(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Business author, motivational speaker and famous corporate trainer Zig Ziglar famously said, 'If people like you, they will listen to you. If they trust you, they will do business with you.'
It is this trust that makes consumers return to their favourite brands repeatedly, hence the need for every brand to strive to build a bridge of trust with their customers. Oman's Most Trusted Brand Awards is a validation of the public trust in a brand and every year this prestigious award is presented to the most trusted brands in the country by Apex Press and Publishing based on what the general public perceives as the brands they trust the most. The winners of the 2017 edition of Oman's Most Trusted Brands were felicitated at a special function that was held under the auspices of H H Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib bin Taimur al Said and the patronage of H E Dr Ali bin Masoud bin Ali al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohana Prabhakar, chief executive of Apex Press and Publishing, said that research has proven that even a five per cent increase in loyalty can increase corporate profits by 25-85 per cent. Hence, trust is the most important factor in brand recognition and brand endurance.
Sayyid Tarik, who spoke on the importance of building a brand, stressed the importance of building relations with all stakeholders in a business.
'When someone experiences your product or service, the feeling that they take away with them, of that encounter, that is what the brand means to them (the stakeholders). Stakeholders are more than clients or customers. They are shareholders, employees, clients and financial stakeholders.'
Sayyid Tarik compared a brand to a living entity that grows when the business enjoys strong relationships with each of the four stakeholder groups.
He explained how Renaissance SAOG and Tawoos LLC have built their brands around strong relationships with their stakeholders and become leaders in their respective segments.
Sayyid Tarik shared an interesting strategy to build and strengthen a brand. Businesses need to ask themselves and their employees the question, 'If we disappeared tomorrow, would we be missed? How meaningful are our relationships with our stakeholders? How do we make ourselves stand out from competition and how do we make ourselves more indispensable?'
Sayyid Tarik also stressed on the importance of having a corporate culture that permeates across departments and is known and practiced by all employees, as a brand is built up or destroyed based on the interactions between the business and its stakeholders including customers.
The awards event was attended by their highnesses, chairmen, managing directors, CEOs and other top officials of 26 winners. Senior representatives and regional heads of some of the winners flew to Muscat on Monday morning from GCC and other Middle Eastern countries to receive their awards from H E Dr Sunaidi, who was the chief guest at the event.
H E Dr Sunaidi congratulated the winners as he handed over the trophies to senior company officials in the presence of Sayyid Tarik and Saleh Zakwani, executive chairman, Apex Press and Publishing.
Speaking to Muscat Daily, Sayyida Rawan Ahmed al Said, managing director and CEO, Takaful Oman, said, 'Our focus on providing good quality service is most important and I believe that has helped us in being recognised as Oman's Most Trusted Brand. The commitment of our team to efficiently serve customers is a big strength, which makes our brand competitive. In over three years of operations,
Takaful Oman has achieved a reasonably good market share. This recognition as Oman's Most Trusted Brand comes with more responsibilities for us because once a company is a trusted brand you want to remain a trusted one always.'
Mohammed al Shikely, vice president - marketing, Oman Air, said, 'Winning this award reminds me that competition breeds champions and I am grateful to the organisers for reminding us about the importance of being the best. I am thankful to the guests that we carry for flying with us and giving us the opportunity to serve them and voting for us as Oman's Most Trusted Brand in the airline industry. If you fail to see the product from customer's perspective you will fail. We have seen things from a customer's perspective, making sure we give them value for money with the best product in place and couple that with customised service and going the extra mile, then you have a winning formula.'
Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president - commercial operations (Indian sub-continent, GCC and Africa), flydubai, said, 'It is always good to be recognised for the hard work and efforts that you put in and in this case, the story is more beautiful as Oman is one of our first GCC markets. So from the time we launched our first flights till today, it has been a fantastic journey as we have increased the frequency of flights, this shows how popular we have been. I take the opportunity to thank the residents of Oman, the related authorities and most importantly, our partners. None of this would be fruitful if it wasn't for efforts of our local team in Oman and our ability to evolve, listen to our customers.'
Dr Siju George, specialist orthodontist and founding doctor, Wassan Specialty Dental Center, said, 'It has been truly a privilege to be here today, we are proud being in the esteemed company of best brands in Oman. We believe this is an endorsement of our commitment to bring world-class dentistry services to the people of Oman. We dedicate this award to our staff and customers who have been part of this journey and it's a huge responsibility for us to continue to be the best not only in Oman but generally too.'
