Trusted Canada Blog | Trusted Media Coverage

Trusted Saskatoon.com Talk to the Experts- The Trusted Show - What is Trusted about and why do businesses want to be Trusted?

23. Jun 2012 Trusted Canada Trusted Media Coverage, Trusted Saskatoon Businesses

www.trustedsaskatoon.com is proud to be hosting a Talk to the Experts show " The Trusted Show' Every Month on Newstalk 650 ..the first show aired June 9th.

Sara Wheelwright the Trusted founder and 3 Trusted Partners- Marla Janzen a Trusted SASKATOON REALTOR, Ken Eade , owner of 3'n 1 Construction a Trusted SASKATOON CONTRACTOR and Leanne Falkowsky owner of the URBAN WALL a Trusted SASKATOON PAINTER joined Brent Loucks to chat about Trusted .

Click on the 2 you Tube Videos below on the Trusted Channel for Parts 1 and 2 ENJOY!!

Trusted has BIG advertising claims...here we substantiate them!

8. May 2012 Trusted Canada Trusted Media Coverage, Trusted Website

www.trustedsaskatoon.com and www.trustedregina.com are advertised very heavily in the cities they service ...and we do that for one reason and one reason only ..to educate the public about the directories and what they stand for...In doing so we can ruffle feathers of businesses that aren't Trusted, as well as organizations and businesses who may percieve us to be in ' competition' with them ...and although we are absolutely transparent in all our dealings - all the information required to substantiate our claims can be found easily in our blogs ( and blog archives), on our websites, in our reviews & testimonials..or if that is not enough or too time consuming then we are just a call or an email away ..and we GUARANTEE we will get back to you in a timely manner.

When we are advertising...we advertise TO the public ( not to businesses), and as the public has never had a service like Trusted before it is important to explain what the directories are, how they operate, what are the many features and benefits of going to Trusted over other directories and websites out there.... and what we ( Trusted) as a business, brand and organization STAND FOR!

We understand that the cynics and other organizations that perhaps feel threatened out there will mutter,grumble and try to find holes in our business philosophy ..and we have had comments like:

"what makes these businesses TRUSTED?"

" why should we trust you?"

" the businesses pay to be members...so you must work for them and be biased"

" There is always a risk..how can you be sure a business won't RIP you off"

(The last one was a comment direct from the Better Business Bureau of Saskatchewan to us on 24th April 2012)

So this blog is meant to clearly lay out our Marketing and to explain who we are and what we do in the simplest terms!!

Trusted claims

"WE ARE THE ONLY DIRECTORY THAT WORKS FOR YOU"

Trusted is invested in providing the best local directory and local resource library possible for the public...

Trusted has provided a service that removes the work and stress out of choosing a business when a need arises..how do we do that ?

TRUSTED DOES EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ENSURE WE ONLY FEATURE GREAT BUSINESSES ....this means you can be assured that when you choose one of the Trusted businesses that you are choosing wisely-

Firstly we don't just ' cold call' businesses randomly ...Trusted businesses come recommended or nominated.. by other businesses or by friends, suppliers, clients and the public ...

When we did our research we were surprised that other 'seemingly similar-ish ' organizations criteria to be endorsed is just being in business for a year ..or because they are a big business, or even just because they are affiliated to other organizations or 3rd parties .....not Trusted... we know that there are MUCH more important factors than tenure or size when choosing a business ..we are more interested in integrity, service and quality... and you would be amazed at how many nominations we get through the websites on a weekly basis!

Trusted staff check THE BASICS... licenses, insurances and WE ensure they have the qualifications required to do what they do....

Then we gather a minimum of 25 names and numbers of clients of the business applying, we call a portion of them to check out references and we survey them..with a few closed, but mostly OPEN ENDED questions- look at the listings on the directories and you will see they all start with testimonials, this is where they came from and we can be on the phone for quite sometime chatting with these people...and hearing about their personal experiences!

If we get average feedback on the business or any bad feedback we DO NOT proceed with the businesses Trusted application...it is not EASY to be Trusted... we set the bar high.

Here is a picture of just some of the surveys - from 1 Trusted Saskatoon Contractor - 3 n'1 Construction

After the business has passed that stage of the application we sign a contract with the business, where they sign to uphold the

TRUSTED GUARANTEES

1.Provide the service and quality promised.

2.Complete the job on time.

3.Charge the price quoted with NO surprises.

4.Communicate honestly and be responsive to customer needs.

