MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (July 30, 2013) — Based on a survey of U.S. automotive technicians by marketing research firm Frost & Sullivan Inc., Interstate Battery System of America Inc. batteries emerged as the overwhelming leader.
One of every two automotive techs chose Interstate-brand batteries — the preferred brand for six years running in the survey — while the nearest competitor polled only 12 percent of the votes, according to Mountain View-based Frost & Sullivan.
"In addition to the 'overall best' ratings, 94 percent of technicians whose shops primarily install Interstate Batteries' products rate Interstate Batteries as the top brand," said Joerg Dittmer, Frost & Sullivan senior analyst. "This combination of top 'overall best' rating and strong loyalty index score gives the company the highest Product Leadership Index score of 10 on a normalized 10-point scale."
Scoring for the award "is calculated by multiplying the share of 'overall best' mentions and loyalty index scores, which are computed by dividing the number of brand users who rank their brand 'best' by the total number of brand users," he explained.
Frost & Sullivan said Interstate batteries are considered "overall best" for their longevity and ability to hold a charge. The firm noted that "even technicians who do not work in shops that primarily install Interstate batteries consider these products to be of high quality."
"Impressively, 19 percent of those who do not primarily install Interstate Batteries select Interstate batteries as the overall best," Mr. Dittmer said. "Interstate Batteries needs to take advantage of this positioning already held among automotive technicians and continue to gain mind share."
The survey compares competitors in the automotive battery market on 14 specific points of evaluation, according to Frost & Sullivan, which each year presents its Product Leadership Awards to companies that are outstanding within their industries—that is, leading their industries based on Frost & Sullivan's criteria of excellence, including distinguishing itself "through its proactive strategies that position it as an industry leader."
Frost & Sullivan's awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry, Frost & Sullivan said.
Interstate Batteries, founded in 1952, has nearly 300 distributors serving 200,000 outlets.