The level of trust consumers have in multinational corporations has taken quite a bashing over recent years. Burston-Marsteller’s first European Trust & Purpose survey confirms and highlights just that.
A measly, but arguably unsurprising, 28 per cent of the consumers surveyed claimed to have trust in the financial services sector. Whereas technology companies saw a reasonable trust level of 71 per cent, and supermarkets 64 per cent.
For companies in all sectors, the general lack of trust is clearly a worry. According to the survey, consumers feel more inclined to trust smaller, local firms and pointed towards the need for personal service as a deciding factor. Trust in nearly every sector needs to be rebuilt, and that won’t be achieved through flat, lifeless, vague communication. Relationships need nurturing now more than ever, which requires exceptional communication at every level. In brief this means:
- Communicating with personality – let the merits of your brand and its values be clear throughout.
- Consistency of message – working out what your company stands for, and never letting your communications lose sight of that.
- Listening as well as talking – in this climate, conversation is vital to creating and maintaining valuable relationships – one-way communication gives the impression of an inaccessible, impersonal and ultimately untrustworthy company.
There are plenty of companies already acknowledging and acting upon the issue, which gives you all the more reason to make sure your communications are up to the challenge too. We may be able to help – so please give us a call if you’d like to discuss your communications strategy.
