Samsung's standing in the United States plummeted by 42 places, a new reputation poll reveals.
Considering how the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco — among other things — stirred up the tech world for both consumers and manufacturers alike, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the South Korean brand is taking quite a hit regarding its position in the market.
Samsung's Reputation In The Eyes Of The American Consumer
According to Harris Poll's 2017 Reputation Quotient Ratings, Samsung is now the 49th placer in the list of the 100 most visible companies in the United States, scoring 75.17. In the previous 2016 poll, the company managed to get the seventh spot.
Other competitors worth noting that beat the smartphone maker includes Apple in the fifth ranking with 82.07, Google in the eighth ranking with 82, Microsoft in the 20th ranking with 79.29, and Sony in the 42nd ranking with 76.76.
The agency considers entries that scored 80 and above as Excellent and 75 to 79 as Very Good. It conducted the survey between Nov. 28 and Dec. 16, 2016, during the time when Samsung was trying to come up with ways to remotely kill off Galaxy Note 7 units in customers' hands. This goes without saying, but that was just terrible timing.
For the survey, Harris Poll asked more than 30,000 U.S. adults to participate and attributed approximately 300 ratings for each company in the list, taking into account factors such as social responsibility, vision and leadership, financial performance, products and services, emotional appeal, and workplace environment. The organization calls it the Six Dimensions of Reputation.
Things Aren't Looking Up For Samsung Just Yet
Last year, Samsung had a tough time dealing with the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, recalling the device worldwide not once but twice due to batteries catching fire.
As if that weren't enough to put the company in the critical spotlight, its washing machines followed suit, prompting a warning from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which occurred in September 2016, before Harris Poll's survey started.
Fast-forward to more recent events, Samsung's battery woes aren't over yet when a fire broke out in the factory of the company's battery-making subsidiary SDI. Also, a South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, the Samsung heir.
While these happened after the survey, they are still bad signs for the company moving forward.
At any rate, Samsung's future in the smartphone business hinges on the highly anticipated Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8.
Reuters Poll Implied Otherwise
Before Harris Poll's results came to light, Reuters conducted an opinion poll between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, 2016, and it implied the Galaxy Note 7 disaster didn't have a huge impact on Samsung and discovered that users were still loyal to the brand despite all the hubbub.
It involved 2,735 Samsung phone owners and 3,158 iPhone users across all the 50 states.
Needless to say, the two surveys at play here have yielded conflicting findings.
Galaxy Note 7 Snafu May Have Been Good But Not For Samsung
Samsung may not have a silver lining of sorts out of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, but it may have been beneficial for consumers.
First off, awareness of the risks involving lithium-ion batteries in practically every gadget have become widespread.
Second, industry standards may have been raised — case in point, LG is going above and beyond to make sure the G6 won't suffer the same fate as the Galaxy Note 7.
Last but not least, it caused Samsung to implement its 8-Point Battery Safety Check, ensuring the batteries in its future devices are up to code and safe.
Recap
To sum things up, Samsung is no longer among the top 10 brands in the United States, according to Harris Poll, and it's likely because of the exploding Galaxy Note 7 and washing machines. However, loyal fans of the company are still there to show support, even after all the problems in 2016.
With all said and done, what do you think of Samsung taking a big hit in terms of reputation? Drop by our comments section below and let us know.
