Trusted Brands?
I don't know if I trust my Colgate toothpaste. 'Cos when I go to a store and need toothpaste (listed on my purchase list), I walk to the shelf, do a comparison on promos running, and make my choice. And there's lots like me out there. The recent Eye on Asia retail study concluded (among others),
1. Two-thirds of final purchase choices are made in-store.
2. Asian shoppers take time to study products in-store.
Now if two-thirds of final purchase choices are made in store, bet my list that I took to the store doesn't say 'Colgate toothpaste', instead says, 'Toothpaste'. So where's the 'trust' then? And that's why the latest 'India's most trusted brands' survey from ET, I believe is bunkum. In the survey, Colgate comes in second, and Pepsodent's No. 10. I see no reason to trust a toothpaste because my buy is a 'low-involvement' one. That means my decision making is 'limited' and essayed inside the store. It isn't 'trust' that dictates my choice, its 'comparisons' within the store.
If it were 'trust' that drove my choice, the decision making would been a 'complex' one and my involvement 'high'. If I did trust and buy repeatedly, that would mean I am brand loyal. If I repeatedly buy a toothpaste I don't necessarily trust, though the buy's a satisfactory one, it can't be termed loyalty, instead must be seen as a buy out of 'inertia'.
The brand that takes the cake on the survey? Tata Salt, which comes in at 14! I trust Tata Salt to do what? Salt my food? What about the rest of the salt brands? I guess they don't salt as much?
Funny.
1. Two-thirds of final purchase choices are made in-store.
2. Asian shoppers take time to study products in-store.
Now if two-thirds of final purchase choices are made in store, bet my list that I took to the store doesn't say 'Colgate toothpaste', instead says, 'Toothpaste'. So where's the 'trust' then? And that's why the latest 'India's most trusted brands' survey from ET, I believe is bunkum. In the survey, Colgate comes in second, and Pepsodent's No. 10. I see no reason to trust a toothpaste because my buy is a 'low-involvement' one. That means my decision making is 'limited' and essayed inside the store. It isn't 'trust' that dictates my choice, its 'comparisons' within the store.
If it were 'trust' that drove my choice, the decision making would been a 'complex' one and my involvement 'high'. If I did trust and buy repeatedly, that would mean I am brand loyal. If I repeatedly buy a toothpaste I don't necessarily trust, though the buy's a satisfactory one, it can't be termed loyalty, instead must be seen as a buy out of 'inertia'.
The brand that takes the cake on the survey? Tata Salt, which comes in at 14! I trust Tata Salt to do what? Salt my food? What about the rest of the salt brands? I guess they don't salt as much?
Funny.
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