Consumer confidence at historic lows in Romania

European consumer confidence has collapsed. It has now fallen below the level recorded during the pandemic (-24.7 points in April 2020) and well below the level during the 2009 crisis (-21.1 points).

In August 2022, the consumer confidence index reached -26 points, below the level reached during the pandemic and below the level reached during the 2009 crisis.

Poor use of communication between brand and consumer exposes companies to a crisis.  Only 18% of Romanian companies use social media to engage with their customers and only 51% of Romanian businesses employing more than ten people have a web page, compared to a European average of 80%.

According to European Commission data consulted by Lighthouse, economic sentiment also continued to decline in August, to 96.5 points, compared to the 100-point basic indicator. In the context of a decreasing optimism of consumers, Romanian companies are becoming even more exposed to the crisis, because they do not establish channels of effective communication with customers.

"When budgets are reduced it can understandably have a significant impact on the PR, Marketing and Business Development operational capability.  This is when your communication strategies and tactics need to be more effective than ever, as productivity and ROI principles will certainly need much closer attention.  But it seems that Romanian companies still have an odd reluctance to explore more efficient and effective ways to promote themselves and engage with customers, and this makes them more vulnerable when consumption decreases" explains Ana Maria Gardiner, managing partner at Lighthouse Romania.

According to the official data consulted by Lighthouse, in 2021, 78% of Romanian companies with over 250 employees had a website, compared to a European average of 94%.  As for SMEs, those that represent most of the local business environment, only 50% had a website, compared to a European average of almost 80%.

 "A website, pr, blogs and newsletters are basic tools that allow a direct and effective relationship with the user, all of which can be created with a minimal budget. Businesses that want to retain and acquire customers cannot afford to ignore these communication channels" explains Steve Gardiner, partner at Lighthouse PR.

Only 6% of Romanian companies have an active blog, whilst almost 30% use social media to promote their image yet do not deploy any form of professional customer engagement initiatives. Only 12% of the companies with a website offer a chat function, but mainly for robotic FAQs.  There remains much to be learned about how to communicate and engage with prospective customers across the business market in Romania.  

Founded in 2018 by Ana Maria and Steve Gardiner, Lighthouse PR operates as a strategic communications consulting company focused on 4 areas of interest: PR, marketing, training and business consulting.

Ana Maria Gardiner, the managing partner at Lighthouse PR, is a 360-communication consultant and trainer.  Ana Maria has over 20 years of international experience in communication and consulting, previously being a political, economic and investigative journalist.  

Ana has worked for some of the most valuable brands in the world, and is very active in the financial, pharma, technology, energy, retail & FMCG fields in Romania.   Ana Maria is specialised in crisis management, successfully managing some of the most serious crises imaginable.

Steve Gardiner, the partner at Lighthouse PR, has over 30 years of experience in business consulting and global corporations at the executive director level in marketing and sales, in several territories including Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, working for Accenture and several international corporations.

Steve specialises in providing customers with strategic, best practice, go-to-market blueprints, coupled with hands-on execution by his team.  He is an active member of the SME Development Board and sits on the CMO Council.  He also works as a consultant for leading financial institutions in an advisory capacity for their business customers.

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Lighthouse PR, based in Bucharest, and its management team sit on the EU SME Development board and the CMO Council. It is also a valued member of the prestigious Crisis Communication Network Europe.  It is the only member in Romania and SEE, with network offices in 14 countries across the EU.