Safebuy Revisited

[george]

We've twice had emails lately from Safebuy offering us the chance to apply for an Office of Fair Trading Logo (http://www.oft.gov.uk/oft_at_work/consumer_initiatives/codes/).

The only issue being that you have to email your customers requesting that they fill in a survey about their shopping experience with you.

Now, I dont have a problem with asking customers how we did, as you do get to see the results so the feedback might actually be a good help in terms of how you can improve for the future, and perhaps highlight any issues they had that you were perhaps unaware of.

What I do have a problem with is emailing customers asking them to fill in this survey as we have very strict procedures in place that we never email customers on behalf of a third party, even if it is a survey which should benefit us.

Actually, the email has an edge of blackmail to it saying... ***We cannot get the OFT logo for you until you have done the final research*** ... in bold text.

Has anyone done this? Or queried it? I've just sent an email questioning the emailing of the survey and I'll let you know what they say.

Nice to see a bit of progress, but maybe using the John Wayne logo will be a lot less hassle.

[Mike Hughes]

I've seen the emails but haven't got around to querying it. I did send them an email a few weeks back about progress on the OFT logo but didn't get a reply.

I find their email a bit non-specific as it doesn't actually say that they are in a position to use the oft logo. All it says is that if we don't send the survey to our customers then they won't be able to. There are no timescales and this has dragged on for far too long. I don't think I'll be renewing my subscription until they're actually in a position to allow members to use the logo.

The survey is nonsense too. It has questions about how they got to the site, whether the customer used the sites search facility and stuff like that. What's that got to do with a code of practice? It's basic survey practice that you limit questions to the topic being surveyed.

I will not be sending my customers a survey that asks market intelligence questions for a 3rd party.

Mike

[george]

I will not be sending my customers a survey that asks market intelligence questions for a 3rd party.


For someone allegedly promoting good codes of practice its bizzare that they are virtually insisting that you emailing your customers with a survey that you have no control over any questions asked or even the feedback from them.

[Darren B]

G i dumped it after the last thread, to be honest it has made not one ounce of difference to sales. I would expect a drop considering the current climate but there is very little difference to this time last year.

They way im looking, holding steady or small drop in sales is a bonus. IMHO i dont think safe buy contributed to extra sales.

Interesting now i have cancelled all emails stip, not even an email requesting me to reconsider, or asking me why. I expected something

Now the question is, would you be able to use the OFT logo, im scheptical as they have been banging on about it for over 2 years.

Letting my customer rate me, well i guess i can choose the ones that have thanked me for a great service and not email the ones had a lost delivery or complained about something this is rare, but my order shipped email has extra line asking people to reply if they had a good or bad experience probably as much as 25% do and just about all favourable as its a click to reply. so not hard work for them.

might be worth adding then you can build a list of selected customers, but im sure this is not what your suppose to do ;)

[Mike Hughes]

I just called safebuy and talked this through with them.

It seems that final OFT approval could be as quick as a few months away. They need to show the OFT that Safebuy members are doing better than the average website and the survey is their way of doing this.

The fly in the ointment is that the OFT apparently want 90% of members to participate in the survey and we know this isn't going to happen.

I think the number of members participating would be much higher if the survey stuck to the topic, so hopefully they'll bear this in mind for the next time around.

Mike

[parklifeclothes]

IMHO i dont think safe buy contributed to extra sales.


We are just looking at signing up with something like Safebuy but from your experience you say you've seen no real increase.

Could it be because your customers (I'm assuming they are mostly male) tend to be more trusting with who they give details to?

Are women (that make up the majority of our customers) less trusting so will look for the logo to give them that cosy and safe feeling?

[Mike Hughes]

I'm using safebuy and SSL on the checkout and can honestly say that I don't think they've really made one bit of difference.

I suspect a single, well placed testimonial on the website is probably far more effective for any consumer site. Maybe if it was financial services then some kind of regulatory approval is important, but other than that I think everyone knows that if stuff doesn't arrive or is wrong you just send it back. If the retailer doesn't play ball then you go to your card company and/or trading standards. What is the actual purpose of Safebuy?

