Profit from pandemic at your own risk

If your brand is prioritizing people over profit amid this pandemic, then good for you, as recent research reveals such action improves customer trust.

According to a survey by “experience management” company Qualtrics, the actions that brands take during this global health crisis highly matter to Filipinos, given that 88 percent said these actions were essential to cultivating trust among consumers.

Survey

The survey, conducted among 330 respondents in June, also identifies what these courses of action should be, in relation to businesses’ response to the crisis, and their marketing, brand and advertising campaigns moving forward.

The results show that “not taking advantage of a crisis to maximize profits” (39 percent), as well as “taking care of customers” and “maintaining reasonable pricing” (both at 34 percent) are brand actions that would increase Filipino consumers’ trust in businesses.

What matters leastOn the other hand, what matters least to them, according to Qualtrics, are “providing new products and services tailored to the crisis (14 percent), and “statements about strong moral principles (12 percent).”

“While the operational impact of the lockdown measures in place across the Philippines is temporary, their influence on consumer attitudes and behaviors will be long lasting. As people’s priorities continue to shift in response to the pandemic, and their media consumption habits change, too, they will look for brands they can trust and whose qualities align with their own,” says Lisa Khatri, brand experience and research lead for Qualtrics in Asia Pacific and Japan.

While it appears that new pandemic-related products and services don’t have much impact on brand trust, the study shows that Filipinos want to hear about businesses’ response to the crisis (71 percent).

Qualtrics’ report says that consumers are mostly interested in hearing information about the operational impact of COVID-19, especially on products and services (52 percent), and the treatment of employees (42 percent). They are also interested in sales and promotional emails (42 percent).

Growing patronageThe survey also reveals consumers’ growing patronage of digital and online sales, financial, and communication channels because of this pandemic: 67 percent of respondents said their use of online banking had increased; and 63 percent said they are buying more online. Majority said they want brands to communicate with them through Facebook (86 percent) email (50 percent), and other online media (54 percent).

As an experience management company, Qualtrics provides companies all over the globe with products and solutions that help them provide the best customer experience to their target markets. The organization caters to over 11,000 businesses around the world so they can listen, understand, and take action on what Qualtrics calls “experience data,” or X-data—the beliefs, emotions and intentions that tell brands why things are happening, and what to do about it.

Free toolWhen the pandemic star­ted, Qualtrics launched the COVID-19 Brand Trust Pulse, a free tool that helps businesses understand the drivers of brand trust, which in turn will help them focus on the most relevant courses of action they should take for their consumers.

“Businesses will successfully navigate this new reality by keeping a real-time pulse on market behaviors and perception, and identifying the brand qualities people value most right now. Using these insights, businesses can find their competitive advantage by taking action on the issues that have the biggest impact,” Khatri says.