85% Of Americans Cite Trust, Honesty As Primary Factor When Deciding On A Candidate Or Purchase.

While presidential candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry tangle over issues, and corporate leaders map out business plans in the wake of corporate scandals, a new poll released indicates that a vast majority of Americans — 85 percent — are more concerned with trust and honesty than with political viewpoint, price or quality.

According to a telephone poll conducted by The Cherenson Group, a Livingston, NJ-based public relations firm, 85 percent of likely voters equate trust with honesty, and consider trust the single most important consideration — even more than political viewpoint — when considering who to vote for. In addition, they view trust as more important than price and
quality when deciding whom to do business or invest with.

“Politicians and business executives spend a great deal of time honing messages and developing strategies, but our poll indicates they may be overlooking the key ingredient to success — trustworthiness,” explained Michael Cherenson, APR, vice president of public relations for The Cherenson Group. “Essentially, Americans are looking for leaders and products they can believe in. So, whether on Main Street, Wall Street or Pennsylvania Avenue, it’s essential for those courting public favor to emphasize honesty above other factors.”

The Cherenson Group’s poll was conducted March 10-11, 2004, among 500 likely New Jersey voters. The survey’s margin of error is +/- 4.38 percent, at the 95 percent confidence interval. Dialing was randomized among a list of registered voters in New Jersey and stratified by gender, geography and age.

In the poll, likely voters age 18 and older were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “I equate trust with truth and honesty. Trust is the most important consideration I make, even more than political viewpoint, when I consider who to vote for, and more important than price and quality when I consider who I do business with, or who I invest with.”

“A full 85 percent agreed, with 66 percent saying they strongly agreed and 19 percent saying they somewhat agreed; only 10 percent said they disagreed with the statement,” said Cherenson, who is accredited in public relations by the Universal Accreditation Board and serves as a member of the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with nearly 20,000 members. Cherenson is also a frequent speaker on issues relating to public relations, reputation and corporate governance.

In terms of gender, 87 percent of women agreed with the statement, compared to 82 percent of men.

Voters who identified themselves as conservative were most likely to agree with the statement (91 percent) compared to moderates (85 percent) and liberals (78 percent). As for party affiliation, 83 percent of both Democrats and Independents agreed with the statement, compared to 90 percent of Republicans.

In 2002, a Cherenson Group study found that nearly six in ten adults believed the stock market woes of that time were caused by corporate lying and dishonesty, almost four times more than other factors including the economy (15 percent) and the threat of terrorism (10 percent).

This 2002 research also found that 86 percent of adults, if presented with two products or services of equal quality, would actually pay more for the one offered by a company that had an excellent reputation for being honest with customers, employees and shareholders.

A 2001 Reputation Survey from The Cherenson Group found that 78 percent of adults would rather work for a company with an excellent reputation than for a company with a poor reputation, even if doing so meant receiving a lower salary.

For more information at http://www.cherenson.com