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One third of consumers negatively interpret corporate silence

10/07/2020

A new study by Berkeley Communications and Arlington Research says 31% of consumers see companies that don’t communicate regularly (especially during the Covid-19 pandemic) as something negative, such as weak or unprofessional companies. The silence of companies, especially in difficult times, is interpreted as a weakness of the company, where it is supposed to go through financial difficulties or have had to close. The percentage of negative interpretation is led by Italy, Catalonia and Spain with 39%, 33% consumers in the United States, while in the United Kingdom it is 27%.

From the edeon.net agency we ensure that "silence communicates" and that companies must always, always and always, be able to communicate strategically and define very well the objectives of each communicative impact. Researchers at Berkeley Communications and Arlington Research also point out that they worry when it is their own company that stops communicating, as workers begin to fear for their work.

Fear of job loss linked to lack of communication is more common among men (34%) and people living in cities (35%). These groups are much more concerned than people living in rural areas (26%), although statistically it is easier to find work in large cities than in the countryside. The countries in which this sentiment is most pronounced are Japan (37%), the United States (35%), the United Kingdom and Romania (34%) and Catalonia, Spain, France and Belgium (all four with 33%). Generation Z is most concerned about the lack of communication of their companies (37%), while the baby boom group shows its concern at 24%.

The study also says which topics are of most interest to consumers. Nearly half of respondents (47%) said they wanted to read or write news not related to the pandemic, compared to 20% who thought otherwise. From edon we have also been analyzing the evolution of content consumption and consumer interactions with their favorite brands , and we have seen that in recent months have served many companies to generate more content and improve the relationship with their audiences. . On the other hand, however, we also saw how some companies did not react in time and did not know what content to generate, how to change their marketing strategies or how to keep in touch with their own customers and employees.

Ultimately, consumers have ruled in this report what they expect from communication with brands. More than a third (35%) say that the brands that inspired, gave them hope or distracted them during the crisis are the companies where they will want to continue consuming in the future. This is especially important in the case of respondents who lived in large cities (39%) and in countries such as the United States (45%), the United Kingdom (41%), Portugal, Catalonia and Spain (all three with 40% ). Millennials lead this trend with 42%, followed by Generation Z with 39% and Generation X with 35%.

So, if during the health crisis your company still didn’t hit the table and drove good communication strategies, now is the time to react and regain audiences, gain new audiences and continue to build customer loyalty.

Source: Arlington Research