Local color
In a contracting world, people have the greatest trust in the companies that are close to them. Local companies and brands have a greater understanding of local context and culture and can therefore be present and responsible in a locally relevant way. The challenge for international companies will be to understand how to act local in coming years.
Studies show that we have become less trusting of things far away from us since the pandemic. This is also in line with the tendency towards de-globalization that we’ve seen over the past decade and the rise of nationalism in many parts of the world. We live in a contracting world.
When comparing the top local companies and brands with the top global corporate brands in the study, we see that local ones are impressively on par in the total Purpose Index™ with (and in subindexes outperform) global companies and brands when it comes to responsibility and trustworthiness. People seem to most trust the companies that are close to them.
In the current economic situation, it is also important to bear in mind the inherent sustainability aspect of being local – both in terms of locally produced and available goods, and in terms of effect. Environmental and social effects are experienced most strongly locally. This presents a great opportunity for local companies.
Local companies will always have a greater understanding of local context and culture and can therefore be responsible in a locally relevant way. For international companies, the challenge in coming years will be to create a sense of closeness with customers. Understanding and acting local will be key: global brands must understand individual life situations and share local values.
Examples
Local companies scoring high Purpose Index™ scores.
Data deep dive
Relying on local
The local companies with the highest purpose indexes, an average of 70 companies in a diverse set of industries, are clearly characterized as trustworthy and responsible, compared to the equivalent average for top scoring global companies and brands. In contrast, it’s clear that the local companies are struggling to be seen as innovative.
Explore more trends
Care for resources
We’re at a point in time when environmental responsibility must be a top concern in business, because it’s a top concern of people. Companies that fail to minimize their impact on the planet and use resources carefully will be questioned by many critical recession customers.
Trust matters
Companies will need to meet the critical and demanding recession customer with openness, honesty and transparency. Smart companies will invest in building trusting relationships with customers and the public, because they understand how trust amplifies the effect of any corporate initiative.
Value with values
With globally increasing prices, the democratization of life’s necessities becomes highly purposeful. Price matters a lot, but people still yearn for other values. The most loved companies will be those that understand what matters most to which customers and can identify value-balance trade-offs between their needs and wants.
Local color
In a contracting world, people have the greatest trust in the companies that are close to them. Local companies and brands have a greater understanding of local context and culture and can therefore be present and responsible in a locally relevant way. The challenge for international companies will be to understand how to act local in coming years.
Thoughtful employers
Being a thoughtful employer will be one of the most important roles for companies in the coming years. Record numbers of employees are reevaluating career choices and people are looking for employers that will make them feel valued. Companies that act on this will have a great advantage in talent search and retention in the future.
Bold problem-solvers
The public has high, but largely unmet, expectations of companies to lead the way toward a brighter future. Companies have a lot to learn from how Big Tech approaches problem-solving, and a lot to gain if they are able to combine that with action to create real positive change for people, the planet and society.
Safety first
An uncertain, and today often scary, world has made safety-related issues a top priority with people. It’s time for companies to decode what safety means to their customers and to align with the public’s expectations of how they should contribute to making both their physical and digital lives safer.
Healthy living
Health continues to be a priority for people and today’s health concerns involve both physical and mental health, and direct and indirect effects. Companies that assume health-focused positions and strategies will be highly relevant in the future.
