Amazon Ranks First On Customer Satisfaction List

Do you know who thinks Amazon is the best company in the world when it comes to customer satisfaction?  

You.

And that might not be a good thing. Especially when you consider the three largest DIY chains also scored fairly well on the list. The Reputation Institute, an 18-year-old reputation management firm, surveyed nearly 24,000 Americans to ask which companies they feel comfortable using, telling others about and investing in.

Amazon finished first for the third year in a row. DIY chains Lowe’s finished 47th, Home Depot finished 59th and Ace Hardware 64th. The Reputation Institute interviewed nearly 24,000 people for the survey, but you had to be familiar with a company to answer questions about it. So, for example, if you never owned anything made by Nike before, you could not comment on what you thought about its customer satisfaction.

The four categories surveyed were:

• Do you hold the company in high esteem?
• Do you admire it?
• Do you trust it?
• Do you have a positive feeling about it? 

The companies that finished at the top of the list all have an emotional branding connection with the customers.   Because of that emotional branding, the researchers say their customers will use your products, recommend you to others, investors will stay invested in you and employees will remain loyal and deliver on your strategy.

Researcher Brad Hecht said, “Amazon provides an excellent, high-quality product and service. . . . The company itself and the mantra of the CEO are entirely focused on the consumer. Consumers have an overwhelmingly positive experience with this company.”  He added that people surveyed scored Amazon highest for being technical and ambitious.

Also, the battle to stay in the top 10 of this survey is getting more difficult. Just two of last year’s top 10 are back again this year, with Amazon holding the top spot for the second year in a row. In fact, the company that finished 6th last year, Kraft Foods, received the same score this year. But because other companies did so much better in the key branding areas, Kraft dropped 10 spots to number 16.  All of the companies listed from 3 to 10 on this year’s list were not in the top 10 last year.

“Very good isn’t good enough any more,” Hecht said.  “Reputation scores are going up, meaning an increased awareness that reputation and brand matters.”