The economy has caused Best In Town, a top-drawer certification business based in Rye, N.Y., and Greenwich, to rehash its strategy by putting an emphasis on the web and affordable options.
“The premise is the same, but we”™re a little bit different,” said Ted Fisher, founder and president of Best In Town. “We”™re still an integrity-based business. What we are is an elite membership organization that officially certifies and locally promotes a limited number of top-rated local businesses per category. It”™s great; we have this official certification process in each industry.
“In this economy right now we almost have the perfect storm,” said Fisher. “We all live in a new economy, and this business concept and venture was born right in the middle of this. I”™ve interviewed 200 to 300 businesses.”
Fisher, a Rye resident and former personal clothier, said each certification entails an extensive interview.
“We also are looking at what”™s important to them,” said Fisher. “A lot of these service guys are hurting, their businesses are off anywhere from 30 percent to 70 percent. With every interview I learn something and that”™s one of the reasons we hadn”™t had a full launch yet, we”™re incorporating many of these ideas into the site.”
Fisher said Best In Town and the companies listing The Elite Pages are now completely web based.
“At first there was to be a hard guide,” said Fisher. “But we want to keep this affordable for our clients. Most consumers are getting their information online.”
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Fisher is seeking an alliance with a magazine that covers Connecticut and New York in order to have a once-yearly Best In Town feature section.
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“We”™ve wanted to create something that”™s perfect for the local businesses,” said Fisher. “They”™re watching their advertising dollars right now and they”™re making sure to use their marketing and promotional dollars for things that are going to yield them the greatest results.”
The Best In Town certification process costs about $1,450.
“Basically, they don”™t pay until approved and certified,” Fisher said. “A company cannot buy into the program if they do not meet the criteria.
“We wanted to create the most-direct, cost-effective tool out there for a local business,” said Fisher. “We are selective because we”™re a referral service and we don”™t give a lot of referrals, we give maybe two or three referrals per industry in each area.”
Fisher said each industry is still independently looked at, rated and reviewed.
“We wanted to be able to help the local consumer,” said Fisher. “For the consumer now it”™s very important not to waste their time or waste their money.”
Fisher said his Best In Town sticker can be seen in the store fronts of 70 businesses in Greenwich. He said Best in Town is also designed to offers support to area charities by donating a percentage of its fees to each participant”™s charity of choice.
“Our concept is designed to be applied on the national level,” said Fisher. “Ninety percent of people that we sit down with want to be part of it.”
He said Greenwich and, soon to be officially opened, Westchester County listings are currently the incubators for the prospective national model.
