When it comes to a brand, how trusted you are by the target audience is generally a great measure of how successful you are. Laptop brand Dell, which has been showing steady growth in the Indian market over the past few years, was named the most trusted brand in the country in the Brand Trust Report 2019 published by TRA. With USA and India being the two countries which house the complete Dell operations and also provide support globally, the company has seen its revenues in India grow multifold in a matter of 10 years, going from $ 60 million to $ 200 million in the period between 2008 and 2018. The company managed to gain five ranks in just the last one year to reach the top spot. Second place behind Dell, with a difference of 31% in the trust index, went to a surprise brand, with Jeep jumping a stunning 551 places to come in as runner up in the latest rankings.
LIC, Amazon and Apple iPhone followed the top two in third, fourth and fifth positions respectively, with LIC being the only Indian company in the top 5 of this index. Apple iPhone was another major gainer in the rankings, after gaining 116 ranks from the index for 2018. Samsung came in at sixth in the list, followed by LG televisions, which is also the leader in the consumer electronics category. Aviva Life Insurance in the eighth, Maruti Suzuki in ninth and State Bank of India at tenth complete the top 10 of the most trusted brands in the country.
The Brand Trust Index was built after the surveys were carried out in 16 cities across the country, with 2315 participants aged between 21 and 50. Conducted in association with the Indian Statistical Institute, the study targeted SEC A and SEC B individuals with a minimum income of ₹ 2.4 Lakh annually. The index listed a total of 1000 most trusted brands, with Tata Group being the leading business conglomerate with 23 brands in the list. Godrej, Amul, and Samsung followed with 15, 11 and 8 brands in the index across different categories. Other major companies included Honda, Cadbury’s Parle, LG, Nestle, and Dabur, with 7 brands each. Dabur also achieved the unique feat of all of its brands being at the top in their respective categories. Speaking of categories, food and beverages (F&B), and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) were the biggest contributors to the index, with these categories making up for 26.8% of the total brands listed in the index.
In an official statement, N. Chandramouli, Chief Executive, TRA Research, said “Without trust, the entire engagement of a brand becomes ineffectual. The trust a brand generates is the basis of all transactions that consumers have with the brand. The act of trust involves a voluntary transfer of resources – emotional, physical, financial or material – with no immediately visible, tangible or quantifiable commitment back to the trust or consumer. Therefore the onus of building the trust-bond rests completely with the brand.” This just goes a long way in showing the importance of how the growth of a brand can be deeply impacted by the trust their customers place in them. With a few surprise gainers in the index acting as inspirations, surely some of the brands that missed out must be trying to work up plans to get into the good books of their customers.
