Consumers have shed their dominant complacency.

Life poses many challenges, a large number of them outside our control. As a result, each of us finds ways to reduce the turmoil. We establish routines.

But, sometimes those circumstances beyond our control make us break our own conventions and look at things anew. We establish new attitudes and develop new behaviors to cope. When those new behaviors are acceptable, they become our new standard.

The state of our economy has forced behavioral changes on consumers from all socio-economic strata and, in turn, has created issues for marketers.

Utilizing our 100,000+ member consumer panel, Trone conducted a study among 3,186 adults regarding the U.S. economy. The study, a follow-up to similar research done in November, was fielded on President Obama’s 100th day in office. Many of the results, to say the least, were surprising.

Consumer’s general perceptions on the economy hasn’t changed.

On the key measures of the long-term effects of the economy, little has changed between November and now.

• The percentage of people who think it will take three or more years to return to our former levels of prosperity decreased from 64% to 61%.
• Those who anticipate depleting their savings or going further into debt in the coming year remains constant at 26%.
• Only a marginal shift from 52% to 53% was seen in the number of respondents who expect that they will have to defer their retirement a year or more.

In fact, overall concern about the economy has diminished significantly as 57% of the sample indicated they were extremely or very worried about the American economy, down from 68% just five and a half months ago. Somewhat surprisingly, given the decline in concern and the President’s high approval ratings, only 32% of the sample purported to be very or extremely confident that the administration was taking the right steps to stabilize the economy. Not at all surprising was this group’s split along partisan lines. Seventy-one percent of those with a high confidence level were Democrats while only 9% were Republicans. The remainder was made up of Independents (15%) and respondents who chose not to share their party affiliation.

Consumer behaviors have been much different than they projected five months ago.

The economy has affected people and they have taken even more drastic steps to protect their personal financial position than they anticipated they would in November.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed reported that they or a member of their immediate family has seen their income directly impacted by the economic downturn. Twenty-three percent have experienced a layoff while another 18% and 24% respectively have been hit with a reduction in their salary or hourly wage or a reduction in hours.

In addition, 58% have seen one or more of these same phenomena effect friends or extended family members.

As a reaction, people are making drastic and potentially permanent behavioral changes. When asked in November about the likelihood that they would change brands to save money in key categories, 27% thought it likely in the products they buy for their children, 42% in the products they buy for themselves and 36% in their grocery brands. The realities were astonishingly different.

When asked in April if they had changed brands in those same categories, 63% admitted changing brands in products for their children, 75% in the products they buy for themselves and 76% in their grocery brands. In and of themselves these numbers are astounding, but they become even more remarkable when you appreciate how consumers feel about their brand “concessions.”

The brand changes are not viewed as “concessions” by many, and if they are, it is deemed an acceptable one given the cost benefit.  Thirty-two percent of the respondents think they’ll stay with very many or most of the new brands they’re buying for their children. Similar sentiments were expressed for the new brands they are buying for themselves (31%) and at the grocery store (37%).

So, the question for marketers is not just how the economic conditions are impacting their brands today, but how they’ll be affected in the future. Are you taking the right steps to fortify your brand franchise and forge new customer relationships? Or, is your brand one of the many that will be negatively and permanently damaged by this new consumer mindset?

The social media front has created many quandaries for marketers over the last couple of years. The most well-known challenges focus around capitalizing on existing conversations, mitigating bad chatter or determining whether or not their brand has the potential for a social media voice. Often, marketers are facing a combination of all the above.

Through an online survey conducted by Trone in December of 2008, some key insights emerged to assist marketers in determining how to stimulate conversation around their industry and brand.

One segment, Technological Drivers, surfaced as being the primary providers of user-generated content and conversation online. The main indicators of their activity are based on their projected online contribution in the next 30 days as indicated by the statistics below:

• 66% are likely to contribute to a blog
• 61% will publish to their own blog
• 59% plan to contribute to a wiki
• 61% will post at least one video
• 69% contribute to question and advice sites

These data points only scratch the surface of their involvement online. The frequency in which they are developing and influencing content often doubles and triples the activity percentages in the other segments.

