Burson-Marsteller

The challenge to rebuild trust

by Jeremy Galbraith on 21st June 2011 • The Cast Blog

Greece is in political and economic turmoil, there are demonstrations across Spain against economic austerity measures and Belgium hasn’t had a government since the federal elections in June of last year. No wonder our European Trust & Purpose Survey, carried out between 5-16 May this year, shows a steep decline in trust in national governments across the continent over the past two years, with the biggest decline showing in countries where the economic and financial crisis has hit hardest (Portugal -84%, Greece -78% and Spain -77%).
 
The Trust & Purpose survey builds on the studies we have done on Corporate Purpose. In addition to the decline in trust in governments it also shows that the global economic and financial crisis that erupted in 2008, together with the corporate and banking excesses that were uncovered during this period are having a catastrophic impact on trust in corporations and the people who lead them. 

When it comes to corporations, provenance matters. Overall, Europeans trust local companies the most, national a little less and international least of all. I was just in Asia, where I presented the Trust & Purpose Survey to the European Chambers of Commerce in Beijing and Shanghai as well as the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and discussed the results on trust in BRICs and some of the Asian economies. While trust in companies from Australia, Japan and the US is the highest, trust in the BRIC countries is very low, with 64% of respondents saying they distrust companies from Russia. 54% of respondents said they distrusted companies from South Korea and 61% distrusted companies from China. 

The lessons for Asian companies from the Trust survey also apply to European companies. Asian companies, particularly the emerging giants from China, have failed to communicate with European consumers (or any stakeholder) and build brands and trust. Overall, the research shows that consumers believe most companies and their spokespeople simply lie to them!  The survey showed that people trust front-line staff to tell them the truth about a corporation, as opposed to its CEO, who is seen as motivated by personal profit and greed. For foreign as well as national companies, this means that they need to communicate locally  - and better and more transparently – about the things that matter to local stakeholders. 

The Trust & Purpose study shows that over two thirds of people believe that having a strong Corporate Purpose is important for building trust. Almost 80% would rather pay more for products and services that are delivered and produced responsible and fairly – that doesn’t mean all will but it signals intent from a significant number of consumers. Our 2010 Corporate Purpose Impact Ranking  demonstrated that a strong and well communicated Corporate Purpose can impact financial performance by up to 17%. Corporate Purpose requires companies to be honest about what they do – and honesty builds trust. So Corporate Purpose is a fundamental part in building trust between corporations and the people that matter to them. This is particularly important given the strong preference for communications from front-line staff that most respondents indicated. A strong Corporate Purpose aligns and motivates front-line staff who in turn are the best ambassadors for a company.

In September we will be launching our second Corporate Purpose Ranking. It will be interesting to see which companies have succeeded in developing and communicating a Corporate Purpose and where the biggest movements compared to last year are. These companies will have a head-start in the challenge to rebuild trust.

Brochure 

Study

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