Data shows low trust in companies who collect personal data in Japan & South Korea. Trust differs culturally so how can collectors & users of personal data connect more emotionally with the general public?
Conclusion
Data shows low trust in companies who collect personal data in Japan & South Korea, compared to the rest of Asia. For data collectors – including market researchers – to gain more trust from society, business & consumers, we must consider: 1) the concept of trust culturally and 2) differing strategies to build trust with local consumers.
Trust in Japan differentiates between:
Personal trust (shinrai 信頼) This ‘trust’ is akin to the concept of Brand Love in the West and brands which collect personal data generally lack this personal trust with consumers in Japan & Korea.
Business trust (shinyou 信用). This ‘trust’ is functional, relating to business or tasks being undertaken to expected levels, and therefore relevant for products, services & data.
Potential strategies to connect more emotionally in Japan & South Korea include scaling, diversifying their business or specializing to target a well-defined consumer segment.
Data: Low trust
In 2020, as part of the GRBN global trust survey, Rakuten Insight surveyed 1,000 participants across 12 Asian markets. The study measured opinions of ‘brands who collect and use personal data’, including research providers as well as, any form of personal data collection. The key insights include:
- Japanese consumers have low familiarity with the collection & usage of personal data and a high concern of misuse, compared to many countries
- Japanese consumers expect businesses to put the customer first (ommote nashi), however the concern over data misuse highlights a trust issue between those who collect and use personal data and society
- In South Korea trust between consumers & companies which collect personal data is low
Two further surveys conducted in April & December 2020 support this showing there’s low trust towards the media amongst Japanese & South Korean compared to other Asian markets. Trust was notably low in TV programs in Japan (Japan: 48% compared to China: 89%) & newspapers in South Korea (South Korea: 57% compared to India: 91%).
To understand this situation further, we’ll explore the nature of trust in Japan. This will investigate the hypothesis that there’s a shared cultural viewpoint in Japan and South Korea, that differ from other Asian markets in how they view trust.
The Nature of Trust:
Culturally, there are two words for ‘trust’ with slightly different nuances:
- Shinrai (信頼) is ‘trust’ used when it relates to personal ‘trust’ and so relevant for friendship & closeness
- Shinyou (信用) is ‘trust’ which relates to business or tasks and so relevant for products, services & data
When using the personal trust term, one might say to someone ‘My friend is someone who can be trusted’ (Shinrai 信頼). Alternatively, using the more business type trust, you may find on a review site that ‘this company is not to be trusted’ (Shinyou 信用).
‘Shinyou’ trust is not necessarily a negative, since it’s delivering against promises in a business-like manner. However, there’s a lack of humanity or personal trust that exists in ‘Shinrai’. In Western marketing terms, this can be viewed in a similar way to Brand Love. Consumers can have a transactional trust relationship with a brand. But they can also trust brands in a deeper, more human and personal way.
For companies which collect personal data, even establishing the more transactional trust isn’t easy. Functional expectations from consumers in both Japan & Korea are very high and difficult to meet, as discussed in local view think-pieces from Rakuten Insight & PMI, included in GRBN Trust Survey report . However, the real challenge for data collectors in Japan is to establish this personal brand trust which will enable the bond between market research, society & consumers to be strengthened.
How Can Brands Achieve Personal Trust?
The first challenge for companies collecting data in Japan & Korea to overcome so they can create personal trust is awareness. Most people are unfamiliar with any research brands, even the big research brands, and know little about the market research sector.
Following awareness two potential routes emerge for how research agencies & data collectors can achieve trust on a personal level.
Diversify & Scale
Example brands include Rakuten, Panasonic, Dentsu & Samsung. Emotional trust is built through the sheer scale of brand presence, sectors & markets covered. In the West, we have seen a backlash against brands spreading across diverse sectors, however this is not the case in Japan and Korea. Diversity brings scale which reassures on trust, greater consumer permission to diversify.
Research agencies often aim for media presence to connect with consumers. However, in Japan, Asahi & Yomiuri Newspapers also own the survey data presented in their publications. A research agency could diversify and generate varied media content to connect with local consumers.
Connect With a Target Audience
This has been done by Teikoku Data Bank (帝国データバンク). Teikoku Data Bank isn’t a research agency. But it is the benchmark for business data. Their brand proposition of business data category leader as well as leveraging the association with traditionally trusted institutions such as banks, increases trust with consumers. An equivalent brand in UK is Ipsos Mori or YouGov who can connect emotionally to those passionate about politics.
It’s challenging for research agencies & data collectors to generate more trust in Japan & Korea but accounting for the cultural notion of trust from a local viewpoint can shed light on how trust can be built with consumers.
