When Businesses Take a Stand

Mutual of Omaha Survey Reveals Consumers Strongly Motivated by a Company’s Values

When it comes to supporting companies that take a stand on social and environmental issues, many of today’s consumers are speaking with their wallets.

Recently, several well-known national brands made headlines for voicing their positions on hot-button issues, precipitating strong consumer reactions that ranged from heightened loyalty to total boycott.

Today’s consumers are making it clear: A company’s values play a significant role when deciding where they’ll spend their hard-earned money. As a result, businesses are left to perform a delicate balancing act as they struggle to do what’s best for the bottom line while taking a public stance on issues that are often polarizing.

Businesses expected to ‘do good’
A recent survey conducted by Mutual of Omaha revealed 76% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that it’s important for the companies they buy from to be clear about what values they stand for. Roughly the same number (79%) said they’re prepared to invest their time and money to support companies that “try to do good.”

“People like to do business with and work for brands that are committed to others,” said Gail Graeve, Mutual of Omaha’s Vice President of Social Impact.  “The most trusted companies are transparent in how they give back to their communities and invest in their people. Stakeholders are holding companies accountable, so it’s important for brands to deliver with authentic actions that match their intentions.”

But businesses are quickly discovering “doing good” means something vastly different to different people.

When a company takes a stand on an issue in today’s divisive, politically charged business environment, there are likely to be customers who disagree and opt to take their money elsewhere. Just over half (52%) of the survey participants said they stopped buying products or services from specific companies because they disagreed with their impact on society or the environment.

When it comes to the insurance industry specifically, support for improved health care for all people and equal pay regardless of race or gender were the key issues driving respondents’ purchase choices.

What’s right? Depends on who you ask.
Across the board, respondents from all generations agreed that investing for good, clear values and a company’s views on diversity, equity and inclusion and the environment impacted their buying decisions. But those who strongly agreed were predominantly from younger generations (Gen Z and millennials).

When given the opportunity to comment on what they believe the role of companies should be when it comes to supporting specific causes, participants shared a range of thoughts.

“I believe that all companies, especially big corps need to give more back to the little people that help them make all the money to begin with,” said one respondent.

“I think companies, as one of the primary drivers of innovation and economic growth, have an outsized role in ensuring that they put their resources into products that are efficacious and ethical and support causes that promote the betterment of society,” said another.

But others said they believe businesses should steer clear of social and environmental concerns altogether.

“Companies should stick to selling their products and stay out of political/hot topic issues,” said one respondent.

“Just stay out of politics if your product does not involve it,” said another.

As society becomes more fractured on issues that are highly emotional and often politicized, consumers will continue to ratchet up the pressure on their favorite brands to support viewpoints they believe are correct. As current events show, when a company takes a position contrary to some people’s beliefs, the consequences can be costly.

“When companies weigh engagement with any issue, their actions should align with their brand promise and the purpose for why they exist,” Graeve said.  “For example, at Mutual of Omaha our brand purpose is focused on protection of our customers and communities and even extends to the animals of the wild kingdom.

“When a company’s actions don’t align with its purpose, public response can be swift, literally impacting its reputation and financial performance overnight.”

For more information about Mutual of Omaha’s commitment to positive change, visit https://www.mutualofomaha.com/about/environmental-social-governance.

Methodology
Mutual of Omaha surveyed 400 U.S. consumers ages 18–77 from May 19-21, 2023, via the quantilope survey platform.

Respondents rated their agreement or disagreement with four statements about brand purpose and if the causes brands support do or don’t influence purchase decisions.

They shared examples of brands that they have started or stopped buying due to the brand’s cause advocacy and completed a Max-Diff exercise rating the influence 10 different activities may have on their consideration of insurance companies.