FedEx ranked highest in Customer Service
The Harris Interactive study confirms that if you work to make every customer experience outstanding, at every point of interaction with your company, your customers will reward you with their trust,” said T. Michael Glenn, FedEx executive vice president, Market Development and Corporate Communications. “Reputation is the most precious asset a company has and the 290,000 FedEx team members worldwide strive to build on our strong reputation through each and every customer interaction.
Overall, FedEx ranked #12 with an RQ score of 78.04. A score of 75 – 79.9 symbolizes a “good-excellent” reputation. This is the ninth consecutive year that FedEx has achieved this rating.
Out of the 60 companies ranked in the survey, FedEx also placed #4 in the category of “practices highest ethical standards.” In the “highest trust” category, or of those saying they would definitely trust the company in the event of a problem, FedEx ranked seventh. FedEx ranked #12 as both a good company to work for and company with good employees.
Not surprisingly, the RQ found that a strong statistical correlation exists between a company’s overall reputation and the likelihood that consumers will purchase, recommend or invest in a company or its products and services.
The RQ surveys more than 20,000 American consumers in a two-step process, through online and telephone interviews, to first identify the 60 most visible companies and then to rank these companies based on their reputation in six different categories: Emotional Appeal, Products & Services, Social Responsibility, Vision & Leadership, Workplace Environment and Financial Performance.
While the RQ found that certain industry sector reputations—including airlines, consumer products, insurance/financial services, pharmaceutical and retail—are perceived to have plummeted since 2006, the reputations of the most visible companies have remained relatively stable, according to Harris Interactive, which has conducted the annual RQ study in the U.S. for nine consecutive years.
The consistently exceptional ratings for FedEx in this study are a testament to the efforts of the company and its employees to focus on reputation management as a core business asset,” says Robert Fronk, Senior Vice President, Senior Consultant, Reputation Strategy at Harris Interactive. “For Americans to hold a company in high regards today, clearly more than just profits are needed – companies need to focus on overall corporate social responsibility and how their employees are treated in order to build trust with today’s consumers. FedEx takes these responsibilities into account in how they behave as an organization.”
For a full list of the top 60 companies and other findings visit: www.harrisinteractive.com.
Harris Interactive has used the Harris Reputation Quotient sm (RQ) to measure the reputations of the most visible companies in the U.S. for nine consecutive years beginning in 1999. The annual study involves a two-step process which began with a “nominations phase” of telephone and online interviews with 7,105 people to identify the most “visible” reputations according to the general public.
The second part, or “ratings phase,” of the Annual RQ study is an in-depth assessment of the reputation of the most visible companies in the U.S. and included 20,477 online interviews. The RQ instrument rates a company’s reputation on 20 attributes (each measured on a 7-point scale) that fall into six key dimensions: Emotional Appeal, Products & Services, Social Responsibility, Vision & Leadership, Workplace Environment, and Financial Performance. In addition to the 20 attributes, the study includes a number of reputation-related questions that help provide a comprehensive understanding of public perceptions.
The “nominations phase” of the 2007 RQ survey was conducted from July to August 2007, the “ratings phase” was conducted from February 7 to March 3, 2008.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
