State Of Distrust - New Survey Indicates Corporate Trust Waning Among The Influential Americans®

NEW YORK, June 13, 2011 – Distrust of corporations remains high among American consumers three-plus years after the nation’s financial crisis, with a majority (64%) saying it’s harder for US companies to gain their trust today than it was a few years ago. Further, it appears this lack of confidence will continue into the future, with more than half (55%) saying it will be harder for corporations to gain their trust in the future. Distrust is particularly high among The Influential Americans®, GfK Custom Research North America’s proprietary, leading-indicator segment representing the 10% of Americans most involved in creating change in society. Three in four of The Influential Americans (74%) find it harder to trust companies today than they did a few years ago, and 6 in 10 (61%) agree it will be even harder to earn their trust in the future.

The findings are from the GfK 2011 Corporate Trust Survey of 1,000 Americans examining the factors influencing trust among consumers. The national online survey examined trust across ages and industries, as well as the factors influencing the level of trust consumers have towards corporations.

Corporate Actions Driving Mistrust

According to the survey, the top reasons for mistrust suggest that corporations have issues to address on multiple fronts. At the top: public perceptions of "CEO’s and senior executives being overpaid”; "corruption among corporate management”; that companies "make up lost earnings at their customers’ expense”; and that "more and more products are being made overseas.”

While Americans across the board cite similar reasons for their mistrust in companies, The Influential Americans® are more likely to say that a "lack of stability of the ‘top’ companies” is a major reason for their distrust of business. But, in what appears to be a potential source of comfort for the business community, this bellwether segment puts less weight on "declining product/service quality” as a reason for declining levels of trust.

	The Influential Americans® (base=95)	Other Americans (base=601)
CEO’s and Senior Executives Being Overpaid	71%	77%
Corruption Among Corporate Management	70	71
Companies Make Up Lost Earnings At Their Customers’ Expense	65	69
More and More Products Being Made Overseas	61	62
Declining Product/Service Quality	47	56
Unsafe Products	40	47
Poor Treatment of Workers	51	43
Lack of Stability of "Top” Companies	53	41
Database Security Threats	45	40
Lack of Care for the Environment	37	37
Lack Of Government Oversight	33	37
Stock Market Volatility	42	35
Ill-Advised Services	36	34

Surveys by GfK Roper Consulting, GfK’s team of consumer and public opinions trend experts, corroborate that consumers remain highly suspicious of corporations. Only 16% of the public, for example, feel corporate corruption will ”get better” in the next five years, a decline of 9 percentage points from 2003, according to GfK Roper Reports® US.

"Trust is one of the most important factors that American corporations need to focus on if they are going to engage and retain their most loyal and influential customers,” said David Krajicek, Co-President, GfK Custom Research North America. "American corporations find themselves at a critical juncture in the development of their individual brands. Communication and transparency are paramount moving forward for companies to shore up and rebuild levels of trust that have been flagging among American consumers. Specifically, by understanding what influential consumers in a particular category think, brands can identify opportunities for rebuilding trust in their target segments. For example, our findings among The Influential Americans® suggest product and service quality can also serve as building blocks for restoring trust.”

Corporate Trust Across Industries

Trust levels vary by industry, with The Influential Americans viewing Technology companies as the most trustworthy with a trust level of 70%.

	The Influential Americans® (base=95)	Other Americans (base=601)
Technology Companies	70%	60%
Retail/Shopping Stores	67	71
Packaged Foods Manufacturers	60	65
Personal Care Manufacturers	60	61
Automotive Companies	56	52
Local Town Or City Government	53	48
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers	52	44
The Media	49	44
State Government	45	30
Insurance Companies	44	39
Financial Services Companies	45	35
Federal Government	45	31

"With The Influential Americans’ history of being leading indicators of mainstream technology adoption – which we’ve seen in recent years in their passion for smart phones and social networking – this finding is significant,” explained Krajicek. "This indicates how technology innovations and improved product and service quality can help drive perceptions of trust. Moreover, it suggests that technology companies will be seen as role models in this critical period in the economy.”

The Influential Americans® also stand out for being less critical than the average American of embattled industries such as Insurance (44%) and Financial Services (45%). "The Influential Americans’ role as word-of-mouth leaders – folks who are actively recommending products and services – means that, if approached correctly they could be allies in rebuilding trust in the financial services industry,” said Doug Cottings, Managing Director, GfK Financial Services. "Strong endorsements, based on personal experience, could help companies break through the clutter and build business.”

The GfK Custom Research North America 2011 Corporate Trust Survey

The GfK Custom Research North America 2011 Corporate Trust Survey was conducted using GfK Roper Omnibus Services OmniWeb® from May 6 to May 8, 2011. This national online survey is based on interviews with 1,000 Americans age 18 years and older. The data have been weighted to match national online norms of age, sex, education, race and geographic region.