Mike

[grantglendinnin]

In line with Actinic's Safebuy promotion and offer of a free 6-month trial, I signed up about a month ago for the free trial - has it made an impact on sales? No, not that I'm aware of. Viewing stats, it seems less than 1% of visitors have actually clicked the Safebuy logo to see that we're 'Verified':rolleyes:

[Duncan Rounding]

I still think you can create your own logo and place that on your site and have the same impact. Set it up to click on the logo and go to your own brochure page stating your code of ethics.

I think ratings and feedback comments from real customers carry much greater worth.

[george]

feedback comments from real customers carry much greater worth.


*gets an idea for a rotating customer comment thingy in a sidebar box*


Nice one o curvy named one!

[grantglendinnin]

*gets an idea for a rotating customer comment thingy in a sidebar box*
That's just what I started working on! Though useless for SEO as it's Javascript-controlled. Gave up on that solution and now working on a php version, so here goes:D

[parklifeclothes]

Stinkyink seems to have made his own 'security' award (still has 'proper' ones)so maybe thats the way to go

[animal dreams]

<rant>We cancelled our membership with Safebuy in January after no effect on sales. Then received an invoice in February and reconfirmed cancellation twice.

I have now found that they took subscription by direct debit this month. :eek:

Can't get any answer on their phone line.

Doesn't get my recommendation to the OFT. :mad: </rant>

[grantglendinnin]

<rant>We cancelled our membership with Safebuy in January after no effect on sales. Then received an invoice in February and reconfirmed cancellation twice.
Cancelled in writing? Then you're sorted - I took advantage of the free trial Actinic have put on the table but as yet I've noticed no difference whatsoever, doubt it'll be worthwhile to pay for an annual subscription after the end of the 6 months.

[Mike Hughes]

I got spammed yesterday by some shopping mall that's apparently now 'in parternship' with safebuy. I forwarded it to them asking what it as all about. No reply yet.

Mike

[grantglendinnin]

I got spammed yesterday by some shopping mall that's apparently now 'in parternship' with safebuy. I forwarded it to them asking what it as all about. No reply yet.

Mike

I got this too. Guy phoned up and said they've just secured a partnership with Safebuy and the OFT and to go to their website. I can't remember what the site was but definitely referred to themselves as some form of 'mall'. Needless to say their startup costs were worse than E-Directory.

EDIT:
This will be it (http://www.mymall.at/)

[animal dreams]

Btw - I didn't get any info on the proposed customer survey!

Nor spam from any shopping mall :D

[grantglendinnin]

Morning All

The 6-month free Actinic trial has come to an end and renewal is required today, of £109.25 per annum.

Just wondering what others have experienced when using the free trial - have you seen a noticeable increase in sales, or a decrease? Has the SafeBuy subscription (and logo on your site) had any adverse effects on the day to day running of your site/business?

I know the renewal is pennies for pounds, but is it really all that worth it or simply another waste of cash?

[pinbrook]

I'm using safebuy and SSL on the checkout and can honestly say that I don't think they've really made one bit of difference.

I suspect a single, well placed testimonial on the website is probably far more effective for any consumer site. Maybe if it was financial services then some kind of regulatory approval is important, but other than that I think everyone knows that if stuff doesn't arrive or is wrong you just send it back. If the retailer doesn't play ball then you go to your card company and/or trading standards. What is the actual purpose of Safebuy?

Mike in line with my own online shopping behaviour, i find increasingly that i look for product reveiws to help me decide what to buy. I also tend to use the bigger sites - this is hard to quantify as my own business depends on the sucess of independants.

I'd be interested in what others use as the trigger to buy..

price
ease of navigation on site
logos
reviews
trusted name
free p&p

etc etc

[Mike Hughes]

I'll probably drop safebuy as I think the money could be better spent elsewhere.

As Jo says, peer reviews and comments are far more important influencers of where to buy as well as what to buy than a logo that can be bought by anyone.

Mike

[grantglendinnin]

Good points, thanks.

I was thinking of sending a mailing list out, offering £X or X% off their next order if they submit a product review. Initially a loss but in the end I would expect an increase in sales, particularly come the new year as it's 'that time of year' again.