Shining a light on local businesses to help with recovery, growth, and smooth transitions from the effects of COVID – and beyond.
During the time of COVID-19, we’ve realized that local businesses need the support of their community more than ever. And through our decades of experience helping local businesses thrive, we’ve decided to use our expertise to develop a tool that can help businesses recover – and flourish. As a business, you’re adapting, the world is adapting and, in order to help local businesses during this time, so are we.
Change is constant. And adaptation is vital to stay afloat, successful, and impactful.
As a consumer, imagine being able to enhance your everyday local experience simply by searching through a hand-curated list of businesses in your city that are tailored to your lifestyle, interest, and the causes you support. While many things in life can be difficult, particularly today, having worthy, enjoyable experiences within your local community should come with ease.
We’re eager to introduce iTrustLocal by Top Choice Media Group – an all-new directory that allows people in 29 cities to browse iTrust-qualified businesses anytime.
But before we dive into the details of iTrustLocal, we wanted to share why we’ve created this resource. After 15 years of conducting market research and local public surveys in search of the most popular and trusted businesses in more than 29 North American cities, we’ve gained significant insights about social and market patterns. One of our biggest lessons has been how to adapt to market changes to help guide and continue improving consumers’ purchasing choices while inspiring business growth.
Due to our leadership in award programs for local North American businesses and our commitment to the people who call these cities home, we are once again reevaluating, reinventing, and rebuilding ourselves to continue helping consumers and business owners – while inspiring other award programs to follow our lead.
Designed with local consumers and businesses in mind.
The iTrustLocal platform is built with consumer and local business owners’ needs in mind, creating a space where the two can connect, learn from each other, and stay up to date.
Users will have the opportunity to create their iTrust Local profile and follow, save, and connect with the businesses they love in their city. Consumers will be able to browse the listings based on criteria like:
- Which iTrust businesses are near them
- Which have the highest ratings
- By particular amenities like wifi, parking, price range, patios, takeout, and other things to that help define an experience
Businesses that qualify via criteria like reviews, accolades, and social media engagement will get a free directory listing, which filters them from the plethora of choices available to the everyday consumer browsing the internet – at no cost. They can edit their iTrust Business Profile for free all year round. Premium feature options further put businesses on the map, allowing them to connect with consumers for a very minimal upgrade value – providing an affordable and effective marketing platform to all qualified businesses. Collectively, these locale-rich features provide a deeper connectivity to the community Top Choice Media has spent years building and growing.
The iTrustLocal Platform is different from other listings because it represents a community of businesses who work hard, are passionate about their craft, and have undergone a qualification process that has earned them a position within the listing of trusted businesses in their respective city. These iTrust-qualified businesses then have the opportunity to enter the annual Top Choice Awards Survey where the best of the best will be chosen by the people of their city for that year.
Top Choice Award winners hold the people’s hearts, the golden emblem of excellence, and are the elite among their city. iTrustLocal allows users to identify which businesses are voted Top Choice, providing a customizable user experience. Running for the Top Choice Award will continue to provide the opportunity to receive free, extended marketing during the voting period – and the opportunity to access information that will improve business operations and help a business stand out from its competitors.
This platform is a way to extend help to all hard-working businesses in the city. While we’ve been qualifying businesses for years, we’ve also missed the opportunity to give insight into who those businesses are until nominees are listed for voting when the Top Choice Awards voting commences in November. Everyday consumers share the businesses they believe deserve recognition among (and above) other area businesses. With the iTrustLocal platform, we’ll be able to share these businesses in almost real-time based on the updated criteria we have set as industry leaders in business surveying.
Going into 2021, we are going to use our experience, database, and knowledge to improve the way our process helps businesses improve their internal operations and their ability to stand out among competition when reaching their customers.
We are confident that this platform will be an enormous help to thousands of local businesses and to consumers alike. The iTrustLocal platform will be rolling out by 2021.
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Thank you and keep well.
FUN FACT: The iTrust Local logo represents the penguin spirit animal which symbolizes community and togetherness – and how you need teamwork and social connection to survive. It’s a constant reminder that there is always beauty in overcoming hardship. And we believe this wholeheartedly.
