACROSS OUR 48-COUNTY SERVICE AREA. THIS HAS LED TO REGULAR TELEVISION COVERAGE WITH WTVD, WNCN, AND SPECTRUM NEWS (WHICH REACHES ACROSS THE STATE) IN THE RALEIGH-DURHAM DMA AS WELL AS WITN AND WNCT IN THE GREENVILLE-NEW BERN-WASHINGTON DMA. THE NEW DMAS IN MYRTLE BEACH INCLUDE THE STATION WBTW, WPDE, WMBF AND IN WILMINGTON INCLUDE WECT, WWAY AND WILM. WITH THE ADDITION OF A COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST IN SC, BBB WAS ABLE TO CREATE A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH WMBF LEADING TO A WEEKLY SPOT ON THE LOCAL NOON NEWS ON THURSDAYS. OUR EFFORTS RESULTED IN A TOTAL OF 2,038 MEDIA HITS AND TOOK PART IN APPROXIMATELY 178 INTERVIEWS IN 2023. TORCH PROGRAMS - BBB AND THE BBB EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION HOSTED THE BBB TORCH AWARDS CEREMONY TO RECOGNIZE THE WINNERS OF THE BBB TORCH AWARD, BBB TORCH SCHOLARSHIPS, BBB SPARK AWARD, AND BBB SPARK JR AT PRESTONWOOD COUNTRY CLUB. BBB AND THE EF WERE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE 15 TORCH AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS, AWARD $18,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS IN OUR 48-COUNTY SERVICE AREA, $500 TO THE SPARK JR WINNER AND $2,000 TO THE BBB SPARK AWARD WINNER. BBB ADVERTISING - BBB OFFERS SEVERAL DIFFERENT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCREDITED BUSINESSES, INCLUDING GOOGLE DISPLAY ADS AND ENHANCED LISTING ADS ON BBB.ORG. THE PROGRAMS HAVE A COMBINED 92 PARTICIPANTS. SCAMBUSTERS - BBB'S PRESENTATION DESIGNED TO TEACH ATTENDEES, TYPICALLY STUDENTS, TO RECOGNIZE AND AVOID SCAMS, REACHED ROUGHLY 2,000 PEOPLE IN OUR TERRITORY IN 2023.