â–¶ CEOs Not Top Dogs in Terms of Reputation: According to new research from Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, CEOs’ reputations are dismal, even in the eyes of those who work for them. Among the study’s findings:
• 66% of surveyed executives believe the reputation of CEOs today is largely negative;
• Only 14% gave CEOs a positive rating, and 20% are noncommittal; and,
• Despite the low approval ratings, 49% reported being interested in becoming a CEO one day.
In terms of steps CEOs can take to rebuild their shattered reputations, the study revealed the following:
• Taking responsibility when CEOs’ firms are in crisis: 90%
• Tying CEO compensation to performance: 83%
• More face-to-face meetings with employees: 68%
• Publicly speaking up for themselves and their companies: 54%
• Being more transparent: 52%
• Issuing regular CEO updates about their business outlooks: 52%
Among executives, the least effective way for CEOs to rebuild trust proved to be using social media to communicate with stakeholders.
Source: Weber Shandwick and KRC Research
â–¶ E-mail Still Alive & Kickin’: E-mail is still the default mode of online communication, according to a global study conducted by ROI Research.
Of the 4,000 consumers polled, 87% of those in North America, 74% of those in Europe and 63% of those in the Asia Pacific region use e-mail as their primary online communication tool. The study also found that:
• Respondents cite security and lack of attractive offers/promotions as the primary reasons why they do not interact with the e-mails they receive;
• North American respondents are the most likely to unsubscribe;
• Eight in 10 North American respondents have added password-based encryption addresses to safe sender lists; more than half of all respondents have done so; and,
• Respondents are most concerned about viruses, identity theft, phishing and scams.
Source: ROI Research/Epsilon
â–¶ B2B Journalists Think the Web Is Swell: A recent study by Arketi Group finds that 68% of journalists feel that social media has generally had a positive effect on reporting within the B2B sector.
Of the 61 professional journalists across several B2B categories that were polled, practically all of them (97%) say that the Internet has made their job easier, with 88% spending more than 20 hours a week online. Other notable findings include:
• 30% of journalists say blogs make their job easier;
• 92% of journalists say they get story ideas from news releases, 85% turn to industry sources and 85% tap public relations contacts;
• When it comes to reporting, only 3% of the journalists surveyed write solely for a print publication and 24% indicate that more than 75% of their news outlet’s Web site content does not appear in the print publication; and,
• The most useful information on a corporate Web site is contact information (93%), followed by press rooms/press kits (90%).
Source: Arketi Group
â–¶ In Recessive Times, Marketers Prove Progressive: The economic turmoil is prompting marketers to implement many short-term strategies, says a report released by the Association of National Advertisers. The study found that 47% of marketing professionals plan to use special pricing deals to facilitate business, with 26% planning social networking and WOM ventures and 23% planning PR efforts. In addition:
• 73% of respondents said they would ideally implement increased marketing activities three to six months before the recession ends, and an additional 16% as soon as it ends;
• Media budgets are being reduced by 56% of marketers;
• Products are the most important factor in building brand equity (89%) with customer service ranked second (86%);
• Customer conversion rates were at 78% in 2008, compared to 70% in 2007; and,
• Of the traditional media channels that have declined in importance since 2007, television was down most, dropping from 80% to 64%.
Source: Association of National Advertisers