Featuring:
Anjali Lai, Senior Analyst
Show Notes:
Consumers and employees are demanding that companies take a stand on controversial issues. This is forcing executives to make some tough calls: “What do we as a company stand for? And just how committed are we to that position?”
On this episode of What It Means, recorded at Forrester’s CX SF Forum, Senior Analyst Anjali Lai describes the challenges executives face today in balancing values with business goals and investments. One thing is clear: Values-based consumers will remain a serious factor in the market for the foreseeable future. Forrester data shows that 41% of consumers look to buy from companies that align to their values. Further, values sensitivity does not vary by income level or geography. Consumers at all levels and locations want to buy from companies that have values aligned to their own.
Corporate values also have an impact on employee recruitment and retention. Values-based consumers are bringing those sensitivities to their own workplace, using sites such as Glassdoor to identify and share the values and culture of employers. More than one-third of workers say having a meaning to their work is the most important factor to their employment satisfaction. Lai provides real-world examples of companies that have seen gains from their choice of values and others that have seen losses.
In short, executives need to make a conscious decision about values — it can’t be ignored any longer.
