OREANDA-NEWS. June 06, 2016. “Companies that view trust as not just a privacy, security or technology issue, but also a brand-building opportunity and place consumers before near-term profits and self-interest will be best equipped to sail through trust-driven business disruption,” writes Manish Bahl. “These are some of the key findings from Cognizant’s latest study The Business Value of Trust.” Excerpts:

“Data is at once an asset and a liability. According to Gartner, by 2018, half of business ethics violations will occur through improper use of big data analytics. As Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase has said, “If you torture data long enough, it will confess to anything you’d like.” Concern continues to grow — and is perhaps approaching a tipping point — as 65% of consumers surveyed express high levels of concern about how and where their personal data is stored.

The misuse or mismanagement of personal information has potentially irreversible downsides. It is evident that consumers may forgive companies for their mistakes, but not for dishonesty. Roughly 57% said they will stop doing business with a company that has broken their trust.

Established companies have a 6% “legacy tax” on trust. Approximately 47% of consumers surveyed plan to switch to a digital startup due to perceived trust concerns over how their personal data is being used, compared with 41% who said they would rely more heavily on established, pre-digital enterprises.

Many companies believe that they have done their job by publishing data privacy and security policies. But more than half of consumers surveyed for the study say that making sense of these policies is nearly impossible. Communication is a two-way street, so merely stating your organization’s policy and then hiding behind the law will not create a sustainable level of trust.

The study indicates that transparency is the top factor (67%) upsetting a company’s trustworthiness. In fact, 45% of consumers surveyed are willing to share their personal data if a company asks upfront and clearly states how the data will be used. When companies share responsibility for and show an interest in minimizing risk, consumers are more willing to trust. Businesses need to focus on self-regulation based on openness and accountability, with an obsession for maintaining consumer trust.

As consumers become more educated about how a company is using their data, they want a personal, tangible and immediate benefit in return. In fact, 46% of consumers surveyed believe the risk of sharing personal information is worth the personalized products, services and offers they’ll get in return. About 66% view their personal information as valuable, and 50% are willing to share it in exchange for personalized engagement, cash rewards, better customer service, special promotions, relevant experiences and friendly interactions. We call this the “give-to-get” ratio and managing this trade-off transparently is essential for trust to grow and for the companies to succeed.

As the digital revolution unfolds, trust will become even more important because consumers will not just expect but assume businesses have put their interests before everything else.”