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â–¶ Financial Industry Still Faces Negativity: The Wall Street Reputation Study, launched by Makovsky and released in Oct. 2012, surveyed communications and marketing executives at financial services companies to determine the challenges they face and the solutions needed to rebuilding reputation. And those challenges are high, with 78% of executives saying negative public perception is the biggest roadblock in rebuilding reputation. Other highlights include:
• 96% of executives invited negative public perceptions because of their actions or inactions during the financial crisis.
• At least 8 in 10 communications and marketing executives are worried about negative public reaction to executive compensation in the financial industry.
• 53% of respondents say the “Occupy Wall Street” movement had an impact on their business.
• 74% say increased regulation will help improve trust and reputation.
Source: Makovsky/Echo Research
â–¶ Is Simple “In” for Brands? Across all industries, consumers are willing to pay more than $30 billion for simpler products and experiences with brands, finds Siegel+Gale’s third annual Global Brand Simplicity Index, released Oct. 2012. The Index surveyed more than 6,000 consumers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America to uncover the perceived points of complexity and simplicity in people’s lives, and ranked the top brands consumers deemed the simplest. Other findings include:
• 80% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand because it provides simpler experiences and communications.
• The health insurance and banking industries stand to gain the most with U.S. consumers, saying they would pay up to $5 billion or $3.3 billion more, respectively, for simpler products and experience.
• Ranking all in the top 10, Subway (#1), Dunkin’ Donuts (#2), McDonald’s (#8) and Starbucks (#9) prove that the quick-service industry continues to win when it comes to simplicity.
• When asked to rank social media on the simplicity scale, consumers ranked the platform higher than several industries already deemed very complex, including banking, utilities and telecommunications.
• In terms of providing customers with simple interactions and communications in Internet search, Internet retail and electronics, Google (#3), Amazon (#4), Netflix (#5), Apple (#7) and Zappos (#10) are among the leaders. PRN
Source: Siegel+Gale