According to a recent Marketing Sherpa study, fifty-three percent of consumers worry about sharing personal information — especially when it comes to sharing information with smaller Web sites and businesses.

E-tailers and small business owners with a Web site should establish professional privacy and disclosures policies relating to customer information to boost consumer confidence and to increase conversions. Unfortunately, for a large number of small businesses, creating and maintaining a privacy policy is not something they how to do correctly.

A survey by TRUSTe showed that fifty-six percent of small business owners have no privacy policy in place.  Even worse —the study revealed that one-third of small businesses admitted that they cut-and-pasted a privacy policy from another Web site into their own site.  Not only can this damage your own business and the business you steal a privacy policy from, but it is also creates a risky situation for your site visitors.

TRUSTe Privacy and Security Options for SMB Owners

Fran Maier, CEO of TRUSTe was not shocked by the survey results. While some may consider a lack of a legitimate privacy policy as laziness on the part of a small business Web site owner, she believes that many small businesses know this is an important issue, but they do not have the in-house knowledge or the budget to pay legal fees to implement a privacy policy.

For years TRUSTe has offered its Internet privacy services and seal (trustmark) to a number of well-known brands and corporations — for example eBay and Verizon use TRUSTe certified privacy services.  

After realizing that the need for TRUSTe services in the small business sector existed, TRUSTe launched a new Privacy Service for small and medium businesses.

The service is useful to any small to medium sized business that needs a privacy policy, and different plans include the right to display the TRUSTe Verified Seal — something that will benefit SMBs and especially e-commerce businesses.

Why Privacy Policies Matter for Small E-commerce Businesses

The problem is that many businesses adopt an online business model and don’t give a whole lot of thought to having Web site privacy and security policies in place.

Sales and reputations are at stake because today’s online consumers are savvy—they want to know that a Web site is operated by a legitimate business that will be responsible in handling and safeguarding their personal information. 

When moving business operations online, Maier says that few entrepreneurs pay enough attention to Web site privacy, and they also don’t understand the risks associated with this part of their business Web site.

TRUSTe makes it affordable for companies of all sizes and type to use its privacy services. Businesses who invest in TRUSTe, according to Maier, will be able to grow their reputation and meet the needs and concerns of online customers.

Online merchants who use TRUSTe services that include the use of the TRUSTe Verified Seal now have another reason to investigate the service.  The company recently announced a partnership with the well-known price comparison shopping site, PriceGrabber.com that will show the green TRUSTe logo in product listings in PriceGrabber search. This partnership, which was announced in time for the holidays, will show verified TRUSTe merchant listings to more than 23 million shoppers per month who use PriceGrabber.com

The TRUSTe Privacy Service for SMB

Like the TRUSTe service for larger corporations and brands, the SMB privacy service gives the same level of professional privacy policy and options to display same the TRUSTe Verified Seal that many larger corporations and businesses already use.

If you want to get a good privacy policy in place — or to dispense with the cut-and-paste privacy you are using — TRUSTe’s Basic Privacy Policy is a one-time service, starting at $249. The service uses TRUSTe’s proprietary Privacy Policy Generator and will provide you with an industry-compliant privacy policy that is based on your own business practices.  

For an online business looking to offer a secure site to encourage consumer trust, the TRUSTe Privacy Service includes the custom SMB privacy policy as well as options to display the highly recognizable TRUSTe Verified Seal.  

Pricing starts at $49.00 per month and offers a number of features including A/B testing to measure transactional improvements from displaying the trustmark, regular updates on privacy issues, and consumer dispute resolution services. To qualify for the trustmark seal, a business must pass Web-based privacy and security scans. 

Lastly, the new SMB-focused privacy and security services also let businesses with a more demanding privacy program apply for TRUSTe’s flagship Web privacy certification program. This program offers one-on-one privacy consultations, assistance with privacy disclosures and practices, consumer dispute resolution services and unlimited display uses of TRUSTe’s Web Privacy Seal. Pricing starts at $849 per year.

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.