New research from the University of Adelaide reveals that transparency and effective communication are key to building and maintaining consumer trust. Dr. Kate Sansome, from the Adelaide Business School, found that consumers expect brands to be open about issues that directly affect them.
“As sociopolitical issues become topical in the news and social media, brands are expected to be transparent about them; for example, as consumers face cost-of-living pressures, they will expect brands to be transparent about this issue,” says Dr Sansome, who conducted the study with the Professor Jodie Conduit and Dr Dean Wilkie from the Adelaide Business School.
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“Our research shows that it’s not just about brands sharing extensive information, but about being open, clear, timely, and providing well-explained, evidence-based information. Open dialogue and answering consumers’ questions are important for transparency, even on sensitive or negative issues, particularly for brands in industries with a negative reputation.”
Dr Sansome says that being transparent means communicating in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, being upfront before external pressure, and backing up claims with statistics, facts, and visual evidence. The study suggests that brands that use tools like infographics or storytelling to explain their decisions give consumers a better understanding of their intentions and reasons behind their actions.
“Consumers are becoming more uncertain of brand communication due to misinformation, deep fakes, misleading claims, and perceived hypocrisy,” Dr Sansome says.
“Scepticism is growing, where a majority of young people believe a brand is hiding something if it avoids certain topics.
“Consumers’ perceptions of certain brands or product categories can influence how they interpret brand transparency. Our research shows that in stigmatised industries like mining or fast fashion, consumer scepticism can make it difficult for people to recognise a brand’s efforts to be transparent, regardless of its intentions.”
Dr Sansome says her study highlights a need for brands to improve how they communicate transparency to consumers in order for them to make informed decisions.
While conventional research often limits its scope to managerial or governance aspects of transparency, Dr. Sansome’s study breaks new ground by considering the consumer perspective. By acknowledging the subjective nature of brand communication and the significance of consumer-relevant topics, this research offers a unique and valuable insight.
Dr Sansome says further research is needed to explore strategies enabling brands to share their sustainability progress transparently without compromising brand equity or facing significant reputational risks.
