Wegmans Knocks Down Amazon To Earn Top Reputation Ranking

Everyone loves Amazon but it seems not as much as they love Wegmans. The Rochester, NY based grocer just took down Amazon to earn top the number one ranking in the Harris Poll. Although the grocer only has just stores and it was ranked one out of  the 100 most visible companies in the world. A company’s corporate reputation is what can make or break a company.

The 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study is an early indicator of public sentiment. If you look at just technology companies, Samsung was ranked 3rd. Apple and Google were at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively. Apple was No. 1 and Google was No. 2 back in 2012. My how times have changed. This is the first year that the Harris Poll has expanded the list to 100 companies. They are doing this to  give a deeper insight by industry.

“Reputation is far from static and is a business asset that is earned every day as people evaluate companies through the lens of what matters most to them. Wegmans has spent years building a sterling reputation in the communities they serve, through its employees, one shopping experience at a time. Samsung has steadily climbed up the ranks in recent years with consumers rating it among the 5 best on key reputational dimensions of products and services, emotional appeal, financial performance and vision and leadership. Apple’s performance, while still excellent, has fallen 5 points since 2012.” ~Carol M. Gstalder, Reputation & Public Relations Practice Leader for Harris Poll.

 

New this year is something called Opinion Elites. These are the folks that are more informed and engaged. These are people that are in the know. These people matter because companies understand that they they are the ones that influence the general public’s opinion..

“The American public strongly believes reputation matters and acts on that belief. This year’s results show that more than half of the public actively seeks out information about companies they hear about or do business with, and 36% say they’ve decided against doing business with a company because of something they learned about its conduct. Companies need to evaluate and understand the increasing expectations consumers have when it comes to corporate reputation, specifically what they think, say and do, as well as how best to engage with them.”explains Gstalder.

A complete ranking of the RQ’s 100 most visible companies can be found in the 16th Annual RQ Summary Report.

Guide to RQ Scores:
80 & up: Excellent
75-79:  Very Good
70-74:  Good
65-69:  Fair
55-64:  Poor
50-54:  Very Poor
Below 50:  Critical