Interview with Bastian Dahm, Sales Director DACH at Trusted Shops. The seal of approval for online retail with buyer protection
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The interview about Trusted Shops to read
I: Hello and welcome to a new episode of ‚Sunday is Monday‘. My name is Florian Ibe and today we are here in the hallowed halls of Trusted Shops. Next to me is Bastian Lahm, Sales Director DACH Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Thank you for having us here.
Yes, hello Florian. Welcome and it's nice that you're here.
I: Tell us, what exactly is Trusted Shops?
G: Gladly. Trusted Shops offers a seal of approval for all online shops; a certified audit of the shop is carried out. This is linked to customer reviews, which contain authentic feedback from all buyers of the shop, as well as buyer protection.
I: What does „authentic“ mean in this case?
G: Authentic means that these are genuine reviews from real people and customers who have actually made a purchase in the online shop.
I: So, I can’t just contact my friends and say: ‚Please review my online shop and say how great everything is‘. That wouldn’t work, a purchase really has to be made?
G: Exactly, that means if your friends had bought from you, you could of course contact them, you should even do that. But it is a closed system and only someone who has demonstrably bought from you can actually leave a review.
I: When do I, as a shop owner, need Trusted Shops?
G: Integrating a seal of approval with the collection of customer feedback is worthwhile from day one, i.e. as soon as the shop goes live, because it is simply important as one component among many others, such as optimal payment options, to get it right from the start.
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I: Does that mean you actively support the online shop owner?
G: We actively support the online operator in that our product is designed to accompany the customer’s complete customer journey in the online shop. This means everything from the first search to customer loyalty.
I: Okay. So, you are still active and doing something for the shop owner even after the order process?
G: Exactly, that’s when we become really active. The shop owners send out requests for shop or product reviews, or both, after a received order. In addition, we offer our buyer protection, with which customers can additionally cover their purchase.
I: So, I have a positive effect for the shop owner, but also for the shop buyer, i.e. the one who actually shops in the online shop.
G: Exactly. So, on the one hand, the feedback can be wonderfully used upfront in AdWords searches, because the stars are displayed there with appropriate AdWords placement, and this visual effect catches the eye of the searcher. On the other hand, over 12 million users in Germany alone already use and have used our buyer protection, which demonstrably shows that a very large part of purchasing power values it.
I: What does buyer protection mean, what kind of security do I have as a buyer?
G: Buyer protection essentially secures the shipment of goods.
I: Okay. So, up to what amount? Can I now order something for 5,000 EUR, or what does security mean?
G: Yes, you can secure up to 20,000 EUR with our buyer protection.
I: Does it matter how much I buy? That means if I have numerous online activities every week, I shop at many different places and all of them are Trusted Shops certified, then I have buyer protection for every order?
G: Exactly. You have to distinguish between two variants. There is a free membership up to 100 EUR, and beyond that, for 9.90 EUR for one year, you can secure all purchases in all shops certified by us up to a purchase value of 20,000 EUR.
I: How many shops and shop owners are currently certified?
G: Over 25,000 shops across Europe carry the Trusted Shops seal.
I: Quite a lot already, you have firmly established yourselves in the market and are truly one of the players you can trust and who won’t disappear from the market tomorrow. How long have you been on the market?
G: We have been on the market since 1999 and have continuously evolved with the market since then, adapting our offerings to meet changing needs.
I: That means you can really offer added value for both sides and not just for the shop owner, as many others do.
G: Exactly, that’s the beauty of our product: on the one hand, we have the certification of the shop, for which the seal of approval is then awarded, which represents an enormous advantage for the shop owner because it directly signals trust to the outside world. The reviews are indeed a doubly useful aid, because on the one hand the shop regularly receives feedback on its performance, and on the other hand potential new customers can find out whether this shop is trustworthy and whether it delivers the quality it promises.
I: We’ve talked a lot about how the buyer is protected, but what does it really do for the shop owner?
G: The advantage for the shop owner actually lies in the fact that it starts already during the search by potential buyers. I already mentioned that the stars are displayed in the search results for AdWords and Google. In case of doubt, if someone has entered a search term, the stars will catch their eye, and they will then click on this ad and land in the shop. It is of course important that clear call-to-actions are linked or, ideally, that you land directly on the product page. The potential buyer, if they don’t know the shop yet, asks themselves whether they can trust the shop and who is behind it. At this moment, thanks to the customer reviews in addition to the certification and the associated display of the seal of approval, they have the opportunity to find out whether this shop is actually trustworthy.
I: That means wherever I see this ‚E‘ from Trusted Shops, the seal that almost everyone knows, I can assume that this shop is certified and that I am protected there and can have confidence without ever having ordered there.
G: Exactly, because we only award the seal of approval after a certification. This is carried out by our in-house experts, who conduct an intensive audit based on German and European legal principles, which is regularly adapted and focuses on matters such as the right of withdrawal and general terms and conditions.