5.Resolve any issues with customer satisfaction in mind.

ONLY Then do we feature them on the directory as Trusted!

Do we say they are the BEST ? No

Do we say they offer the MOST value or quality or that they are better than others? No

We simply say that you can TRUST them.. they have put themselves out there and proven to TRUSTED that they will do all they can to live up to our reasonable expectations...and then some!

Oh and just to be sure, we have a Mystery Shopper Program ...this is to add in an additional security check and if they have issues in the mystery shop that are not resolved or if we hear and it is proven that they have not upheld the guarantees we will ( and have )REMOVE a business from the directory....

Just click on our Google Places and read the reviews on us.... in particular read Tracy D's review...she came to us with a problem..and TRUSTED helped her....she is not the first and she will not be the last that comes to us for help .....as she said we ARE the REAL DEAL...and have lots of evidence to prove it....but with out express consent of the parties involved we will not share any other specifics in this most public of forums....we value the Trusted Businesses and the individual members of the publics right to privacy.

On top of this EVERY YEAR the businesses must re- qualify to retain their status...TRUST is earned not GIVEN!

In addition to this rigourous and lengthy unique Trusted verification process, we work for the public in another way ...by keeping in close contact with the businesses to gather Tips and resources for the public..we ask the public through our many social media platforms ( FB and Twitter being just some of them ) what they want to know..then we provide the answers in our Trusted Tips both in the blogs and by means of our Global TV weekly Tips (* which can be easily accessed on our You Tube Channel! See below for a great example of us working FOR the public and helping them have their voice heard by business)

" NO RISK ..JUST TRUSTED BUSINESSES THAT WILL NOT RIP YOU OFF"

Everything we do at Trusted combines to substantiate this claim.. ....

From the process we just out lined above...

To something as simple as restricting the NUMBER of Trusted Businesses to maximum of just 3 per category.....

Ask your self.....how can any business that positions them selves as having high standards like ours possibly manage 400, 500 , 600 + businesses .....and ensure high standards are maintained? ..IT's IMPOSSIBLE ...unless you have unilmited resources and staff.....we know that Yellow pages, other online directories and the BBB would be unable to do what we do ..they have 1000's of businesses to ' police ' and they simply don't have the resources, systems or money available ..and most are driven soley by profit so they lack any inclination to DO what Trusted is doing....they have their place...we have ours ...we promote the TRUSTED businesses ..they list some of ours too...along with lots of other businesses; some that do not meet our strict criterea along with others that might ....Trusted values all of these other organizations that have some type of standards ...anyone trying to improve business practices in the marketplace is a good thing for consumers ..and for the public...

However when you add all of this together it is clear that Trusted really is....the SMART & SIMPLE CHOICE!

Stay Trusted my friends..SAFE & TRUSTED Of course!

Trusted Saskatoon in Canadian Business Journal Feature on Saskatoon Tourism

6. May 2012 Trusted Canada Trusted Media Coverage

www.trustedsaskatoon.com latest ad in the Canadian Busness Journal who did a special feature on Saskatoon Tourism

We are proud to support Tourism saskatoon and offer a great service to all tourists visiting saskatoon..from Hotels to Spas ..we have the ones that are Guaranteed to be Trusted and to offer the best service..no risk!

The Smart and Simple Choice

Trusted Founder is inteviewed by Star Phoenix and Global as www.trustedregina.com launches to public

19. Apr 2012 Trusted Canada Trusted Media Coverage

Websites help identify trustworthy businesses

By Jenn Sharp, The StarPhoenix April 19, 2012

Sara Wheelwright began Trusted Saskatoon less than a year ago and launched Trusted Regina on Monday. The websites are a service directory of businesses Wheelwright and her staff have fully researched. Trusted partners are held accountable for their business dealings and contribute tips and advice to the website for consumers. Along with the sites are blogs full of mystery shopping reviews conducted by the Trusted staff and a YouTube channel. Here, Wheelwright tells StarPhoenix business reporter Jenn Sharp how she's grown her business so fast and why she started it.

Q: What's the concept of Trusted Saskatoon?

A: I thought there was a gap in the market. I have an 18year background in advertising. I wanted to provide something that works for the public - an agency that finds businesses that deserve the promotion and informs the public about them in a different way. People are going online for answers now. We want to make the whole process simple. We chose the 40 most-used advertising categories. When they go to our site they have a choice of a maximum of three in each category. We try to find different personalities for mortgage specialists and real estate agents. We also demand a lot from the Trusted partners. We become a group that works for each other. If any of the partners lets us down it affects everybody. They're contracted to uphold the five Trusted guarantees. They're told that if we get a complaint and it's found they've done something with intent or lost integrity, they'll be removed immediately from the site. We don't mess around.

