••• public opinion
Somewhere, Tony Hayward is chuckling
Federal government falls below oil industry in Americans’ view
The success or faltering of various industries in the U.S. depends as much on public perception as it does on performance and this year the American government is in the proverbial doghouse, according to a survey from Gallup, a Washington, D.C., research company. For the first time, the federal government came in at the absolute bottom as being viewed the least positively, displacing the oil and gas industry.
Seventeen percent of Americans have a positive view of the federal government – the lowest of any sector – while 63 percent have a negative image. The oil and gas industry was the only sector to have a higher negative rating, at 64 percent. Other poorly-ranked sectors include real estate, health care, banking and legal.
The deterioration in Americans’ views of the federal government began in 2004, correlated with a downturn in President George W. Bush’s job approval rating and rising concerns about the Iraq war and the economy. Views turned slightly more positive in 2009 during Barack Obama’s first year as president but dropped back down last year and again this year, likely reflecting rising concerns over the economy, as well as the increase in government spending and power. Other Gallup data show that Congress has the lowest approval rating in Gallup history and that satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. is near its all-time low.
Americans’ views of a number of sectors have worsened dramatically between 2001 and 2011, or, in the case of the federal government, between 2003 – the first year Gallup asked about it – and 2011. The image of the federal government and the real estate industry have dropped the most over the past decade. The percentage of Americans rating the government positively has declined 24 points since 2003 and the real estate industry’s positive ratings have fallen 23 points since 2001. Other sectors with double-digit drops include the banking sector, education, accounting and health care.
Americans view four industries more positively now than they did in 2001: the Internet industry; electric and gas utilities; and the computer and movie industries. All five of the top-rated sectors are related to either computers or food. The current 72 percent positive rating for the computer industry is the highest such rating of any industry since Gallup began tracking business sectors in 2001.
The continuing high ratings for the computer and Internet industries likely reflect the global success of such American companies as Google, Apple and Facebook; the technology industry’s apparent success even in this time of economic uncertainty; and the increasingly major role that technology plays in Americans’ lives. It is less clear why food-related sectors such as the restaurant industry; farming and agriculture; and the grocery industry do so well in the eyes of Americans but it could reflect the U.S.’s relatively noncontroversial and efficient food supply system.
At the other end of the spectrum, poorly-rated sectors have been associated with various well-publicized political or economic problems in recent years. Americans’ frustration with politicians and Washington – exacerbated by the contentious debt ceiling negotiations – comes through in the federal government’s all-time-low image rating. The oil and gas industry has never done well in these image assessments, which is likely tied to swings in gas prices and the overall high price of gas.
The bad image of the real estate industry most likely reflects the housing crisis that has beset the country in recent years and the poor image of the health care industry may reflect the rising cost of health care and uncertainly about access issues. Americans continue to view banks poorly, which clearly reflects lingering concerns from the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent failure of many banks around the country. Lawyers and the legal field have never had positive images.
www.gallup.com
••• social networks
Burnish your firm’s rep
Facebook pages tell customers companies care
Facebook can be a valuable tool for gaining feedback but simply having a Facebook page might also enhance consumers’ perceptions of a company’s brand. One-quarter of online Americans agree strongly with the statement, “If a company has a Facebook page, it means they are interested in what customers have to say,” according to data from Polaris Marketing Research Inc., Atlanta. Another 51 percent of online Americans agreed somewhat with this statement.
Additionally, when asked how much they agreed with the statement, “If a company has a Facebook page, I tend to think more highly of their products or services,” 9 percent of online Americans agreed strongly. Another 33 percent agreed somewhat.
Surprisingly, this finding did not vary widely across demographics. Only males and older respondents (50 years and older) were less likely to agree with the statement, “If a company has a Facebook page, it means they are more interested in what customers have to say.” The statement, “If a company has a Facebook page, I tend to think more highly of their products and services” showed no variation by respondent demographics.
www.polarismr.com
••• brand research
You complete me
2011 loyalty leaders show the value of an emotional connection
Brand loyalty can be difficult to predict but tracking these metrics helps to shed some light on why consumers choose to stick with certain brands. Brand loyalty has always been primarily driven by emotion and now more than ever consumers seek to emotionally connect with brands that stand for something – and also to connect with each other.
