The Brand Goodness Report from GOODcorps evaluates “goodness” in brands from consumer perspective, finds strong correlation between community-focused brands and consumer loyalty.
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) – October 8, 2015 – Social impact consultancy GOODcorps, a division of GOOD Worldwide Inc, today released phase two of The Brand Goodness Report—a three-part research project that explores “goodness” in brands and how consumers perceive what truly makes a brand “good.”
Phase two of the survey showed the return on investing in corporate responsibility in the form of building consumer loyalty. 94 percent of the 250 “conscious consumers” surveyed said they were very or extremely likely to continue to support “good” brands after hearing about their community and environmental efforts. Two-thirds of respondents bought products or used service from brands after they learned of a company’s do-good efforts.
“GOODcorps is interested in understanding how people want brands to do good in the world,” said Anna White, Director of Strategy, GOODcorps. “It’s exciting to see the deep loyalty people build with companies that are focused on doing what is right for their communities and the environment.”
“I believe there’s a gap between intention and action because some people lack the information, access or opportunity to act on their values,” said Grace Kim, managing director of GOODcorps.
Most of the survey’s questions were structured as open-ended responses to allow individuals to define the broad concept of “goodness” in their own words rather than pre-defined answers. This allowed GOODcorps to aggregate a list of brands, values and actions that represent what consumers are paying attention to and expect from brands efforts to become more responsible.
Six core insights were uncovered from phase two of the research that offer a framework for how people perceive brands goodness.
● Favorite brands and good brands have some overlap: The key attributes of favorite brands are quality and functionality while good brands are liked for softer attributes including responsibility, wellness and equality. However, quality is still the top trait for favorite and good brands. Patagonia, Whole Foods, and Google topped both categories. 52% of respondents identified at least one of their top three favorite brands as one of their top three good brands, and 22% of respondents selected the same brand for their top favorite and top good brand.
● Being good starts from within: How you treat your employees, and a mindful production process are at the very heart of being a “good” company. What people seem to value most is a pure honest desire to be and do good, and embed it in the core of the company’s business model. “The company appears to be doing and being good as part of its culture, not just a marketing campaign” is the top criteria in assessing if a brand is genuine.
● Good is good for business: When asked to rank various factors that drive repeat purchase or use from top good brands, “goodness” is ranked as the second most important factor with 47 percent of respondents selecting it as a top three reason after quality (66 percent).
● Company culture, transparency and honest leadership define good brands: The most important attribute of good brands was how they treated their own employees (96 percent) followed by transparency in the supply chain (95 percent) and honest leadership (93 percent). People and community-focused efforts ranked higher than philanthropy (76 percent) or sustainability (89 percent).
● People want to hear about brands’ goodness: From more clear information on packaging to making the information easier to find online, people want to hear honest information—even about the problems—and how companies are working towards being better. There’s a strong interest in certifications that are easier to understand.
● Some product categories make it hard to assess goodness: Conscious consumers have an easy time evaluating goodness of brands where they directly understand the materials like food, household products, clothing and cosmetics, yet the categories of consumer electronics, financial services, media, and software are hard to assess.
The survey was administered to 250 participants of GOOD Magazine’s audience—a publication of GOOD Worldwide Inc focused on global citizenship. Phase three of the survey will be a broad, national survey refined to better understand the national consumer.
For more information on GOODcorps and its phase two research, visit GOODcorps.com, and connect with GOODcorps via its newsletter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.
Interviews with Director of Strategy and research leader Anna White are available upon request.
About GOODcorps
GOODcorps is GOOD Worldwide Inc’s social impact consultancy. Since 2009, GOODcorps has worked with premier brands and foundations like Pepsi, Starbucks, DICK’S, Lululemon, Levi Strauss & Co., PUMA, the Girl Scouts, Carnegie Corporation, and more to help companies and organizations realize strategic value through social impact. Learn more at GOODcorps.com.
About GOOD Worldwide Inc
GOOD Worldwide is a social impact company that creates stories, experiences, and tools to push the world forward. GOOD Worldwide includes GOOD Media, GOODcorps, and CTZN. GOOD Media is a multi-platform media brand that elevates creative solutions to global issues via a website, quarterly magazine and strategic partnerships. The GOOD Worldwide Inc umbrella, also includes two other properties: GOODcorps, a consultancy that helps companies and organizations realize strategic value through social impact, and CTZN, a community storytelling app that helps people connect and grow missions, movements and causes. Learn more at GOOD.is.
