The Better Business Bureau in the US released its latest BBB/Gallup "Trust in Business" survey results yesterday and the findings were not pretty. The percentage of respondents saying they trust the businesses they deal with on a daily basis fell in almost every category.
The survey covered 15 types of businesses, including banks, gas stations, drug stores, department stores, supermarkets, office supply companies, contractors, and real estate brokers. Trust increased in only one of the industries during the last six months (cell phone provides -- perhaps an iPhone-driven boost for AT&T?), and remained the same for health care insurers. The survey found double-digit declines in more than half of the industries.
As Steve Cole, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus noted, "It is simply shocking that only 33 percent or less of Americans reports having a 'great deal' or 'quite a lot of trust' in 11 of 15 industries measured in the survey."
It's a sad statement about perceptions of American business -- and an interesting complement to a recent study of specific companies by the American Customer Satisfaction Council, about which I wrote last week, which found strong and increasing scores for innovative companies like Apple and Google.
Marketers can hardly control the actions of an entire industry, and no doubt many honorable companies suffer at least some guilt by association with less trustworthy peers. And not every company (to say the least) has the deep pockets of an Apple or Google to invest in the constant product innovation which helps drive satisfaction and trust.
But it is extremely difficult to build sustainable growth when a majority of potential buyers don't trust you, and this is certainly as true for B2B as it is for B2C. Fortunately, marketers have great influence over the two things that consumers say companies can do to increase their trust the most:
- Do a better job delivering on promises
- Stand behind your advertising
Is that so difficult?
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