Q: Why do you only have three per category?

A: We're trying to make the process easy. If you have 10, how do you choose? The listings are very comprehensive. The testimonials are from surveys we do with clients. We ask for 25 clients' names and numbers from each of the businesses. We then call a portion of them and we're looking from good to great reviews. We're talking to the public and they tell us great stories about their dealings with the businesses. We use those testimonials to start off the listings - real testimonials from real people. I think we're the only place online that qualifies these testimonials because we're speaking to the people ourselves.

Q: How many staff do you employ?

A: I have four lovely ladies. Two are based in Saskatoon and two in Regina. As we expand, I'm going to be solidifying the province first of all and then going into Alberta, starting with Calgary, we'll be taking on more staff. There's a lot of work to signing up companies. We're constantly in touch with the partners and asking them for tips for the site. People do research online before they buy. It's much nicer to have people in Saskatoon or Regina giving potential customers tips before they buy. It's elevating our partners as the experts and getting them engaged with the public.

Q: How did you come up with the idea?

A: I moved here from England in 2006. When you immigrate to the middle of Canada, it's not worth the freight so I had sold everything I owned in England and came over with clothes and shoes - all the important things! I had to fill a house with everything. The excitement of shopping wore off because it's really not what it was when I was back in England and I knew the shops. It was so labour intensive. I stumbled upon some good ones but a lot of the smaller businesses don't have the budget to get your attention. I had some bad experiences. It's easy to do business when things go easy. Once things don't that's really the difference between a good and a great business. One of the things that I always speak about with the trusted partners is that nobody should be in a position of loss because they chose to deal with you. That's a foundation of Trusted Saskatoon.

Q: You're expanding rapidly - how have you done this?

A: Trusted Saskatoon launched May 30 last year. Scotia Bank is a preferred bank of immigration and they hand out flyers to immigrants that come to see them. We focus on everybody because everybody has those moments where a need arises and they don't know who to turn to. We also run ads on community radio on the weekend in every single foreign language show. On seven of the shows we have the ad voiced in the language of the show. An old marketing term is 'speak to the dog in the language of the dog.' One of the things that you miss as a new person coming to a new country is your language, your food and your music. That's a way to engage with the immigrant population who, a lot of the time, become insulated because they've been ripped off. We get a lot of people looking at auto repair and service too. A lot of our fans on Facebook are women. I think we appeal more to women because they tend to be the ones that do the calling. This started because I got ripped off when I first came here by a plumbing company. Thanks to that company that was the big kick to put this idea down on paper. I got a phone call from one of my contractors who's amazed at how many calls he gets - about one a day. He said that his business, since last year, has grown 400 per cent. He went from employing one guy to three crews. More importantly, he's making sure that he instils that integrity and honesty in the people that work for him. Those are the people that deserve this recognition.

Sara Wheelwright owns the websites Trusted Saskatoon and Trusted Regina. Photograph by: Richard Marjan, The Starphoenix ,

The StarPhoenix Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Websites+help+identify+trustworthy+businesses/6482636/story.html#ixzz1sUsLyECt

Here is the Global Regina interview with Rusty and Sara from April 16th 2012

TRUSTED SASKATOON.com DIRECTORY and TRUSTED REGINA.com DIRECTORY reach Major Milestones and more GREAT NEWS!!

25. Mar 2012 Trusted Canada Trusted Directory Launch, Trusted Media Coverage, Trusted Website

Trust is Growing week on week in Saskatchewan in more ways than one ....it is less than 10 months since S & E Trusted Online Directories launched www.trustedsaskatoon.com to Saskatoon and surrounding area public with a mass media advertising campaign...with the focus being education and branding the public to the Philospophy that is Trusted and we are getting pretty well known in Saskatoon now!

www.trustedregina.com is launching to the public in just 4 weeks on April 16th and already the traffic numbers on the Regina directory are amazing, considering we have had just sporadic media coverage there over the last few months...the analytics show that the well planned and executed Local SEO means that the majority of our traffic comes from being found organically on Google as people search for local products and services from TRUSTED Providers....this translates into sales for the Trusted Partners, which is great for them, as until we launch the advertising campaign- this is FREE time for them, and we have already had report back of successes from a Number of the Trusted Regina partners that have had actual sales and new clients...just shows how smart they were getting on first to maximise on the free time!!! Media coverage will be increasing over the next few weeks..so watch this space!

