Why are Major Retailers Insisting on Replacing the Norton Secured Seal with VeriSign now?

They say that money makes the world go round. This is definitely true when it comes to the online marketplace. And it seems that the lack of money can also cause a few major retailers to make personal changes to fix a major mistake by one of their providers – Symantec. 

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that several online companies are making the personal decision to display the VeriSign Checkmark back on their websites? In case you have been hiding under a bus for the past few months, back in April of 2012 Symantec (the people who own Norton and VeriSign Online Security programs) made the bone head decision to replace their best product’s trusted brand (VERISIGN’s Checkmark) with their own brand (Norton’s Secured Seal) in an attempt to increase brand awareness for the Norton brand. 

This was like putting a Kia logo on a Ferrari. And it showcased why computer tech dudes have no business being in marketing or branding.

The funny thing is that Symantec was completely nose-deaf to the concerns of the computer users across the globe; people they literally dumped on overnight with this decision. Here is how this occurred. 

When Symantec decided to replace the highly trustworthy VeriSign Checkmark with the cheap Norton Secured Seal it sent a message of mistrust to the internet shopping community. People make decisions to shop online on websites based on the reliability and trust displayed by the quality security certificate they see. In this case, most internet shoppers choose VeriSign as the most reliable certificate in the market. 

So why would Symantec replace a highly trustworthy brand with a polished turd like Norton?

Honestly – I have no logical answer to give you. However, the retailers have spoken and they state emphatically that they don’t believe in Symantec’s branding decision and have partnered with another company to provide that VeriSign secured seal on their websites. Who made this decision you ask. Oh just a few online giants like - Best Buy, eBay, PayPal, Staples, Overstock, and Wal-Mart. Companies who rely on the online marketplace to make more profit have insisted on having the VeriSign Brand displayed for their customers. 

But here is the best part of this change. Do you know which Secured Seal they ALL had on their websites from April of 2012 till August of this year? Yup – Norton’s Secured Seal. How did it impact their business? Online sales dropped 15% from April to July across the board. It wasn’t the struggling economy since in-store sales YTD compared to last year actually increased a little bit. It was due to Symantec’s decision to replace the VeriSign in the first place. This chased away loyal customers who thought the retailers made a poor decision to switch to Norton. 

Remember folks – most computer users couldn’t tell you who owns Norton or VeriSign. But they can tell the difference between a good product like VeriSign and a piece of junk like Norton. Apparently the retailers can tell the difference too huh?