Samsung in a Word: ‘Quality’, ‘Televisions’, ‘Phones’

Samsung is known primarily for its quality products, and its 2012 struggles with Apple have made only a minor dent in consumer perceptions of the firm. When asked what one word comes to mind when thinking about Samsung, 56 chose quality.

In a national survey by Researchscape, conducted September 8 to 30, 2012, with 1,030 U.S. adults, 55% of respondents used a positive term to describe the company, 30% a neutral term, and 15% a negative term. There was no significant difference in perception of the company by age or gender.

The company is mainly known for its products. In fact, 3 of the top 4 terms used to describe the company were product categories: 42 said televisions or TV, 37 said phones, 34 electronics. Another 19 mentioned the Samsung brand Galaxy, 13 said technology and 5 tablets. In total, 50 mentioned some form of phones: 37 said phones, 6 cellphones, 4 smartphones and 3 telephones.

Possible references to the legal struggles with Apple include 12 labeling the firm a copycat, 5 using the word copy and 9 mentioning lawsuit—just 26 out of 1,030 “one word” descriptions.

Positive words describing the brand: 34 called it innovative, 33 good, 19 great and 14 each called it competitive, nice and reliable. Another 12 called it advanced and 10 called it cool.

There was some confusion about Samsung’s headquarters: 5 labeled it Japanese, while 12 correctly labeled it Korean. Another 12 called it foreign and 1 said it was un-American.

Count	Term	Sentiment
56	Quality	1
42	Television	0
37	Phones	0
34	Electronics	0
34	Innovative	1
33	Good	1
19	Galaxy	0
19	Great	1
18	Cheap	0
14	Competitive	1
14	Nice	1
14	Reliable	1
13	Okay	0
13	Technology	0
12	Advanced	1
12	Copycat	-1
12	Foreign	-1
12	Korean	0
11	Average	0
11	Interesting	1
10	Cool	1
9	Decent	1
9	Lawsuit	-1
8	Smart	1
7	Boring	-1
7	Creative	1
7	New	1
7	Old	-1
7	Sleek	1

According to an ACSI LLC survey of 250 respondents per company, customer satisfaction with Samsung is at 71 out of 100, below the industry average for cellular telephones of 74 and behind everyone but Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry.