Move from Passion to Compassion in Marketing

There is a good piece in The Economist about the recession's impact on the way people shop. My take away: Now is the time for nonprofits to form relationships with corporations both large and small. Nonprofits have a very important non-tangible asset which is trust. Businesses don't have that asset.

Here are some key points:

Trust
The Boston Consulting Group recently completed a global survey of consumer sentiment involving 15,000 consumers. The results show that over half of respondents from America and Europe say the crisis has intensified their distrust of big business.

Empathy
Companies will need to show they empathize with consumers’ new concerns. “There will need to be a move from passion to compassion in marketing,” reckons John Gerzema of Young & Rubicam.

Word of Mouth
The downturn will also accelerate the use of social media, such as blogs and social-networking sites, by consumers looking for intelligence on firms and their products. As trust in brands is eroded, people will place more value on recommendations from friends. Social media make it harder for brands to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes, but they also offer canny companies a powerful new channel through which to promote their wares and test new products and pricing strategies.