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.
The single most important characteristic of purposeful companies is being trustworthy and specifically demonstrating shared values. This is further amplified in times of crisis, as people generally become more critical and raise expectations on companies and institutions.
Being highly trustworthy and having clear values shared by their customers are also what marks the companies that are the most purposeful, the most preferred and the most rapidly increasing in purpose index in this year’s study.
At the same time, mistrust in institutions and concerns about e.g. fake news and unreliable information are at all time highs globally. The study also reveals that ‘Fighting corruption’ is a top unmet prioritized challenge for companies, indicating mistrust against business as well. To answer up, companies will need to be open, honest and transparent.
Smart companies invest in building trusting relationships with customers and the public, because they understand how trust provides leverage for any initiative and amplifies its effect. In the coming years of anticipated economic turmoil, this will be especially valuable, as many companies will need to change, reposition and test new ventures when trying to remain relevant.
Examples
Companies scoring high on associations related to trust.
Data deep dive
How purpose is always subjective
If customers can relate to how your company lives its values, you will gain their trust and be purposeful to them. There are no “typical purpose values” to pinpoint. This is why, when we plot highly purposeful companies and brands on the Human Motivations Tool™ by Lynxeye, they are spread out all over the chart. People are looking for companies to provide positive change according to their own world view, and that will differ depending on their values.
The scatter graph on this page shows highly purposeful brands among different values-based groups in the United States.
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.
