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Methodology

Trusted Brand - 2021

METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH FOR
Reader’s Digest TRUSTED BRAND 2023

For the past 25 years, the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey has uncovered India’s most trustworthy brands and this study has established its reputation as a premier consumer-based and international measure of brand preference. The study primarily focused on finding out which brands Indians trust the most. It shows which brands stand out by consistently delivering on promises to satisfy their needs, deliver quality and has a positive image. Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), a premier research organization with significant expertise and experience in ranking/ rating in various domains has conducted this year’s Trusted Brands (TBs) of India survey under 41 product categories.

The study was administered in the following phases –
1) Listing of Categories & Brands – An extensive desk review of MDRA’s database and potential sources of reliable data was conducted by an experienced team of researchers. 41 prominent and most relevant product categories were selected for the consumer survey. Brands within these categories were researched, listed, and deliberated with the research and editorial team. These brands were then used as Show cards during the survey. The list of product categories is as follows –

S.N. Category
1 ELECTRIC CARS
2 ELECTRIC SCOOTERS
3 FOUR WHEELERS
4 TWO WHEELERS
5 LUBRICANTS
6 PETROL STATION
7 TYRES
8 ACs
9 WATER PURIFIERS
10 BANKS (NATIONALIZED)
11 BANKS (PRIVATE)
12 CREDIT CARDS
13 INSURANCE (GENERAL)
14 INSURANCE (LIFE)
15 MUTUAL FUNDS
16 PAYMENT WALLETS
17 COOKING OILS
18 MASALAS
19 PACKAGED JUICE
20 PICKLES AND SAUCES
21 HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS
S.N. Category
22 ORAL CARE
23 ORGANIC COSMETICS (PREMIUM)
24 ORGANIC COSMETICS (REGULAR)
25 PAIN RELIEF OINTMENTS
26 BATH FITTINGS
27 ELECTRICAL SWITCHES
28 FURNISHINGS
29 KITCHEN CHIMNEYS
30 MATTRESSES
31 MODULAR KITCHENS
32 MODULAR WINDOWS AND DOORS
33 ONLINE FURNITURE COMPANIES
34 TILES
35 FOOTWEAR
36 HOSIERY
37 PENS
38 FREIGHT AND COURIER
39 INSTANT DELIVERY PLATFORMS
40 PLATFORMS SELLING PREOWNED CARS
41 TRAVEL PORTALS
 

2) Brand Trust parameters and their weights – Brand’s trust was assessed on the following 4 parameters. The relative weights of the parameters were finalized using OLS regression method –
a. Reliability and Quality – Consistent Performance, higher perceived quality
b. Value Proposition – Purchase cost, maintenance, and usage cost
c. Usability and/or need fulfilment – Adequate features and ability to fulfil needs
d. Recommend & Repurchase – Recommending brands to others and re-purchase when needed
The weights were derived for each product category and accordingly were used to arrive at the final weighted score.
3) Field survey – Looking at the broad objectives of the study, a stringent sampling procedure was required to be followed. To adhere to this, MDRA has used its unique sampling design process throughout the sampling process of this study based on its 3 ‘S’ sampling criteria. The 3 ‘S’ stand for –
Size of the sample
Spread of the sample
Selection of respondents
The respondents have been selected randomly to prevent any bias creeping into the samples. A structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents by experienced and trained investigators of MDRA through quantitative Face to Face and Telephonic interviews.
The survey was conducted among 4100 purchase decision-makers across Socio Economy Class A (SEC-A) in 20 cities of India. During the survey, respondents were asked to select top-5 brands in selected categories and rate brands on 4 parameters basis their knowledge, experience, and perception on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 = Very Poor and 10 = Excellent. Further, respondents were asked to show their awareness level w.r.t the top-5 selected brands on the following lines –
a. I am aware of this brand and know little about it
b. I am aware of this brand & know it quite well
c. I am well aware of this brand and have used it
4) Brand Trust – Trust Score was arrived at by taking the weighted mean of the rating on all 4 parameters. In addition, the brand trust based on awareness level and usage experience has been given higher weightage than those based solely on perception or little knowledge. Awareness level scores were multiplied by the final weighted trust scores to arrive at Brand Trust Index.
A large research team led by Abhishek Agrawal (Executive Director), Abnish Jha (Project Director), Vaibhav Gupta (Asst. Research Manager) and Manveer Singh (Executive-EDP); assisted by statisticians and econometricians worked on this study from June to August 2023.

CHAPTER 2 SURVEY SAMPLE SIZE

2.1 City-wise sample size achieved w.r.t gender and age-group

Table 2.1: City-wise, sample size achieved w.r.t gender and age-group

SN Zone City Total
A7-Gender
Female Male
A4-Age Group (in years)
18- 25 yrs. 26-45 yrs. 46 and above
1 North Chandigarh 200 8 192 49 136 15
2 Delhi 204 67 137 42 136 26
3 Gurugram 142 45 97 29 93 20
4 Jaipur 201 52 149 46 120 35
5 Lucknow 200 54 146 67 126 7
6 Noida 136 30 106 35 81 20
7 South Bengaluru 304 99 205 79 189 36
8 Chennai 300 101 199 83 183 34
9 Hyderabad 238 91 147 45 170 23
10 Kochi 168 126 42 8 112 48
11 Vijayawada 174 103 71 39 100 35
12 East Bhubaneswar 137 19 118 21 90 26
13 Guwahati 138 35 97 7 93 35
14 Kolkata 274 84 190 73 143 58
15 Patna 170 48 122 22 129 19
16 Ranchi 144 45 99 13 112 19
17 West Ahmedabad 208 154 54 20 170 18
18 Indore 172 53 119 34 129 9
19 Mumbai 369 40 329 45 257 67
20 Pune 200 56 144 75 120 5
  Total 4076 1213 2863 832 2689 555

2.2 Education-wise sample size achieved

Table 2.2: Education-wise total sample size

S. No Highest Education Frequency Percent
1 Post Graduate 801 19.7
2 Graduate 2648 65.0
3 HSC (Class 12th) 627 15.3
Total 4076 100

2.3 Occupation wise sample size achieved

Table 2.3: Occupation-wise sample size achieved

Respondent’s Occupation Frequency Percent
Housewife 529 13.1
Student 505 12.4
Unemployed/Retired 110 2.7
Self-employed professional 557 13.7
Businessman/Industrialist 494 12.1
Service (Govt. Employee) 214 5.3
Service (Pvt. sector Employee) 1667 40.9
Total 4076 100

2.4 Monthly Household Income-wise sample size achieved

Table 2.4: Monthly Household Income-wise (in Rs.) total sample size

Monthly Household Income (in Rs.) Frequency Percent
25,000 to 50,000/- 1728 42.4
50,001 to 75,000/- 1355 33.2
Above 75,000/- 993 24.4
Total 4076 100

Statistical Significance

We have followed a multistage sampling: at the first stage, any major factors that could cause sampling errors have been controlled through an appropriate selection process. The respondents were randomly chosen. This is an adaptation of queuing theory where randomization is built into the system. Above all, the total sample size achieved was 4076 and this number is sufficiently high to ensure that the overall sampling error is low.

In view of the above, the confidence level is 95% with ± 1.54% error of margin.

Note: All percentages in output tables have been rounded off to one decimal place, which may result in rounding off errors while adding the total percentage.

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Methodology

For the past 25 years, the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey has uncovered India’s most trustworthy brands and this study has established its reputation as a premier consumer-based and international measure of brand preference.

Read More...

Study Background

For the past 25 years, the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey has uncovered India’s most trustworthy brands...

Read More...