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It’s Not Just BP That Consumers Don’t Trust

bp_signBP has been investing a lot of money into advertising and marketing efforts to rebuild it’s reputation after one of the biggest oil spills in history brought the company under massive global scrutiny.  While initial results from the effort seemed positive, a new study tells a different story.

According to a June 2010 survey by The Economist and YouGov, American’s don’t trust BP. 

Here are the results when respondents were asked whether or not they trust BP to “do the right thing in stopping the oil spill and cleaning it up”:

  • 27% have no trust in BP at all.
  • 24% have very little trust in BP.
  • 24% have only some trust in BP.
  • 13% have quite a bit of trust in BP.
  • 6% have a great deal of trust in BP.

Interestingly, a Rasmussen Reports poll tells us that BP is not alone in its position as an oil brand and company that American consumers don’t trust. 

According to that survey:

  • 41% had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Exxon.
  • 43% had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Chevron.
  • 47% had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Shell.

A CBS News and New York Times poll seems to support those findings. 

According to that survey:

  • 38% say they trust oil companies to act in the best interest of the public “not at all.”
  • 36% say they trust oil companies to act in the best interest of the public “not much.”
  • 24% say they trust oil companies to act in the best interest of the public “some.”
  • 2% say they trust oil companies to act in the best interest of the public “a lot.”

The statistics reported in these surveys are a red flag for any company.  The question is how oil companies will respond not only to appease consumer fears and lack of trust but also in changing their business practices to actually earn that brand trust.  Now is the time.  Afterall, 2010 is the year of brand transparency, honesty and trust.

Do you think they can (or will) do it?

Image: Flickr

The BP Brand Fallout – Consumers Weigh In

bp_beyone_petroleum_signEarlier this month, I wrote a post about how the BP brand is being affected since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Sadly, the spill has yet to be contained and the BP brand is feeling the fallout.

However, several surveys and studies have been conducted in recent weeks in an attempt to gauge consumers’ opinions about the BP brand since the oil spill, and the results might not be entirely what you’d expect.

Following are some highlights from those reports (via BrandWeek):

  • From an Economist and YouGov survey: When it comes to trusting BP to “do the right thing in stopping the oil spill and cleaning it up,” 9% of respondents said they trust BP “a great deal” and 13% trust BP “quite a bit” while 20% have “only some” trust that BP will do the right thing, and another 20% said they have “very little” trust that BP will do the right thing.  The majority of respondents, 28%, trust BP “not at all.”  The remaining respondents stated that they were not sure how they felt.
  • From the same Economist and YouGov survey: 65% of respondents believe that BP and other companies involved in the oil spill are “pointing the blame on others and avoiding responsibility” while just 35% believe BP and other companies involved are “doing whatever it takes to stop the spill and clean up the oil.”
  • From a USA Today/Gallup poll: 34% of the respondents rated BP’s response to the spill as “poor” and 39% rated it as “very poor”.  Only 6% rated BP’s response as “very good” and 18% rated it “good.”
  • From a Pew Research Center and National Journal Congressional Connection poll: 44% rated BP’s response to the oil spill as “poor” and 26% rated it “only fair” while 16% rated BP’s response “good” and 3% rated it “excellent.”
  • From a CNN and Opinion Research Corp. poll: 76% of respondents disapprove of BP’s response to the oil spill and 24% percent approve.

So it appears to be safe to draw the conclusion from the results of these varied studies that consumers are not happy with BP’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  However, the most interesting piece of data from these surveys is probably one that comes from the CNN and Opinion Research Corp. poll where consumers were asked whether or not the BP oil spill will affect their willingness to purchase gasoline from a BP station.  70% of respondents said that the oil spill does not affect their decision on where to purchase gas while just 28% said they are less likely to purchase gasoline from a BP station since the oil spill.

Despite the current negative public sentiment for the BP brand, consumers will still buy from BP because a gasoline purchase is not typically an emotional purchase decision.  Instead, gasoline purchases are typically a convenience and price driven purchase decision.  Not many consumers are willing to drive out of their way to purchase gasoline from a specific brand.

Despite that consumer behavior, BP is doing damage control by placing ads in publications like the New York Times where a full-page BP ad appeared on June 2nd using messages like, “We will get this done. We will make this right.”  Also, the “Beyond Petroleum” tagline is conspicuously missing from the BP logo in the ad.

