Consumer Trust Circa 2003-2004

The delicate business of winning and maintaining consumer trust has become a popular subject of researchers and other commentators. The following is a sampling of work from this year and last:

"What's quickly emerging in the information age is a trust-based economy where securing customer data becomes a top priority for business across all industries."

Consumers indicate the industries they trust most to protect their privacy during business transactions (banks are no. 2 after hospitals/clinics and pharmacies) are the industries consumers will hold most accountable should privacy violations occur.

The 2003 Customer Information Protection Survey, prepared by The Ponenmon Institute for Vontu, November 2003

When asked to rate their trust in major companies on a 0-to-10 scale, only 4% of Americans gave a response of 9 or 10.

The research clearly indicates that relying on advertising and PR tactics to proclaim a story of trust in an effort to build loyalty is not the solution. This crisis of confidence requires a change in the way businesses behave toward, communicate with and relate to today's consumer.

Trust increases retention, boosts spending, enables premium pricing and provides a lasting competitive advantage.

2004 Yankelovich; State of Consumer Trust

Businesses and consumers don't agree on what engenders and what undermines trust.

• 74% of businesses blame online security fears for compromising consumer trust while 67% of consumers cited aggressive marketing as the factor that undermines their trust in business.
• 43% of business respondents cite positive customer service as most instrumental in positively influencing trust while 62% of consumers said trust most frequently results from a company's reputation or length of relationship.

Accenture study, January 2004

"Bankers play the trust card early in every handÉI can think of a dozen new products, services and innovations (e.g., electronic bill presentment/payment, account aggregation, insurance/investment sales, etc.) that the banking world has said should naturally be centered on trust because the public trusts the banking system…"

Gonzobanker.com, June 2003

"Many of the so-called 'unbanked' actually have past experience in dealing with banks and other financial institutions. A Federal Reserve study in 2001 of families without a checking account found that 50.4% had owned a checking account in the past. These consumers made a decision to conduct financial affairs outside the traditional banking system as a result of their own experiences."

Financial Service Centers of America, June 2003