According to the 2011 Brand Keys 100 Loyalty Leaders index from New York consultancy Brand Keys, some brands have suffered loyalty losses in the past year as consumers shifted to less-expensive brands that were more meaningful. “Brands that understand that real emotional connections can serve as a surrogate for added value can create stronger loyalty bonds no matter the economy,” says Amy Shea, executive vice president, brand development, at Brand Keys.
The 2011 Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders List includes 528 brands in 79 categories. The brands in the 2011 top 100 include: Amazon, Apple iPhone, Facebook, Samsung cell phones, Apple computers, Zappos, Kindle, Patron tequila and Mary Kay cosmetics.
Beauty brands, like Mary Kay, Estée Lauder, Crest Whitestrips and Maybelline accounted for one-third (32 percent) of the brand loyalty leaders. Social networks – a new category in the 2011 index – had three of the six brands consumers identified ranked in the top 25 brands that generate the strongest consumer loyalty.
Technology brands account for 20 percent of the top 50. Samsung appears to be this year’s loyalty MVP, winning mentions in four categories: cell phone (No. 4), computers (No. 44), smartphones (No. 57) and HDTV (No. 80). Technology loyalty leaders include: Apple (twice, iPhone and computers), Samsung (twice, cell phones and computers); Kindle, Google, LG, Bing, Sanyo and Sony Ericsson.
Mirroring the 2010 rankings, 16 percent of the top 50 Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders are retail brands (bricks and clicks). Amazon moved to the No. 1 spot, displacing the iPhone (No. 2). However, other retailers generally ranked lower than last year: Zappos (No. 6 and new to the 2011 list), Walmart (No. 13, down from No. 3 in 2010), J. Crew (No. 21, down 8 spots); Target (No. 33, down 7), Sam’s Club (No. 38, down 9), Kohl’s (No. 44, unchanged) and BJ’s (No. 50, down 7).
Of the top 50 brands, 12 percent were alcoholic beverages, the same as 2010, in the two categories surveyed: vodka and tequila. This year’s vodka category leaders included: Grey Goose, Ketel One, 3-Olives and Stolichnaya. In tequila, it was Patron and Don Julio. No beer brand made it to the top 50, though Sam Adams placed 58th. Four other vodka brands and one tequila brand fell into the 50-to-100 loyalty range.
On the other side of the bar, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (No. 12, up from No. 14 in 2010) and McDonald’s coffee (No. 26, down from No. 18) were the only other beverage brands to make the top-50 loyalty rankings. Starbucks demonstrated the largest increase in the rankings, ending up No. 100, up from No. 432 last year.
Automotive brand loyalty rankings were generally unchanged from 2010. Only Hyundai made the top 50, in the No. 7 position, down one place from last year. Toyota, a perennial loyalty leader, dropped from No. 37 in 2010 to No. 59.
Some brands that showed the greatest gains in loyalty, vaulting them into the top 100 included: Starbucks (+352); Skechers (+290); Ford (+237); and Overstock.com (+150). Among the brands in the top 100 that saw the greatest losses in loyalty were: Nokia (-63); BlackBerry (-51); Chanel cosmetics (-23); Eucerin skin moisturizer (-23); True Value (-21); and 3-Olives vodka (-18).
Out of all 528 brands included in the 2011 survey, the bottom 10, for which consumers showed the lowest levels of loyalty, include Bank of America; Dr. Pepper; Budweiser; Friendster; BP; Tylenol (OTC allergy); NHL; Taco Bell; American Apparel; and Borders.
www.brandkeys.com/awards/leaders.cfm
••• healthy eating
What's Esperanto for ’Eat your veggies’?
