Remember my recent blog post about how people do not trust brand messages? There I was explaining that for brands to earn the trust of consumers, they need to develop an authentic and transparent two-way dialogue, which includes honest sharing of information and the more active inclusion of ordinary people into business operations.

A new research by Edelman called brandshare digs into this and other matters and manages to give some interesting insights into the evolving relationship between consumers and brands.

Before I move on to the research results, I just want to say that I love the motto of the new study: “an ethos and framework that puts people at the centre of your brand.” Indeed, people are becoming more closely involved and are dictating more strongly brand decisions. The motto also reminds me of Brian Solis’ latest Conversation Prism, where “You” is in the middle, i.e. in the centre.

So, what did brandshare find?

Apparently, 90% of consumers want brands to share. However, only 10 percent of people think that marketers share their brands effectively. This, in turn, correlates to the lack of trust consumers have in marketing communications.

The consumer study measured six dimensions of sharing:

Shared dialog

This dimension is concerned with external brand communications as an entry point to a shared relationship, but only when truly walking the talking. 40% of people surveyed want brands to listen more carefully and respond more thoughtfully.

Shared experience

Key in this dimension is to make it as much about people’s interests as it is about the products since 86% of consumers want experiences to go beyond the product and do things together in a meaningful way.

Shared goals

91% of people expect brands to enable their personal goals and to have common objectives. This means that consumers prefer to first be asked about what they need before being told how to get it.

Shared values

Of the six dimensions, this is the one with the highest unmet demand. 92% of people state that they want to do business with brands that share their beliefs, 47% expects brands to be more transparent about product sourcing and manufacturing, and 43% want businesses to more actively give back to the communities.

Shared product

Co-creating products and letting people see behind the curtains is one of the most significant purchase drivers. 91% said that they wanted to be part of the design and development process of the product.

Shared history

This dimension is about the brand’s story and how it is going to evolve based on that history. Even though only 26% of people are demanding shared history, the research found that it is still strongly correlated to purchase and recommendation intent.

Overall, brandshare’s results prove that there is a “strong link between inclusive brand marketing and business value”, basically it pays to share. However, there is a significant gap between consumer expectations and brand performance on those six dimensions. The biggest gap between expectations and delivery are shared values, shared goals and shared products.

So, what conclusions can we make?

Similarly to what I have discovered as a result of my dissertation research about social media for sustainability, consumers are increasingly wanting and expecting to be involved in every stage of the product’s lifecycle and brand development – from idea development, manufacturing, marketing through to recycling. This, in turn, suggests the need for a stronger integration of and co-operation between and throughout different corporate departments. For example, communications and R&D: comms professionals are the ones most closely interacting with the end consumer and so are well aware of their needs and desires around a product. By using social media communities people can be encouraged to share questions, ideas and inspirations. This then must be promptly delivered to R&D as it would e.g. allow better product development or improvement. The result: shared value within and without the organisation.

To learn more about the study check out the infographic below or read the full research here.

(Click on the infographic for a larger view)

Infographic by Edelman