This weekend Saskatoon enjoyed its annual HOMESTYLES Home show, which is always a well attended event , but especially now in Saskatoon where the economy is booming....so many people are building, renovating and planning home improvements and 1000's of people were at the show..a BIG percentage of them were SERIOUS SHOPPERS, and alot of the people will be deciding who to choose from the show to buy from/hire to do work over the next few weeks...14 of the Trusted Saskatoon Partners were at the show and were displaying their Trusted status proudly with Stickers, flyers, plaques and they made sure to tell the interested public what that meant to them!!

The Trusted Team went along to the show to support the Trusted partners by taking pictutres and sharing the pics via Tweets & Facebook updates..many had draw prizes, contests and giveaways and soon we were laden down with Balloons and candy..most were very busy talking to interested potential clients , so we were just able to wave and ' Give the Thumbs up' as we took pics and complimented them on their stunning booths!

We did manage to chat for a little while to Dave Anderchek, the owner of J.A.B.A Construction who are a well know and respected Trusted SASKATOON CONTRACTOR & SASKATOON RENOVATION & DESIGN business and he is just loving being part of Trusted.. he was AMAZED at the amount of people who had come up to them at the show and told them they had seen J.A.B.A on www.trustedsaskatoon.com and that it really meant something to them...the SASKATOON public DO CARE about choosing Trusted Businesses and in 10months we have managed to break through the barriers of cynicism to make impressions on people...they believe in Trusted and now Dave and the other Trusted partners at the show know it too, as they have seen how they were able to differentiate themselves in a positive and effective manner at that show! We are a directory like no other ....and the public are telling us and our Trusted Partners that we are FILLING A NEED out there in the cut throat world of advertising and in the world of ' average customers service' as standard ..our Trusted Partners offer REMARKABLE service day in day out!

www.trustedsaskatoon.com has also met one of it's main objectives this week..we are now able to brag that we have at LEAST 1 Trusted option in the 40 categories on the directory..Outdoor Living & Recreation ( our newest Category and one that our Facebook fans requested ) has it's first Trusted listing PREMIUM HOME LEISURE ( Trusted Saskatoon Spa, Hot tub and Outdoor living and Recreation experts) ...20 of our categories are full ( 3 Trusted options) and we have other categories covered with our many Trusted banner advertisers - Pest control - Kreepy Kritterz, Jewellers- Batemans, Auctioneer- Bodnarus, Home Inspection - Across the board, , Mould Remediation- Got Mold? and there are more business signed up and coming on board in Categories and as more banners soon...this means we are able to offer the Saskatoon public a better service ongoing..as our SASKATOON Directory of GUARANTEED Trusted locally accountable excellent businesses grows each week ..don't forget to check out all the wonderful TRUSTED TIPS that our Trusted local experts provide.

www.trustedregina.com has met one of it's first major milestones this week too..with 4 weeks left to go to our APRIL 16TH MASS MEDIA PUBLIC LAUNCH we are now able to brag that we have at LEAST 1 Trusted option in 30 of the 40 categories on the directory..this week alone we added trusted options to Regina Health & Wellness, Plumbing and Air-conditioning & Furnace. 9 of our categories are full ( 3 Trusted options) and we have other categories covered with our banner advertisers - Jewellers- FIRE & ICE, Auctioneer- Bodnarus and there are more business coming on board in other Categories very soon... this means we are able to offer the Regina public a better service ongoing..as our REGINA Directory of GUARANTEED Trusted locally acountable excellent businesses grows each week ..don't forget to check out all the wonderful TRUSTED TIPS that our Trusted local experts provide.

It's weeks like that that make it all worth while for Sara the TRUSTED Founder, the 90 hour work week, the neck stiff from blogging and the sometimes negative responses that the Trusted Team gets from businesses we approach...who just don't take the time to listen to how we can help them ..They don't know how we promote our Trusted Partners and make them stand out in a truly unique way ...and at the same time provide this amazing service for the public..as the businesses that DO buy into Trusted and DO uphold their end of the contract really DO benefit in so many ways..not least of which is GROWTH and REVENUE!

Heres some pics from Saskatoon homestyles show 2012 ...the year that TRUSTED businesses stood out from the Crowd...we promote the best ..other directories just list the rest!