Last month I blogged about what you need to consider when customer satisfaction research, for the third instalment in this mini-series I’m looking at brand awareness research.
Brand awareness research is one of my favourite types of research to work on, I really enjoy finding out how brands compare to their competitors. And it’s a joy when a question asking about a company’s values is answered in a way that proves they are aligned with how they are perceived in the market place.
It’s not just something that should be reserved for household names, you can gain valuable insights whatever the size of your company. A well thought out brand awareness study will tell you what people think about your brand and can show where you sit alongside your competition.
Here are my top tips for getting the best from your brand awareness study
- Set your objectives. What benefits do you want to see? Are you looking to track marketing activities to measure reach? Or are you wanting to check in on your brand’s health? Or are you wanting to measure how your brand compares against competitors?
- Speak to both customers and employees. Many brand studies focus on customers, with company employees often overlooked. To get the full picture you need to know what your internal brand looks like. What do your employees, the CEO and other stakeholders think about your brand at the moment?
- Don’t start with your own assumptions. You might want your brand to be perceived as luxurious and aspirational, but don’t assume that research participants share that view.
- Make sure you have a range of question types – when thinking about brands some people make emotional choices and others are more rational. By using a mix of question types you’ll be able to uncover the full range of opinions.
- Remember that your brand will constantly evolve – it will change over time both in terms of its physical presence and also how it is perceived. So it’s sensible to integrate brand research into your overall research strategy to ensure you are on track.
I’m always happy to talk research, so if this sounds like something you need then get in touch.