What’s important to note is not how different your brand’s target audience may be from this segment, but who from this segment are your customers. The realization and identification of this behavioral niche can help unlock the key to activate conversation for your brand.

Loyalty and advocacy within this segment are essential to your brand’s social media effectiveness. Their ability to disseminate information in opportune areas ensures that the right content will be present when the rest of the target audience is searching for, or gaining, awareness for your brand. Most notably the biggest impact will be your brand’s relevance in organic searches and presence in community and discussion forums close to your target.

Engaging this segment does have its risks as other brands have witnessed. Marketers must ensure that they are building the proper relationships by benchmarking existing conversations around the industry/brand, observing how this segment interacts and what motivates them. Ignoring this or not assessing it correctly may be detrimental to the brand.

Though the biggest opportunity to activate conversation for your brand lies within the Technological Drivers segment, most segments show varying degrees of contribution to online content. What’s important in increasing the target’s participation is finding what triggers cause them to speak on the brand’s behalf. Findings show that often these triggers are based on life events or topics which compel them. The challenge lies in discovering insights that help to uncover these motivators. Research that helps to connect to their behaviors is essential to understanding the full range and opportunity within the segment.

As we move forward, the brands that will be the most successful on the social media front will be the ones that are able to activate the niches within their customer base through varying strategies to create engagement and promote advocacy. How will your brand be measured against this standard?

Why consumer-brand relationships are at risk.

It’s no secret the economy is in bad shape. With the bailouts, the unemployment news and falling stock markets, consumers hear about it everywhere. So, it’s also no surprise that consumers are reacting. Even consumers who haven’t been directly affected are thinking twice about what they really need and what they can do without. But, just how bad is it? What are they really thinking about the economy? How do they plan to spend their money? Do brands still matter? These are just a few of the questions we asked in a recent Trone Brand Connections survey of 3,300 consumers.

The study found that most everyone is looking to make spending cuts somewhere because they aren’t feeling good about the future.

• 93% believe it will take a year or more to repair our ailing economy
• 64% expect it to take three or more years to return to our former levels of prosperity

Loss of trust

Fifty-five percent of respondents indicate that the current situation has significantly altered their view of the federal government, while banks (25%) and non-banking financial institutions (33%) have also seen their reputations tarnished.

Big ticket items: Hold off or downgrade

The spending cuts will hit all over. For many, it will be deferring big expenditures. Car buyers may move from an Accord to a Civic or from Honda to Hyundai. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents who had planned to acquire a car or truck plan to delay that purchase beyond 2009. Of those still in the market, 48% are looking for something less expensive.

Cars are not the only category affected. Similar repercussions will be felt in other high-ticket categories from flat panel TVs and computers to home repair and remodeling. Vacation spending will also be curtailed. In many cases (55%), that will mean spending more leisure time at home, but it will also result in 41% of vacationers staying in less-expensive hotel properties and 59% eating at cheaper restaurants.

Everyday behavior changes

Of those hardest hit by the economy, the focus will be on day-to-day spending and familiar brand names may be the first to get the axe. Adults, particularly moms, plan to cut spending on themselves. To accomplish this, 73% will shop less-expensive retailers and 68% will switch to less-preferred brands. Expenditures for children will also be impacted. The willingness to change brand affiliations will be evidenced here as well, at both the retailer (80%) and product levels (77%). Even the family pet will be affected. Seventy percent of respondents indicated they will reduce vet visits and 73% will buy products on sale even though they are not preferred brands.

Is this as bad as it’s going to get?

No one knows for sure, but the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. A recent release by the National Association of Realtors reported that 75% of U.S. homes have declined in value in the past year, while only 45% of the survey respondents indicated their property value had diminished. What happens when consumers fully appreciate the severity of the situation?

Can you weather the storm?

The implications for marketers is significant. Marketing is often looked at as a dispensable luxury, but a down economy can often be a great opportunity. One brand’s recession is another brand’s chance to make an impression. For a low-end brand, it’s a chance to prove themselves. For high-end and established brands, it’s a chance to live up to the full potential of their brand promise. Not everyone will think this way. There will be more big brands and businesses falling by the wayside. But a marketer that plays the right cards will not only survive this recession, they’ll be better brands for it.