We are excited that the 2018 GRBN Trust Survey will be going into field next week!
We’re conducting the survey in 8 countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, the UK and the USA – and would like to thank all our partners on this project.
Without these companies’ generous contributions, we would not be able to undertake this important research, so a big thank you goes out to all involved.
Do we still live in a hostile trust environment?
Back in 2016 we found that the general public had a relatively low level of trust in market research companies, both in general, and specifically in relation to protecting their personal data. Market research companies were not alone, however, in this respect, with people distrusting many different types of organizations, including their government in many countries.
Fast-forward two years, and our hypothesis is that the trust environment is still a hostile one, with the rise of fake news and the recent Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal amongst others adding fuel to the fire. We are keen to understand how the general public perceives market research companies in today’s environment, compared to other types of organizations, in particular compared to media and social media companies.
Does trust matter?
If trust in market research companies turns out to be still at a low level, companies can of course choose to ignore this fact and build business models based upon other premises. We believe, however, that market research companies, as well as the clients they serve, and not forgetting the people who participate in research, will all fare better if end clients, research agencies, data collectors, technology companies and industry bodies all work together to build a relationship with the general public based on trust. If we do not, we risk the pool of people willing to participate in research shrinking to such a degree that our whole sector will be undermined.
Participant Experience as the foundation of trust
We cannot hope to have a trust relationship with the general public if we give people a poor experience when they participate in research. And unfortunately, too often research participants are getting a poor experience when they do participate… surveys which are perceived as boring / irrelevant / overly long, and not suitable for mobile.
Increasing awareness of the trust problem
Once we have the data collected and analysed, we’ll be pushing out the learnings from the survey via our Global Insights newsletter, as well as through our partners’ communication channels. We will also be presenting the findings at conferences across the globe over the coming months, so watch this space.
Driving change together
In addition to creating awareness, we will continue to strive to create change. One way we are doing this is through the recently launched ENGAGE MR program, which enables end clients, research agencies, technology companies and data collectors alike to deliver great experiences to research participants. The first group of eight companies are already participating in the program, and we are looking for companies to join the second group, which will kick off after the summer. Please
get in touch to find out more about how you can become part of the building public trust solution.
