Industry Insight: Brand trust influences most buying decisions

Percentage of Americans who cite quality of goods and trust in the brand as their criteria for buying a product, according to a survey by The Body Shop International: 70

Percentage who say they purchase based on a company's ethical reputation: 39

Percentage who say price and value are their criteria for purchase: 38

Building staff

In 2009, percentage of business organizations that offer a performance bonus to recruit and retain top talent, down from 80 percent in 2008, according to research conducted by ExecuNet: 71

Percentage that offer a performance review within the first six months, down from 56 percent in 2008: 42

Accidental innovation

Percentage of executives who believe innovation happens by accident at their companies, according to a Deloitte online poll: 31

Percentage of respondents who say their companies encourage innovation as a mandate: 25

Percentage who reported the word "innovation" is not applicable in their company's structure: 12

Customer connections

Percentage of consumers who said they are more likely to shop with a retailer that gives them the flexibility to interact easily via online, mobile and kiosk self-service channels versus a retailer that does not, according to a survey commissioned by NCR Corp.: 72

Percentage of consumers who believe that it is important that store employees are available to help locate products: 73

Product development

When asked to choose one area in which companies should concentrate most when developing new food products, percentage of North American consumers who cited "providing fresh ingredients," according to a study conducted by Ipsos Marketing for the consumer goods sector: 26

Percentage who said companies should look at providing additional benefits: 24

Percentage who said that packaging should be made more environmentally friendly: 21

Making professional inroads

Percentage of undergraduates, graduates and recent alumni who will not use their network to work their way into a job by proactively connecting to an employee in their target company, according to a 2008 CareerXroads survey and the job site AfterCollege.com: 66

Percentage who responded that they are extensively researching companies and positions in which they are interested: 78

Percentage who are actively seeking advice and help from parents or career services: 22

Revamped résumés

With the employment market feeling the effects of a global recession, percentage of executives who have recently updated their profile on a public networking site, according to recent research from ExecuNet: 71

Percentage who have updated their résumé: 60

Competitive advantage

Percentage of working Americans who agree (52 percent strongly/28 percent somewhat) that technology gives their company/organization a competitive advantage in their industry, according to an Ipsos Reid Public Affairs poll: 80

Percentage of workers who say that "technology is critical to their individual productivity at work" as well as their creativity: 78

Percentage of employees who "strongly agree" that their employer gives them excellent training on all the latest innovations in their industry: 41

Tools for success

Ranks of online training (60 percent), video conferencing (52 percent) and collaborative-workspace software (43 percent) as the most popular responses made by chief information officers when asked which tools their firms currently use or anticipate using, according to Robert Half Technology: 1, 2, 3

Information overload

Percentage of American white-collar workers who say they feel "inundated with information" at their workplace, according to a survey conducted by LexisNexis: 70

Percentage who say they feel they are headed for an information "breaking point": 41

Percentage who say they wish they could spend less time organizing information and more time using what information comes their way: 68

Percentage who say that not being able to access the right information at the right time is a "huge time-waster": 85

Idle Thought

"No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be."

-Isaac Asimov

[[In-content Ad]]John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His "Figuratively Speaking" column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.