Parents everywhere seek good nutrition for their kids
The parental wish for children to eat healthy foods appears to be universal. In a study from New York research company Ipsos Marketing, parents from around the world were given a list of benefits their children may receive from eating healthy foods and asked to rank which benefits were most important. On a global basis, “healthy heart” was ranked highest in importance, followed closely by “reduced risk of disease later in life,” “better brain development” and “better immunity.”
Differences in priorities were found to exist across countries. Heart health was most important to parents in Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Russia and the U.K. Reduced risk of disease was most important to parents in France, Italy, Sweden and Germany.
Increasingly, parents are finding more support from their local governments as new regulations may force sweeping changes about how packaged foods are marketed to children. Legislation already exists in several countries that restricts food advertising to children, including Sweden, Norway, Canada, the U.K., South Korea and France.
“Parents are demanding nutritious and functional foods to serve their children while new regulations are restricting marketing efforts for less-healthy food options. At the same time, manufacturers need to appeal to children by offering great-tasting food with ‘kid appeal,’ as children still influence food purchases in many countries,” says Lauren Demar, global CEO, Ipsos Marketing, consumer goods.
www.ipsos-marketing.com
••• word of mouth
Glad you asked
Consumers appreciate being invited to write online reviews
Companies of all sizes are becoming more aware of their online reputation but this can be especially significant for local businesses for whom good word-of-mouth can go a long way. What many companies may not realize is that consumers are more than willing to provide feedback online and many consider it a feather in the cap of the company’s customer service when they invite reviews and feedback online. According to Needham, Mass., research company RatePoint, 70 percent of consumers say they would appreciate being asked to write a review by a local business, while only 6 percent say they would rather not be asked.
Without prompting from a business, consumers may be more likely to post reviews about their negative experiences. More than 40 percent said they were very likely to post a review after experiencing poor service, while 32 percent were very likely to post after good service.
“Consumers appreciate being asked and are waiting to post reviews about their positive experiences. If local businesses never ask for reviews, they are missing out on a wealth of positive feedback that will attract new customers,” says Keith Cooper, CEO of RatePoint.
The online review dialogue isn’t limited to just asking for reviews. Sixty-six percent of survey respondents stated they would be likely to consider a business that publicly responds to positive online reviews, while 40 percent indicated they are likely to consider a local business that responds to a negative online review.
“Sometimes a negative review can turn off a customer but our consumer behavior study shows a public response from the business can win back a customer who might have otherwise taken their business elsewhere,” says Cooper.
www.ratepoint.com
••• social networks
'Addicting' for some, 'annoying' for others
Majority of Americans view social networking experiences positively
Two-thirds of adult Internet users (65 percent) now say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61 percent in 2010, and most users see it as a positive addition to their lives, according to the Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.
When social networking users were asked for one word to describe their experiences using social networking sites, “good” was the most common response. Overall, positive responses far outweighed the negative and neutral words that were associated with social networking sites (more than half of the respondents used positive terms). Users repeatedly described their experiences as “fun,” “great,” “interesting” and “convenient.” Less common were superlatives such as “astounding,” “necessity” and “empowering.”
Negative responses were recorded for roughly one-fifth of respondents who answered this question and these answers included a far more diverse array of adjectives and, at times, expletives. Frustrations were evident among respondents who described their experiences using the networks as “annoying,” “overwhelming,” “boring,” “confusing” and “overrated.” Many respondents offered the words “addictive” or “addicting” as the first thing that came to their mind, while a sizable ambivalent group said their experiences had simply been “okay.” These neutral descriptions were also quite varied, though terms that indicated little experience with the sites were common in this group.
Because the open-ended question asked respondents to “use one single word to describe your experiences using social networking sites,” the adjectives that were shared point to both the user’s interactions on the sites and the functionality of the interface. For instance, one user described her experiences on the sites as “noisy” while another used the word “glitches.” www.pewinternet.org