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A Clear View of Transparency and How It Earns Trust
J.J. Jones
@JasonJacobJones
20 February 2017
Who am I?
TO EARN CONSUMER TRUST IN TODAY’S FOOD SYSTEM
CFI strives to:
Be a Leading Voice in a Balanced Public Conversation about Food
Align the Culture of Today’s Food System
Convene, Empower and Support Food System Stakeholders
The Center for Food Integrity
Social/Consumer Decision Making
Consumers are asking more
questions about food
How Did We Get Here?
Today’s consumersShifting societal attitudes
Many choices, Many voices
Mistrust in farming and foodDesire to know/trust farmers
Historical Perspective:
Decline of TrustTHEN NOW
Authority is granted primarily by office
Broad social consensus driven by WASP males
Communication is formal, indirect (mass
communication)
Progress is inevitable
“Big” is respected
Authority is granted primarily by relationship
No single social consensus, great diversity, many voices
Communication is informal, direct (masses of communicators)
Progress is possible
“Big” is bad
Online Communication is Tribal/Insular
Consumer
Consumer
Consumer
Traditional
Communication
Model
Expert
FamilyOnline Friends
Neighbor
FamilyFriend
Tribal
Communication
Model
FamilyOnline Friends
Blogs
The “Mom” TribeWhat information sources have you used to come to your conclusion that GMOs are dangerous?
Heidi: “I’m part of a moms group. When there is a big consensus, I think ‘there’s something here.’ You don’t need doctors or scientists confirming it when you have hundreds of moms.”
Tribal Shunning
Lisa: “I think mom guilt is a huge factor. If someone is telling you something is dangerous, for example, fructose, and you hear the message more than once, you owe it to yourself to research it or quit consuming it. I can’t keep giving my kids fructose if there’s a potential problem. We have to do our best job.”
Why Facts Alone Don’t Drive Decisions
Cultural Cognition
Tendency for people to conform beliefs about controversial matters to group values that define their cultural identities.
Confirmation BiasTendency for people to favor information that confirms existing beliefs.
Why Facts Alone Don’t Drive Decisions
Bounded Rationality
Our access to information, our cognitive ability to understand the information and the time we allocate to the information/decision process
Bad News BiasNegative information weighs more heavily on our decisions than positive information.
• The public senses a change in the way food is produced but doesn’t know why
• Social media quickly amplifies issues
• Online influencers skew information
• Media focuses on dramatic stories
• Food is necessary, traditional & emotional
Compounding Factors
Changing Industry…The 20 largest grocery retailers sell 63% of groceries in the U.S.
Changing Industry… Three firms control ~89% of U.S. soft drink sales.
The top four beef packers process 85% of beef.
Changing Industry…
The top 50 dairy cooperatives process 80% of milk.
Changing Industry…
Consolidation, Integration and Industrialization
What’s Your Communication Goal?
PERSUADE
EDUCATE
Our Goals Should Be...
Embrace the skepticismConsumer concerns are real
Perception is their reality
Share your values
CFI Trust Model (Sapp-Look East)
Trust research was published in the December 2009 Journal of Rural Sociology
SOCIAL LICENSE
FREEDOM TO OPERATE
Definition: The privilege of operating with minimal formalized restrictions (legislation, regulation, or market requirements) based on maintaining public trust by doing what’s right.
Public Trust: A belief that activities are consistent with social expectations and the values of the community and other stakeholders.
Social License
Tipping Point
Flexible Responsive Lower Cost
Rigid Bureaucratic Higher Cost
Social License
• Ethics
• Values
• Expectations
• Self regulation
Social Control
• Regulation
• Legislation
• Litigation
• ComplianceSingle triggering event
Cumulative impact
The Social License To Operate
Social License Challenge: Biotechnology
Social License Challenge: Climate Change
Social License Challenge: Public Health
Growing Challenges: Animal Welfare
Cost of Losing Social License• Cost of future regulations +
• Cost of assets lost +
• Cost of lost sales +
• Reduced stock price +
• Loss of consumer confidence +
• Increased operating cost +
• Loss of reputation +
• Reduced employee satisfaction
Total cost of social license lost
INFLUENTIAL OTHERS
VALUE SIMILARITY
TRUST
CONFIDENCE
COMPETENCE
SOCIAL LICENSE
FREEDOM TO OPERATE
Trust research was published in the December 2009 Journal of Rural Sociology
Shared values are 3-5x more important to building trust than sharing facts or demonstrating technical skills/expertise
What Drives Consumer Trust?
TRUST
What Consumers ExpectA review of learnings
Trust-Building Transparency
Shared Values = Trust
Overcoming the Bias Against Size
Big is Bad
Inverse relationship between size and the perception of shared values
Transparency Means Business
“Consumers have begun to weigh a new set of factors more heavily in their purchase, disrupting the consumer value equation in ways that present both opportunities and challenges for the food industry. “
Topics of Interest
2015 CFI Research
Food Safety
Impact of Food on Health
Labor & Human Rights
Animal Well-Being
Business Ethics
Environmental Impact
CFI’s 7Elements of
Trust-Building Transparency
– 1 –Motivation
– 5 –Clarity
– 4 –Relevance
– 3 –Stakeholder Participation
– 2 –Disclosure
– 6 –Credibility
– 7 –Accuracy
CFI Transparency Research Takeaways
• Transparency is no longer optional – it’s a basic consumer expectation for the entire food system
• Heightened interest about what’s in food, who’s producing it, how it’s produced and how it impacts health
• Don’t expect to “fly under the radar” – access to information makes that impossible
• Put wheels in motion now to increase transparency for the long-term
• Consumers want information on your practices –practices are an illustration of values in action and values drive trust.
• Consumers want the ability to engage. They want to be heard and acknowledged, and they want straight answers to their questions.
CFI Transparency Research Takeaways
• The social decision making process in complex and multidimensional
• Decisions are not made on facts and rational thought alone
• Mistrust of institutions has become the social norm
• Tribal communication and “relational expertise” influences trusted sources and messages
• Growing pressure on brands to drive social change
Our New Reality
• Who you are is as important as what you know
– Communicating shared values makes technical information more relevant and accessible
• Embrace skepticism – It’s not personal, it’s a social condition
– Skepticism is the fuel for scientific discovery
• The public wants information from academics but not academic information
– Learn to speak the language of social media
• Transparency is no longer optional
– Authentic transparency is the path to building trust in dairy in the 21st century
Implications for You
How Do You Effectively Engage With Consumers About Food
Issues?
Ag and food industries talk
about what and how
Science!Economics!
Why Values Matter
Research proves it’s ok to do this ...
Change Our Approach
Historically
We need to
SHIFT It sounds like food safety is important to you ...
Financially, it’s in our best interest ...
Answering the Wrong Question
Science Question Ethical Question
CAN SHOULD
Don’t abandon science and facts
Lead with Shared Values to Build Trust
How: Conversations, not Messages
1. Listen –Without Judgment
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
Seek first to understand; then to be understood.”
- Stephen R. Covey
Not Every Conversation is
Meant to Be
2. Ask Questions to Invite Dialogue
2. Ask Questions to Invite Dialogue
AcknowledgeShows that you heard thequestion or statement
UnderstandAsk questions that show you’re working to
understand them better
3. Share Your Perspective through Values
1. Begin your public engagement using shared values– “People don’t care how much you know until they know how
much you care.” T. Roosevelt
2. Open the digital door to today’s dairy– Find ways to make what you do transparent to illustrate your
commitment to do “what’s right”
3. Commit to engaging early, often and consistently– Your voice, your knowledge and your credibility matter. You
can make a difference in building public support in dairy, but you have to learn how to play by new rules
Three Things You Can Do
WORDS ARE POWERFUL
OOPS!
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