I received an interesting e-mail last week from Ken Stewart of Photizo Group about the best MPS brands in 2015, based on feedback from more than 600 MPS decision makers who are either engaged with or actively evaluating an MPS contract in the U.S. and Canada. According to Photizo, the goal was to create a full brand scorecard for key players in the market, including:
- Unaided Awareness
- Familiarity
- Consideration
- Satisfaction
- Willingness to Recommend
These scores were used to compile Photizo’s Brand Performance Index where it ranks vendors on Brand Strength (likelihood to purchase) and Brand Experience (likelihood to renew). See the chart above.
After the responses were compiled, Xerox and HP ranked one and two, respectively as Luminary Brands. These brands inspire and influence others, and are especially prominent within the given market. Luminary Brands are also top-of-mind with buyers, likely to be considered over competitors, and more likely to be recommended based on personal experience.
Next up are the Trusted Brands, brands that are reliable and deliver on their promises, but may not be as readily known as Luminary Brands. “These brands may not always be at the forefront of buyers’ minds when making a purchase decision, but customers are highly satisfied and would likely recommend these brands based on personal experience,” writes Photizo.
Apparently, the IBM+Ricoh team narrowly missed achieving Luminary status with Photizo saying it deserves a special nod as this team ranked the highest in overall Brand Experience ahead of HP and Xerox. Other trusted MPS brands include Canon, Lexmark, Dell, and Samsung.
In case anyone is keeping track, the only other vendor mentioned on the chart is Konica Minolta who falls into the Nascent Brand column, a column dedicated to brands just starting to make an impact.
It seems to me the Luminary Brands here could easily have been identified without a survey on name recognition alone. Then again, that’s probably a big reason why they’re Luminary Brands. Xerox, HP, and even IBM, which is paired with Ricoh in the chart, are highly recognizable, something that Photizo acknowledges. It’s the other criteria—Satisfaction and Willingness to Recommend—that I find more impressive. When it comes right down to it, you can have all the name recognition in the world and buy it too, but customer satisfaction and a client’s willingness to recommend is something that’s earned not bought.
Thanks for reading.
