The Ultimate Guide to Brand Surveys
According to McKinsey research, strong brands outperform weak ones by up to 20% in revenue growth and command an average price premium of 13%.
Brand isn't what you say. It's what they remember.
That's why brand surveys matter. They tell you how your brand actually lives in people's heads—beyond the logo, beyond the campaign.
Done right, brand surveys give you a read on awareness, perception, and preference. Done wrong, they give you noise.
Here's how to do it right.
1. Know What You're Measuring
There's no one-size-fits-all. Start by picking the signal you care about:
Awareness – Have they heard of you?
Consideration – Would they choose you?
Perception – How do they see you?
Preference – Would they choose you over someone else?
Pick one goal. Build around it.
Example in action: When a major home-sharing platform needed to understand what differentiated them from hotels, they focused specifically on perception measurement. Their targeted surveys revealed that "belonging" was their strongest emotional differentiator—a finding that shaped their entire brand positioning around the concept of belonging anywhere.
Sample questions:
For awareness: "Which of these companies have you heard of?" (Include your brand among competitors)
For perception: "What three words come to mind when you think of [Brand]?"
For consideration: "Next time you need [product/service], how likely are you to consider [Brand]?"
2. Keep It Short
Nobody wakes up excited to take your brand survey.
Respect their time. Five questions max. Three is better.
A multinational retailer found that cutting their quarterly brand tracker from 12 questions to 4 increased completion rates by 62% and delivered more consistent data due to reduced survey fatigue.
Best practice: The ideal brand survey takes no more than 2 minutes to complete.
3. Ask Clearly, Not Cleverly
This is not the time to get cute. Clarity wins.
Good: "Have you heard of [Brand]?" Bad: "Which of the following emerging players resonates most with you?"
Testing tip: Preview your questions with someone unfamiliar with your goals. If they have to ask what you mean, rewrite the question.
4. Don't Lead the Witness
Avoid bias. Don't telegraph what you want to hear.
Bad: "How impressed were you with our new campaign?" Better: "Did you see this campaign? What did you think?"
Watch for: Loaded terms like "innovative," "leading," or "best-in-class" that prime respondents toward positive answers.
5. Make It Visual When It Helps
Show logos. Show ads. Show side-by-sides.
People remember visuals. Use them to jog memory and test recognition.
A beverage company discovered their distinctive bottle shape had 32% higher recognition than their actual logo—a finding that transformed their packaging strategy. This insight only emerged when they used visual prompts instead of text descriptions.
Visual testing methods:
Logo recognition tests (show multiple brands, ask which they recognize)
Ad recall validation (show an ad, ask if they've seen it before)
Visual association mapping (show brand assets, ask what products/attributes they connect with them)
6. Ask the Right Audience
Not just your customers. Not just your followers.
You want a real sample of your market, including people who've never bought from you.
That's how you measure brand growth.
Sampling strategies:
Use third-party survey panels for unbiased audience selection
Set demographic quotas that match your target market
Include both customers and non-customers at a ratio that reflects market reality
Oversample in segments where you need more statistical confidence
7. Track Over Time
A single survey is a snapshot. You need a timeline.
Same questions. Same cadence. Watch the trend.
Brand isn't built in a day. Neither is insight.
The most valuable brand trackers establish consistent measurement intervals (quarterly is standard) and maintain question consistency to ensure meaningful comparisons.
Tracking framework:
Establish baseline measurements before major campaigns
Measure at consistent intervals (quarterly/bi-annually)
Use rolling averages to smooth outliers
Track against both historical performance and category benchmarks
8. Analyze and Act
Data without action is just noise. Have a plan for what you'll do with what you learn.
A strong pattern in the auto industry shows that brands that adjust messaging based on perception gaps see a 2-3X improvement in consideration scores within 18 months.
Action framework:
For low awareness: Increase reach in communications
For good awareness but poor perception: Refine positioning and messaging
For positive perception but low consideration: Address barriers to trial
For high consideration but low purchase: Examine the customer journey for conversion roadblocks
9. Measure Across Channels
Your brand doesn't exist in isolation—it lives across multiple touchpoints and environments. What works in one channel may falter in another.
Channel-specific perception:
Social media: How does your brand perform in the fast-moving, often unfiltered social conversation?
Retail/in-person: Does your in-store brand experience match your advertising promise?
Website/digital: Is your online presence creating the right first impression?
Customer service: How does interaction with your team shape brand perception?
A major retailer discovered their brand was perceived as "premium" in advertising but "budget" in-store—a dangerous disconnect that was undermining trust. This insight only emerged when they measured across channels rather than in aggregate.
Integration tip: Create a channel perception map showing your brand's strength across different touchpoints to identify inconsistencies that need addressing.
Final Thought
You can't improve what you don't understand.
Brand surveys aren't about vanity—they're about clarity. When you know what people think, you know what to do next.
Ask less. Learn more. Build better.
The most valuable brand measurement isn't the one that confirms what you already believe—it's the one that challenges your assumptions and reveals the gap between how you see your brand and how the world sees it.