Consumers Trust General Mills. Bank of America? Not So Much

by Angela Nazworth | April 5, 2012 2:34 pm

In an annual study released by consulting firm Reputation Institute, American consumers proclaimed trust and respect for General Mills (NYSE:GIS[1]) and dissed financial giants like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC[2]) and Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC[3]). More than 10,000 consumers were surveyed regarding their views on the 150 biggest U.S. corporations.

Reputation Institute used seven criteria to determine how much (or little) a company is respected: products/services, corporate governance, corporate citizenship, leadership, innovation and workplace environment.

In its full report[4] (free registration required), Reputation Institute claims that a solid reputation can lead to positive bottom-line results.

“Companies that have high perceptions across the most important dimensions of reputation enjoy a strong connection with their stakeholders,” writes Reputation Institute. “Those [companies] with the highest reputation scores experience the highest benefit of the doubt, as well as the strongest likelihood to purchase.”

Since reputation isn’t the only factor that consumers consider when flexing their purchasing power, warm feelings toward a company don’t always translate into more revenue. List-topper General Mills, which makes Cheerios, Yoplait and Betty Crocker products, is

getting left behind[5] in its core market, and its stock is down 3.75% so far this year. But much-loathed Bank of America shares are doing fairly well, up more than 66% in 2012.

You can request the complete report from Reputation Institute[6] via the link above, but here’s a quick look at the survey’s winners and losers.

Top 10

1. General Mills
2. Kraft (NYSE:KFT[7])
3. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ[8])
4. Kellogg (NYSE:K[9])
5. Amazon  (NASDAQ:AMZN[10])
6. UPS (NYSE:UPS[11])
7. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO[12])
8. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[13])
9. PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP[14])
10. Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG[15])

Bottom 5  (Starting with the worst)

1. Freddie Mac
2. Fannie Mae (OTC:FNMA[16])
3. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS[17])
4. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL[18])
5. Bank of America

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/04/consumers-trust-general-mills-bank-of-america-not-so-much/

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