The QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade for any given company, product or service is awarded based on independent QUDAL – QUality meDAL market research. The QUDAL – QUality meDAL research is conducted periodically on different market sectors via web surveys, where respondents are asked to identify products or services that, in their personal experience and opinion, offer the highest level of quality on the market. Companies, products or services that receive the highest number of votes for top quality secure first place in their market categories and are awarded the 5-star QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade.
Companies cannot nominate themselves or directly apply for the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade. ICERTIAS, which stands behind the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade, conducts independent cluster surveys in different world markets. Every research effort includes numerous categories from different sectors of the economy (e.g. milk, cars, banks, smartphones, or Internet service providers). Respondents (consumers) are asked to name a product, service or company in each category that, in their experience, offers the highest quality on the market. The questions in these surveys are always open-ended (i.e. not in the form of multiple-choice questions with predefined answers to choose from), and respondents can freely enter the answer they consider most appropriate for the given category. The product, service or company most often cited by respondents in the given category earns the privilege of winning the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade for that particular category in that particular country.
Companies neither apply for participation in QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys, nor does the QUDAL – QUality meDAL programme nominate companies to be included in the surveys. QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys are conducted on the basis of predefined market categories (e.g. family cars, milk, insurance companies or TV sets), and respondents are asked open-ended questions such as: „Please state the manufacturer of smartphone present on your national market that, according to your personal experience and opinion, and the experience and opinion of those close to you, offers the highest level quality?“. Respondents are free to name ANY smartphone manufacturer present on the market, that is, whichever manufacturer they believe to be the most worthy of the accolade. With this approach to research, we can say that all companies present on a given market are eligible to be nominated for the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade.
The QUDAL – QUality meDAL is different because it is based on the actual opinion and experience of the consumer. These opinions are assessed using our innovative DEEPMA research methodology and are the foundation of assigning the award to the top quality products and services on the market. For the buyer, the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade identifies which product or service in a particular category offers the highest quality. The QUDAL – QUality meDAL is a prestigious honour and a compliment to the administration and management of companies and service providers. It is also valued and appreciated by employees, shareholders, and company officials, while buyers receive the ultimate benefit in the end.
ICERTIAS – International Certification Association GmbH, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is behind the QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys. For more information on ICERTIAS, please visit www.icertias.com
The first QUDAL – QUality meDAL survey worldwide was conducted in September 2011. QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys were initially conducted by the renowned international market research company GfK (www.gfk.com) through telephone surveys (CATI methodology) until the end of 2012 when we initiated independent QUDAL – QUality meDAL research using our own Internet-based web surveys (CAWI methodology).
To date, QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys have been conducted in 20 international markets with the survey results regularly cited by leading media outlets in countries worldwide, including leading global media outlets in the USA, Germany and more. In addition to QUDAL – QUality meDAL, we also conduct market research for our other certification programmes: ICERTIAS Best Buy Award, and ICERTIAS Customers' Friend. Up until the present, we have conducted national surveys in more than 40 countries across 5 continents, from Asia, Australia, Africa, to Europe and South America.
The goal of the QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys is to assist consumers with their buying decisions and to highlight those products and services that truly offer the highest quality on the market. QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys are primarily conducted in markets that lack similar certfication or award programmes where assistance is provided in the choice-making process of consumers; however, these markets must be sufficiently developed to offer healthy competition in the product and service categories subject to research.
The QUDAL – QUality meDAL is not for sale and companies cannot purchase it. The QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade can only be „earned“ by companies whose products and services have been voted first place by consumers/respondents in the relevant categories in the QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys. Companies that win first place in a certain category are entitled to publish information of their win on their corporate websites, free of charge. However, if companies wish to to use their QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade for broader promotional purposes, such use carries a fee, depending on the type of public application chosen (e.g. in television advertising campaigns, outdoor advertising, media and print advertising, and so on). Companies can use the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade only in the context of the specific product or service for which the QUDAL – QUality meDAL is awarded, and not for other products or services. For example, a company that manufactures computers and other high-tech equipment such as smartphones and tablets, wins the QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade in the laptop category in a specific market, can only use its QUDAL – QUality meDAL accolade exclusively in the context of marketing its laptops but not smartphones and tablets or any other products from any other categories.
QUDAL – QUality meDAL research is conducted in the form of web surveys (CAWI – Computer Assisted Web Interviewing methodology). Respondents are invited to participate in QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys through contextual ads, such as through Google AdWords.
The QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys are two-year programmes, therefore, as a rule, QUDAL – QUality meDAL surveys are conducted every two years.