Normally after seeing this type of ad, I’d pose the question — do you think it’s too little too late for BP?  However, based on the results of the consumer surveys mentioned above, it seems like this type of ad spending might not even be necessary for BP.  Even though consumers are not happy with BP, the majority are still quite willing to purchase gas from BP, which is what makes this story so unique and interesting.  What lessons will we ultimately be able to learn from a branding perspective when the BP oil spill story is over?  It will be interesting to find out as the story continues to unfold.

Whether you agree with how BP is handling the oil spill response or not, one thing is for certain — this is an event that brand managers and strategists should watch and learn from (both the good and bad).

Image: Flickr

Consumer Perceptions of Online Privacy Practices Affect 9 out of 10 Brand Purchase Decisions

online purchaseJust how important is it for brands to ensure consumers have positive perceptions of a company’s efforts to keep their private data secure? For 91% of internet users in the United Kingdom, online privacy policies directly affect their decisions to do business with a company. That statistic comes from a study by Accenture from August of 2012, and it tells just a small part of the story.

On Monday, eMarketer reported that 46% of respondents to a 2013 survey by Ipsos MORI and TRUSTe said that they “strongly avoided” doing business with companies that they thought didn’t do a good enough job of protecting their privacy and personal information online. Add an additional 45% who “had a tendency to avoid” doing business with these companies, and you end up with a meager 9% of the sample U.K. internet user audience who claim that online privacy concerns do not affect their online purchasing decisions or behaviors.

This data reinforces the idea that marketers must prioritize building brand trust with consumers. As I wrote in one of my articles for Corporate Eye last week, building brand trust is the number one factor that can motivate consumers to share personal information with your company, which can then be used in future brand marketing campaigns. This finding comes from the 2012 Data Tracking Study from DMA (follow the preceding link to read the details and see the infographic), which reported that consumers are more willing to share private information when they trust the company (47%), the company has a clear privacy policy (43%), or the company provides an essential service (31%).

Bottom-line, now is the time to revamp your online privacy policy and consumer-facing communications related to your company privacy practices. Don’t assume that consumers know your brand, and therefore, trust your company to protect their private information. They expect companies to protect their information, but they don’t typically perceive that companies do enough to keep their personal information safe.

The Ipsos MORI and TRUSTe study found that nearly half of internet users in Great Britain do not trust most companies with their personal information online. When asked if “most companies can be trusted with personal data online,” internet users responded as follows:

  • Strongly agree = 6%
  • Tend to agree = 51%
  • Tend to disagree = 33%
  • Strongly disagree = 10%

These numbers are quite terrible from a brand perspective considering that one of the most important aspects of brand building is developing brand trust. Brand marketers need to aggressively work to change the consumer perception that company online privacy practices are not adequate. This requires both education and proof. In other words, companies need to live up to the privacy expectations that consumers have.

Can your company prove that its online privacy practices sufficiently protect consumers’ personal information?

Image: Pierre Amerlynck

How and When UK Consumers Will Share Private Data with Brands [Infographic]

private data online securityIn the 2012 Data Tracking study published by DMA (sponsored by Equifax) last week, 1193 UK adults shared their opinions about when and how they’ll share personal information with brands. The good news for brands is that the number of consumers who claim to be willing to share private data with brands has sky-rocketed over the past 18 months.

Specifically, the number of people who are willing to share personal data with brands that are “selling products they might consider buying” increased by 48% during the past 18 months. Furthermore, the number of people who are willing to share personal information with brands that are “selling products they have to buy” has jumped from 56% to 63% in the past 18 months. Another significant increase was found in the number of people who are willing to provide their name, address, and email address (referred to as “basic information”) to brands, which  grew by 63% in the past 18 months.

However, not all brands fare as well when it comes to convincing consumers to share personal data. Brands that offer clear security policies and follow best practices to secure consumer trust are having much more success in obtaining consumer private data than brands that don’t prioritize these activities.

You can follow the link above to view the full report and see some highlights in the infographic below. Key findings include:

  • Consumers are most willing to share personal information with brands they already have a relationship with (76%) and when they’re buying products (63%).
  • Consumers are more willing to share private information when they trust the company (47%), the company has a clear privacy policy (43%), or the company provides an essential service (31%).
  • Sales incentives mentioned in the study that are most effective in motivating people to share personal information include free samples (25%), money-off vouchers (25%), discounts (23%), free shipping (20%), and competitions (19%).
  • On average, consumers are most likely to share their name, followed by their email address and their mailing address in that order.
  • Of the activities included in the survey, consumers reported that they are most likely to shared  basic personal information like name, email, and address when they’re buying goods online (79% average), and least likely to share this information when they’re pledging support for a cause.

dma data tracking study 2012 infographic

Brand trust is a critical component of any brand-building strategy, and the results of this study show that building brand trust is the number one factor that can motivate consumers to share personal information with your company that can be used in future brand marketing campaigns. If you’re not already prioritizing your efforts to build brand trust, you need to do so now.

