How to conduct brand research to drive success

Brand research is a crucial part of diagnosing your brand health. By identifying opportunities for improvement, you’ll be able to differentiate your brand, identify weaknesses, and improve your branding. Let’s discuss brand research, what it will do for you, how to conduct brand research, and how to use the results to drive success.

Brand research is a form of market research that explores various components of your branding, such as brand identity, vision, goals, mission, and positioning, to gain insights into how your brand is perceived. It helps you find out whether your vision for your brand matches public perception and helps you identify areas for improvement.

Brand research includes comparisons to your competitors. It helps you discover where you have a competitive advantage—and where you have opportunities to improve. 

This research is an ongoing process. You know what you’ve set out to present as your brand, but perception is in the hands of the consumers. To find out what they think, you have to ask. And ask again. Changes to your brand, your target audience, and simply time can all cause a shift in how your brand is perceived.

There are several advantages to brand research:

Brand research is not something you do once when establishing your brand. It is conducted frequently to ensure ongoing positive brand perception.

Examples of times to use brand research:

All of these examples are pivotal moments in your brand’s life. They include major decisions that will result in significant gains or losses. Because of this, it’s essential to use the guidance of research to find the most effective way forward.

Before you get started with your research, there are a few brand research terms you should be familiar with.

Brand research often begins with brand awareness. This is the extent to which customers are familiar with your brand, product, or service. This measurement provides detailed information about how your marketing efforts are faring and how your business is performing overall. 

There are two types of brand awareness. Unaided brand awareness indicates that a consumer comes up with your name without prompting. Aided brand recognition questions mention your brand or provide an image of your brand in the questions or choices.

Measuring brand awareness is easy with our customizable brand awareness survey template.

A large part of brand perception is people's associations with your brand. These are the things that people think and feel when they encounter your brand. 

For example, do customers associate your brand with luxury? Do they equate you with sustainability? Are you known for your exemplary customer service? Associations can be positive or negative, so don’t be surprised to find answers on both sides.

Your brand perception is very important to research. Brand perception includes awareness, associations, and interactions with your brand. It is a key metric influencing sales, product or feature development, marketing, and advertising. Your brand perception is shaped by your social media presence, messaging, and customer experience. 

Measure brand perception with a customer satisfaction survey, Net Promoter Score® (NPS) survey, or a brand perception survey.

The additional value a business gets from high brand awareness is brand equity. It includes brand perception, the effect the perception has on your company, and the value of the effect. 

Brand equity is key in customer retention, launching new products, and building brand loyalty.

To measure brand equity, start with a brand awareness survey to determine if your target market is aware of your brand. Then conduct a brand perception survey to find out the current perception of your brand. If necessary, use the data to make changes that clarify your meaning and message. Follow these with a customer satisfaction survey to determine the positive and negative aspects of the customer experience. Finally, a brand loyalty survey will help you determine the value that brand equity adds to your brand.

Streamline the brand equity measurement with our Brand Tracker. Monitor brand health, awareness, competitive threats, perception, reputation, and more all in one place.

When a customer prefers your brand over your competitors, you’ve achieved brand loyalty. A loyal customer will always choose your brand, regardless of price or convenience, because they believe your brand meets all of their needs. They make repeat purchases and recommend your products. 

You can build brand loyalty by providing an exceptional customer experience, engaging with customers on social media, and establishing a rewards program. Measure brand loyalty with metrics for customer satisfaction and NPS.

Brand preference is closely tied to brand loyalty. It’s the tendency to choose one brand over another consistently. They may have tried products from other brands, but they’ve decided your bran