I: Is this really a certification, meaning someone manually sits there and does it, or does an algorithm simply run through and say what’s good and what’s not?
G: We actually have 30 certifiers in-house who spend all day reviewing and certifying new and existing shops.
I: You just said that 30 people are really sitting there and certifying the online shop. What does that mean exactly?
G: Specifically, it means that each shop gets an individual contact person who tests criteria such as accessibility, identity verification, the right of withdrawal, and the products, the presentation of payment, delivery and payment, and the complete ordering process. What’s exciting is that this individual contact person gets in touch with the shop operator and informs them about the current status, but also explains with illustrative examples what still needs to be corrected or adjusted in the ongoing certification.
I: I know that myself from us as an agency, which also looks after online shops. But now you really send examples, including links to the legal text, which we will go into in more detail later. For a layman who can handle online shops a little, it is absolutely feasible with your instructions.
G: Definitely.
I: You really get the feedback that people call you and ask what exactly they have to do because they haven’t quite understood something. Are you really a contact person where I can call or send an email?
G: That is even desired. We are actually set up in such a way that from the beginning of membership with Trusted Shops, in addition to the contact person for certification, as a member of the Customer Success Unit, i.e. our existing customer support, you also have a fixed contact person. It is often a real interplay of these three people during certification. We are of course available by phone and email and are happy to help.
I: All-round service, whether buyer or seller?
G: Absolutely. You emphasized it, also for the buyer, because we are always available to end consumers via our Consumer Unit and are happy to answer their questions too. We really cover both sides completely and individually.
I: Before the purchase, during the purchase and after the purchase, if problems arise or if there are questions, both parties are welcome to contact you?
G: They are always welcome to contact us and will be looked after by real people and not by machines.
I: So this is not a dull online chat, but real people.
G: We also offer a chat function, of course, for people who don’t feel like calling or writing an email, but we are completely flexible.
I: Now the certification is there, I get the message ‚Your online shop is certified‘. How long does it take approximately until the seal is activated?
G: You have to differentiate. As soon as you have registered with Trusted Shops, you can collect reviews, because you immediately receive a code after registration that you can integrate into the shop. You can collect reviews immediately. Certification usually takes one to two weeks, but of course it also depends a little on the shop operator, how intensively they deal with it and how much needs to be changed in the end.
I: But if the certification is now complete, do I get my seal immediately?
G: Yes, then you get your seal immediately and can install it.
I: What options do I have now after successful certification?
G: After successful certification, you can really use the complete range, meaning you display the seal, thus integrating buyer protection, which are also coupled to each other. The review, as I said, from the beginning. What is important with reviews is that you actually have the possibility to collect them in different ways. You can either do this automatically and set a time after a successful purchase when the customer receives the review request, or you collect email addresses and then send them out all at once. This depends a little on the taste of the shop operator, perhaps also a little on their customer base, because you also experience that there are more responses at certain times of the day or even on certain days of the week than at others. We always recommend that shop operators test a little at the beginning and, if they decide to collect individually, to align it accordingly.
I: You have an automated process. Which shop systems can you offer? How does this integration work? Just a brief summary, please don't get too technical.
G: The most common shop systems are fully certified with us and integration here is really possible with little effort within a few minutes.
I: So really just download the module, establish the interface and off you go.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
I: You said there are also product reviews, so not only reviews for the entire shop itself, but also individual products. How does that work?
G: You can send a product review request coupled with the shop review, which is also charming in that you don’t have to send two review requests and thus risk annoying the customer. The great thing about product reviews is that you can place them directly with the products, also in the shopping view, and thus display realistic feedback about the product directly in your shop at this point. There’s really no way around it. I always like to compare this with a retail store. If I go into a store, I have the opportunity to touch the product, I don’t have this chance in an online shop, and it is all the more important to describe the product understandably and ideally to collect and display product reviews that show potential buyers how the product works, what the advantages and disadvantages are. This is incredibly helpful in the finding phase of the purchasing process.
I: It is always combined, so an email is sent with the request to rate the purchase and the product, and this gives me a huge added value, as you said, you don’t have to annoy people twice, it is automated and is then displayed as a proper integration under the product. This is ideal for Google AdWords and offers great added value through the stars.
G: The stars are displayed in the shopping search.
I: I recently read about Trusted Shop – Local reviews. What is that all about?
G: Local Reviews are intended for retail stores that want to collect feedback in the store. This usually works by placing a tablet next to the cash register and submitting the review after a successful purchase in the store.
I: Okay, is that also linked to the online profile, meaning someone who shops online can read the review from a local sale?
G: Exactly, that's why it's a very exciting link between offline and online and can be used vice versa.
I: But it also works offline only. So Trusted Shops is no longer only tied to an online shop?
