Reputation makes BMW the ultimate selling machine

Carmaker BMW is the world’s most reputable company, according to new research on the top 100 global brands.

For a second consecutive year, the German firm is in the top 10 for all seven key benchmarks on a global level, earning the title of world’s most reputable company for 2013.

Researchers say whether it’s browsing the aisles of a grocery store, buying a car, shipping a package, or booking a flight, chances are your decision is influenced more by the company’s reputation than by any particular product or service it offers.

The New York-based Reputation Institute ranked 100 businesses that have successfully established strong international names. The firm invited about 55,000 consumers across 15 markets to participate in a study of those 100 most reputable companies, all multinational businesses with a global presence.

Each company earned a “Global RepTrak Pulse” score of zero to 100, representing an average measure of people’s feelings for it. The scores were statistically derived from calculations of four emotional indicators: Trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling.

“We live in a time when word of mouth is the number one driver of sales and competitive advantage,” said Kasper Ulf Nielsen, Reputation Institute’s executive partner. “Investing in reputation will pay off on the bottom line.”

BMW earned a global RepTrak score of 78.39 out of a possible 100, and in its home country BMW did slightly better, which is not uncommon. Nielsen said companies tend to have a stronger reputation at home.

On average, the home country reputation is three points higher than the global reputation across all 15 markets.

“Once again, BMW is the most reputable company in the world,” Nielsen said.

“BMW is the only company to place in the top five in every reputation dimension, with the best perception of all 100 companies within governance.”

Second came the Walt Disney Company, earning a 77.76 global score. It ranks highest in the citizenship category but lands in the top 10 in all seven dimensions.

Rounding out the top three is Swiss watchmaker Rolex, while the world’s fourth-most reputable company is Google.