Said Salim al Shanfari, general manager - consumer marketing, Omantel, said, 'This award is very important for Omantel and we are honoured to be voted as the most trusted telecom brand in Oman. Our brand is our identity which again has been recognised by our customers. Omantel has always been a customer-centric company and we have managed to meet the expectations of our customers.
Our focus will continue to be on providing good quality services in order to maintain this recognition as Oman's Most Trusted Brand.'
Hassan Ali Jawad, managing director, United Securities, said, 'We are thankful to our clients and customers for selecting United Securities as Oman's Most Trusted Brand. Our major strengths are human capital and services that we provide and these factors have been contributing to winning awards. Our clients and customers have shown trust in our brand which is very important in our industry.
We will continue to working hard to maintain this recognition and trust in the market.'
V T Vinod, managing director, Badr al Samaa, said, 'We thank the people who have voted for us to make us win the award. We were expecting this award as we won it last year as well. We are ranked at the top among private hospitals in Oman and people's trust and loyalty are driving forces that made us win the award.'
Shamlal Ahamed, managing director, international operations, Malabar Gold and Jewellery, said, 'We thank Apex Press and Publishing for considering us and giving us this award, it is a great honour and privilege for us to win Oman's Most Trusted Brand Award among with all the prestigious brands in Oman. I think the products and the services we provide to our customers go a long way to establish loyalty among our customers. We have the maximum market share in this region and that is because people trust us.'
Paul J Murphy, general manager, Grand Hyatt Muscat, said, 'It is always very humbling and I think in any business destination to be acknowledged by the local community and traveller that we are a winner of Oman's Most Trusted Brand Awards. We have been operating for 20 years in Muscat as one of the first international hotels. It is enjoyable and rewarding for us to learn that our guests feel that they can trust our brand.'
Riyaz Kuttery, chief operating officer, Mezoon International Travel and Tours, said, 'It is a great honour to win this award as Oman's Most Trusted Brand. The credit goes to my team who have worked for it over the years and made this possible to achieve the award. We believe in providing good service to our clients and I think that sets us apart.'
P K Raj, general manager, Berger Paints, said, 'It is an honour to be voted as the most trusted brand in Oman in the paints category. This award is a reflection of our commitment and work for quality of products and customer-centric approach. It is not just about providing good products but also building the brand that connects with consumers. We do a lot of work and provide customer support to ensure that they are satisfied.'
Geeju Paul, general manager, Muscat Electronics, said, 'Daikin and Muscat Electronics together have developed a brand and trust in this market for the last 35 years. Our strength lies in joint efforts by Muscat Electronics and Daikin. We offer trouble-free products and provide excellent services. With this recognition, we are now gearing up more on the services side that can differentiate us from other products in the market.'
Daniel Sellu, head of agency, Hamptons International Oman, said, 'We are delighted to be recognised for our brand. We work hard to ensure that we meet the highest standards and customer expectations in the market. I believe our focus on maintaining high-level of quality and customer services have helped us to win this award. This prestigious award carries a lot of weight for us in this market.'
THE WINNERS
Airlines (Full Service): Oman Air
Airlines (Budget): flydubai
Automotive (Luxury category): Mercedes-Benz
Automotive (Mid-size category): Nissan
Automotive (SUV & 4WD): Nissan
Banking: Bank Muscat
NBFCs: Taageer Finance
Insurance Companies: Takaful Oman
Investment Companies: United Securities
Telecom: Omantel
Omani Brand: Bahar
Jewellery: Malabar Gold & Diamonds
Luxury watches: Rolex
Private Hospitals: Badr al Samaa
Dental Clinics: Wassan Specialty Dental Center
Eye Centres/Clinics: Muscat Eye Laser Center
Cosmetics & Dermatology: Emirates Medical Center
Travel and Tourism: Mezoon International
Travel & Tours Hospitality (Luxury): Grand Hyatt Muscat
Real Estate: Hamptons International Oman
Hypermarkets: Lulu
Supermarkets/Dept Stores: Spar
Food Products: Areej Oil
Packaged Drinking Water: Oman Oasis
Air Conditioners: Daikin - Muscat Electronics
Paints: Berger Paints
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