August 2017 Spray 25
thoughts or daily photos of pets, kids and lunch, people are living
their lives completely out in the open, laying bare all manner of
minutiae online, according to Robert Craven of entrepreneur.com.
This expectation of transparency has extended beyond personal
interactions and is now a reality in business. Across all industries,
transparency has never been more important to a successful business
model.
“Transparency is no longer optional”
Consumers want authentic transparency. A recent Forbes magazine
article titled, Transparency is No Longer Optional, stated that consumers
want all the details—the good, the bad and the ugly—so they can
decide for themselves. Even an unintentional lack of transparency
erodes consumer trust while “authentic” transparency can transform
a relationship that is tarnished by suspicion. It reduces fear of
the unknown and creates a platform for building trust.
Forbes indicated that including information on product labels,
offering engagement opportunities through company websites and
protecting whistleblowers all ranked with consumers as important
practices in demonstrating transparency and companies that believe
these are not their issues do so at their own risk.
The new reality has consumers increasingly expecting their
favorite brands to assure more than quality and safety. Companies,
explained Forbes, must understand that simply reporting facts and
science does not fulfill their definition of transparency. Consumers
don’t simply want to know whether something “can” be done,
but rather whether it “should” be done. Is it the right thing to
do? Companies can no longer assume that the public knows they
prioritize safety and care about health, animal well-being and the
environment, among other things. They must be willing to engage
in a dialogue with consumers and to answer their questions in
open manner.
Study offers insight
A new study titled 2016 Label Insight Transparency ROI Study by
Label Insight, a company that specializes in product data, targeted
more than 2,000 consumers about the impact transparency has
on their trust in and loyalty to brands. While the study focused on
brands in the food industry, its key takeaways are relevant to most
industries.
A breakdown of the survey by Kenny Kline of consulting firm
JAKK Solutions explains that consumers want to know more than
what’s in products, they want detailed insights regarding where
firms sourced materials, how the product was made, what values
guided the production process, etc. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed
said that additional product information inspires more trust
in a given brand.
While investing in ethical systems and materials may require
more costs up front, it can have a massive payoff. According to
the study, 73% of consumers said they’re willing to pay more for
a product that promises total transparency, while 39% said they
would switch to a new brand in the pursuit of product transparency.
The internet in general and social media specifically has allowed
brands to develop personalities, value systems and relationships
with other brands and consumers in ways never before seen. Consequently,
consumers expect to know more about companies than
ever before. In addition to being totally transparent about products
themselves, companies are increasingly expected to be transparent
about their overarching value systems and the way they do business.
In exchange for this information, consumers are more likely to
place their trust in a brand. The study found that almost 94% of all
consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand when it commits
to full transparency.
Consumers may hunt for information elsewhere
If a company doesn’t offer product and company transparency, said
Kline, then consumers will take to the internet to try to determine
these details for themselves.
As 2016 Label Insight Transparency ROI Study points out, this
means that brands can easily lose control of the available information
about their products as consumers turn to third-party sources
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