G: In theory, you can also use this function exclusively for the retail store, but you still get an online profile from us that you can also display there, for example, if you have a website.
I: Similar to restaurant reviews, where you might put a sticker on the door, the store then has the Trusted Shop ‚E‘ seal somewhere and can say that this local shop is certified and that you can shop here and have the assurance that it is good.
G: It wouldn't be certified, but at least it collects feedback about us.
I: I could stand in front of the shop with my phone, look at the reviews, and then decide whether or not to go in.
G: Or not.
I: Or not… exactly! That's a really cool feature. What do I need to do if I'm interested in that now?
G: You are welcome to contact us or simply order directly online and then download the software directly. In principle, this works just as easily as the integration of the seal of approval.
I: That sounds very cool. Trusted Shops has been around for a few years now, you said you were founded in 1999 and have experienced the entire e-commerce era. What would you say will be new in 2018, when everything is so sophisticated with algorithms and automatisms?
G: We are currently in the process of launching a new additional option for the GDPR. With the help of this additional option, companies can also get support from us on this topic.
I: General Data Protection Regulation, a very important topic. It starts on May 28th, then it will really become critical for entrepreneurs, especially for online entrepreneurs… or not. What are you doing in that regard?
G: I think it’s even May 25th. Our Legal Experts are happy to help with advice and support.
I: Legal Experts specifically means?
G: That is our legal department, where our lawyers deal with these topics and are also happy to provide individual legal advice.
I: So I can contact Trusted Shops if I can have my online shop certified by you?
G: Yes, very gladly. With the Legal Experts… and perhaps it should also be mentioned at this point that our certification already proceeds according to the new regulations in the examination.
I: If I get certified now, everything has already been checked. How long have you been doing that?
G: We’ve been doing that for a few weeks now.
I: That means I’m also covered by a legal text provider and co. and can say that my shop is GDPR compliant.
G: Exactly, although it must always be emphasized that the legal text provider is of course available in various versions and, especially with regard to the GDPR, I absolutely recommend choosing one of the paid versions, because only here, compared to the free version, are you actually informed about the news.
I: The few euros for a legal text provider are worth it. Please briefly explain in a few sentences, what is the legal text provider?
G: With the legal text provider, depending on the company form, you can set up the general terms and conditions, cancellation policy and imprint for the online shop.
I: In this case, it is really important to choose the paid version to be safe, because the penalties are very high. You should not simply google „data protection generator“ and copy something together from somewhere and believe that the online shop is then secured.
G: That is definitely recommended.
I: Bastian, let's be clear. Why Trusted Shops?
G: Florian, our product is unique. It consists of the seal of approval, buyer protection and customer reviews. Not least of all, additional options such as product reviews, the traffic package or protection against warnings, which we also briefly discussed. This uniqueness offers, in addition to the customer journey that I briefly described at the beginning, the possibility to satisfy all parties, whether end consumers or shop operators.
I: Your overall construct provides added value for buyers and sellers alike, and you also have a seal of trust. In combination, the seal and review, which can of course also lead to more sales.
G: At this point, it might be interesting to mention that there are various studies. The last one from Elaboratum from last winter. This clearly shows again that the combination of seal and especially reviews are a very success-enhancing factor.
I: So an increase in sales is really realistic and we also notice that as an agency partner where the seal is integrated into small online shops that are just entering the market, and especially with high-priced products, more sales are made.
G: With correct integration, and this must always be emphasized, as you also know from your daily work, a lot can go wrong. With correct integration and use, success is virtually guaranteed.
I: I would like to mention one more point at the end. There is the Review Collector, as you call it, for collecting reviews, which also has a cool function. I can upload up to 1,000 customer data in combination with the order and can send them an automated review request, even if I was not yet Trusted Shop certified last year.
G: Not automated, but manual. It is sent out automatically. At this point, I always recommend that shop operators really think about how far back in time they want to go. But everyone knows their customers best in case of doubt.
I: Exactly, you can also select nicely there, maybe call a few beforehand or you also have regular buyers and they should of course not be missing from the list.
G: Basically, however, I would recommend writing to every customer, that’s what we stand for with our name, that we really want authentic feedback and there is simply the greatest chance to write to everyone.
I: If anyone still has doubts, they can contact you. You have people there who you can call, send an email to, who will answer questions and clear up doubts.
G: Personal contact persons are available to all interested parties at any time, and to avoid waiting times, we also offer call-back options so that every customer can be served quickly and easily.
I: Yes Bastian, thank you very much for the helpful interview. I think we have summarized in short points what Trusted Shops can really offer, that there are people here who can really help them and that there is a common mission for buyers, sellers and online trade, but also locally of course. Since we are here in Cologne, there will also be a Kölsch at the end. Cheers.
Cheers. We've earned it. Nice that you were here, Florian.
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