Recession a Big Trust Buster

From Kern Lewis

Earning trust an uphill slog for brands today

November 18, 2009
510-329-8155

Greetings!
Trust-busting was all the rage early in the last century. Back then, it was government campaigning against unregulated monopolistic activity on behalf of the "American people". Today it is the people themselves who are breaking trust, with banks, car companies, governments, you name it. The most recent Edelman Trust Barometer measured how the financial implosion has eroded trust in everything:

"Nearly two in three informed 25-to-64-year-olds surveyed in 20 countries say they trust corporations less now than they did a year ago. When it comes to being distrusted, business is not alone. Globally, trust in business, media, and government is half-empty; and trust in government scores even lower than trust in business."

Why is trust a big deal? According the Edelman survey:

In the past year, 91% of 25-to-64-year-olds around the world indicated they bought a product or service from a company they trusted, and 77% refused to buy a product or service from a distrusted company.
Among our global audience of 25-to-64-year-olds, being able to trust a company is one of the most important factors in determining a company's reputation. It ranks just below the quality of a company's products and its treatment of employees...

For "reputation" you may insert "brand". Lose trust, and the brand takes a hit. Ask any Wendy's franchisee how long it took to recapture consumer trust (and therefore market share) after the "finger in the chili" incident a number of years ago.
The questions are:

What can you do to get out in front, winning trust in an environment where consumers are less willing to give it?
And how can you use social media to accelerate that trust-building program?

The answer is:
Let me buy you a cup of your favorite beverage, and we can talk about answers!
Click here for the Edelman Trust Survey main page.

Drug Companies clearly not into trust-building

Being ethical is a clear advantage in winning trust in your marketplace, but sometimes the desperate search for profits trumps ethical impulses. As I wrote recently in my blog,
drug companies who invest billions in drug development don't stick to the rules when defining when to prescribe the new drug. Talk about violating trust: They put additional lives at risk in attempting to maximize shareholder value. Even this Blue Dog Democrat sees a value in regulating such behavior.

Examine my work