Image: Ayhan Yildiz

Social Media Advertising Trusted Less than Engagement

computer-keyboard-handsResults from a new poll by Harris Interactive for the Online Publishers Association (OPA) shouldn’t be too surprising for marketers and brand managers who have been involved with social media marketing in recent years.

According to the study, consumers trust ads on social media sites less than ads on other websites.  In fact, only 8% of respondents felt that companies that placed ads on social media sites are reputable.  That’s significantly lower than the 21% of respondents who felt that advertisers on traditional content sites are reputable.  Respondents also felt that advertisers on social media sites are less respected and the ads displayed on social media sites are not relevant.

When asked how satisfied they are with various social media sites, the results were somewhat surprising with Wikipedia, a site known for inaccuracies from user-submitted content, ranked quite high.  Of course, perhaps respondents have expectations for Wikipedia, accept the possible inaccuracy of information found there, and rated the site with that in mind.  Check out the results below:

  • 77% of respondents were satisfied with Wikipedia
  • 73% of respondents were satisfied with YouTube
  • 64% of respondents were satisfied with Facebook
  • 63% of respondents were satisfied with MySpace

The reality is that brands need to engage with consumers on social media sites in a manner that meets users’ expectations for the site and for the brand.  Social sites aren’t going away and even if users aren’t completely satisfied with existing social media sites and tools, they’re going to keep using them until something better comes along.  Until then, engaging with consumers, earning their trust, and building relationships with them on social sites continues to be more effective than advertising on the same sites and continues to present an opportunity that brands shouldn’t ignore.

You can follow the link to read more about building brand trust.

Image: stock.xchng

The Value of Earned Media Should Not be Ignored

emarketer_social_media_advertising_spending_2008-2011Through the social Web, brands have more opportunities to earn media mentions from both traditional online publishers and new social Web publishers such as bloggers, Twitter users, Facebook users, and more.  In fact, according to a study by eMarketer, social media advertising is expected to reach nearly $3 billion by 2011, which demonstrates the intense focus companies are giving it as part of their overall marketing strategies.

There is a reason why earned media is so powerful, and it’s rooted in trust.  Consumers are more likely to act when marketing messages come from sources they trust.  When consumers hear positive reviews about products via a Facebook friend, they trust the authenticity of that review more than they trust an ad on TV or on a billboard.  It’s a fact that researchers have proven time and again, and it’s the reason why companies invest large sums of money into building word-of-mouth through social media marketing.

A study by Nielsen Online conducted in July 2009 offers an excellent breakdown of consumers’ feelings toward different types of advertising and marketing tactics.  Consumers were asked to rate each marketing tactic presented in the study survey by stating whether they trusted each.  The percentage of respondents who stated they either “completely” or “somewhat” trusted a tactic presented to them are shown below:

  • Recommendations from people I know: 92%
  • Consumer opinions posted online: 72%
  • Editorial content such as a newspaper article: 70%
  • Brand Web sites: 69%
  • Emails I signed up for: 67%
  • Ads in newspapers: 66%
  • Brand sponsorships: 62%
  • Ads in magazines: 62%
  • Ads on TV: 61%
  • Ads on radio: 61%
  • Ads before movies: 53%
  • Billboards and outdoor advertising: 53%
  • Ads served on search engine results: 37%
  • Online video ads: 33%
  • Online banner ads: 24%
  • Text ads on a mobile phone: 18%

Given the results above, it would seem that shifting a portion of your marketing budget to tactics that boost earned media would be a wise decision.  However, how much of the $3 billion that companies plan to spend on social media advertising will actually go to marketing activities that increase earned media?  Earned media is hard to track, and companies like to take the safe route and invest in tactics they can analyze for months.  Without hard numbers, many companies find themselves at an impasse — completely unable to make a decision.

Until hard metrics can routinely be applied to earned media results, the bulk of the marketing budget will continue to go into more traditional online advertising tactics such as banner and text ads.  Not that there is anything wrong with those tactics.  They still work quite well, but the allure of earned media is hard to resist.  What do you think?

Read more about branding and trust in these articles here on Corporate Eye:

Image: eMarketer