Doremus/Financial Times survey of global executives finds their "trust" in suppliers at all-time low

Prestigious Decision Dynamics study in its ninth year, taking the pulse of global executives. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) January 27, 2012 - Since 2003, Doremus, the business communications specialist, and the Financial Times, have partnered annually to survey senior executives around the globe on a variety of business topics. The Q4 2011 Decision Dynamics online survey had 628 respondents from a wide range of company sizes and industries.

When asked: "How has the level of trust in your lead provider in the following categories changed?" respondents generally gave their suppliers low scores. In fact, since the Decision Dynamics survey began in 2003, there has been a steady decline in "trust," with commercial and investment banks scoring lowest.

Declining trust was less severe in the technology sector, with the telecom category experiencing the worst net decrease. The question posed was:

Over the past year, how has the level of trust in your lead provider in the following categories changed?

Among the supplier categories that were added to the survey in 2009 (employee benefit suppliers, advertising/communications agencies, law firms), all saw net declines. Yet, despite the negative trend in trust, respondents saw technology and advertising/communications providers as "increasing in importance." Conversely, "management consultants" was the only category of supplier perceived as "less important" by a significant margin.

When choosing suppliers, criteria beyond simply "being provided with a quality product or service at a competitive price" are important to buyers even in these times of economic stress.

These areas offer suppliers many opportunities to restore trust and outperform competitors, while ignoring them can lead to a competitive disadvantage.

Hope Picker, Doremus Director of Strategic Research, said, "For several years, we have seen that 'cutting costs and improving efficiency' has been a top corporate goal for buyers and sellers alike. This may help explain the decline in trust, as companies are more reluctant to invest in relationships. Building trust now will help in the long-term and differentiate a supplier when times improve. And with trust in technology so low, yet the admission from these executives that tech is growing in importance for them, there is a great opportunity here for tech companies to build relationships and engender trust now."

Daniel Rothman, Director of Research in the Americas for the Financial Times, commented, "Despite the low scores in trust across the board, the light at the end of the tunnel is that respondents identified technology providers and advertising/commun- ications as increasing in importance. This provides a unique and timely opportunity for these industries to focus on adding value and gaining ground with their clients."

For more information about the current Decision Dynamics global survey, contact: Hope Picker (hpicker ( @ ) doremus dot com) dot

About Decision Dynamics -- Since 2003, Doremus and the Financial Times have partnered to learn what senior-level executives around the world, from a mix of industries and company sizes, think about their local and the global economy, to ascertain their media consumption preferences and to study their use of technology in their personal as well as their professional lives. The current survey was conducted in late 2010 with over 500 respondents.
Doremus (http://www.doremus.com) is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in every major business center: New York, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, it specializes in business communications, helping companies align their communications with their business objectives. It does this by leveraging a unique understanding of the complexity of their industries and audiences, and translating that into compelling business-building solutions.
Doremus is a part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)

Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

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