Brand Analysis

Why should you use this template?

Awareness of one’s own performance is always important, but it becomes critical when trends become difficult for you to predict. Was there an unexpected dip last quarter? Did a recent campaign totally outperform its goals? These are signs that you may not have a good understanding of how your organization is performing.

The first step of a brand analysis is to identify the aspects of your organization that you want to investigate. This template focuses on documenting strengths and weaknesses, understanding your market position within your industry, and identifying your strongest differentiators from competition.

A thorough brand analysis is a successful one. Depending on the size of your organization, you should consider synthesizing findings from this survey with other data sources, such as any product analytics you might have as well as social media channels, printed efforts and any other touch points you have with your customers.

Note that these questions can also be turned inward–understanding your employee’s perspective on your brand can also give great insight into your organization’s performance. For the sake of simplicity, these templated questions are written for current customers.

Testing Outcomes

• Map out your brand performance, focusing on what matters most to you.
• Reduce the mystery surrounding your successes and failures.
• Hear what your customers have to say about your brand.

Organization Benefits

• Customer feedback is invaluable–quotes can be used in promotional material and after it’s analyzed, you can use the themes in language and sentiment you found to develop personas or other consumer profiles.
• Refocus your brand’s position in the market using insights from this analysis.

Test Questions

1. When you think of shopping for formal outfits online, which companies are you Most Familiar and Least Familiar with.
   MaxDiff Question
   Use a maxdiff question to get a rough idea of the competition (heavy hitters and small fry!).
2. Rank these factors from Most Valuable to Least Valuable when it comes to your online shopping experience.
   Rank Order
   This question can also be used to directly ask customers of your brand what they find most valuable about the experience you provide.
3. How likely would you be to recommend this brand to a friend?
   Numerical Scale
   A net promoter score is a standard metric in market research and a great way to get a quick, first impression of your brand.
4. What words would you use to describe this brand?
   Free Response
   This will be a great place to look for themes in language and feelings toward a brand.
   
5. Which of these ad versions most makes you want to shop with this company?
   Preference Test
   Preference questions are great for rapid a/b testing–and they can handle more complex variations, too.

Additional Questions

• Can you describe the brand?
• What words best describe this brand?
• What is the brand’s promise (what does it promise to do for you)?
• Why did you buy the brand the first time?
• Will you buy this brand again?
• Or, why do you continue to buy this brand?
• What problem does this brand solve for you?
• How do you feel when you use this brand?
• How do you feel when this brand is unavailable?
• How well does the brand deliver on its promise?
• Does it ever fail to deliver on its promise?
• Have you seen the brand’s advertising? Where?
• What message did the advertising communicate?
• Do you like or dislike the advertising? Why?
• Where did you encounter this brand the first time?
• If the brand was suddenly hard to find, would you pay more to guarantee you got enough of it?
• If the brand were less expensive, would you buy more of it?