Edelman recently released it’s annual Edelman Trust Barometer for 2009. With trust being the key focus to restore consumer confidence in many countries across various industries, this study would prove insightful. (Disclaimer: I’m an Edelman Client executive)
Pay close attention to the developing countries and the increased, rather than decreased, level of trust. Have a good read!
Edelman’s 2009 Trust Barometer requires close scrutiny. Edelman: By a 3:1 margin, respondents say that government should intervene to regulate industry or nationalize companies to restore public trust.
PS [Me]: Regulation and nationalisation are profoundly different things. And both come in lots of forms. The question and answers are sort of meaningless.
So, we’re a bit short of people to trust just now. Good, one might say. A bit more scepticism (a bit less trust) might have kept us safer all along.
Fact is lots of firms have retained the trust they need. And you could go further: we do in some sense still trust banks, since they are still doing most of what most of us ever used them for.
If people are not buying cars or houses, a lack of trust has nothing to do with it. The problem is a shortage of money and credit. We can’t have it both ways. We don’t trust banks now because they were so profligate before. Being mean makes them hateful, but more trustworthy. More here:
http://paulseaman.eu/2009/01/would-you-trust-a-trust-survey/