Fear is rising fast amid a worldwide recession that has corporations slashing jobs around the globe and many consumers unsure about making the next credit card or mortgage payment. Add a 24-7 media environment in which bad news spreads fast and repeats endlessly, and you have a highly anxious world—and tens of millions of consumers seeking guidance and assurance.
That’s why we believe anxiety matters. Anxious consumers look for brands that can give them a sense of control over their lives, whether that means staying within their budget at the supermarket or finding cheap alternatives to going out. Navigating consumer anxieties is not about exploiting fear. It’s about finding better ways to connect with consumers looking for trust, credibility and answers.
Following are some excerpts from experts about why anxiety matters.
As we psychologists define it, anxiety is a distressing apprehension, a chronic worry. It’s frequently accompanied by unpleasant symptoms that range from restless irritability, concentration difficulty and muscle tension to sleep problems. In milder forms, anxiety is characterized as stress or worry.
Americans are worrying a lot these days. A recent poll of 2,821 U.S. adults from the American Psychological Association finds the top sources of stress are finances/money (82%), the economy (82%) and work (69%).
Anxiety is, quite literally, a painful response to feeling powerless against uncontrollable forces. In response, humans seek comfort, consistency and control. The 3C’s apply to work, relationships, habits and even spending.
Familiar products give some measure of comfort and consistency in an anxious world. And the brands that people choose to use, or not use, also provide some sense of control during anxious times; sometimes consumers look for new choices to assist them in maintaining control, or at least fostering an illusion of control. —John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP, clinical psychologist and professor of psychology, University of Scranton
Anxiety has a profound impact on leaders and their ability to perceive reality accurately and make sound decisions. Unmanaged, extreme anxiety at the top can trickle down and derail an entire organization. —Kerry J. Sulkowicz, M.D., psychoanalyst and founder of the Boswell Group, which advises executives on psychological aspects of business; Fast Company’s corporate shrink
Anxiety clearly permeates today’s financial markets. There are plenty of rational reasons behind the worst stock market performance in 80 years—the dreadful economic data relating to financial-institution failures, plummeting real estate prices, the spike in mortgage defaults and rising unemployment—but it’s an oppressive psychology of anxiety that keeps driving markets lower.
Before the global financial meltdown, warnings and ominous signs were disregarded, resulting in artificially high markets. Indeed, anxiety often arrives late to the party—but when it emerges, it does so with a vengeance and has a disproportionate impact on investor and stock market behavior. Anxiety begets fear, and fear begets exaggerated market movements (the spikes in volatility that we see when investors panic).
Anxiety sets off a negatively reinforcing cycle that seems impossible to break. The anxiety currently surrounding the global financial markets and the economy in general is so pervasive that it feels as though there is no escape from this downward psychological spiral. The problems are systemic, and solutions to the economic mess seem painful and costly.
History suggests, however, that when anxiety overwhelms market sentiment enough to cause investor “capitulation,” emerging opportunity is often present. Of course, we usually realize only in hindsight when capitulation has been reached, but close monitoring of investor anxiety may provide clues to its timing.—David Bhonslay, managing director - equity sales, Collins Stewart LLC
