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Whether it is an international, multi-billion corporation, or a small local business, the heart of nearly every business is its brand recognition.
A brand doesn't necessarily mean it's all just about the name. A brand can be a symbol, design, or other feature that identifies one company's product or service as separate and distinct from another.
For example, a brand symbol for Target is that red and white bulls eye symbol. Likewise, brand symbols for Goodyear and McDonalds are the blimp and golden arches, respectively. On the other hand, an example of a commodity brand is "Got milk?" It is, in essence, the personality of a product.
Most importantly, however, is that brand recognition is defined by customer or prospects perception -- whether good or bad. Successful brand awareness means that your brand is easily recognized, associated with the intended product, and is well known.
After much time, effort, and money spent developing and placing products and services into the marketplace, it's tempting to think your mission is done. However, that would be premature, because it's important to find out just how well you did -- and are doing -- in creating a brand awareness.
Brand recognition surveys
That's where a brand recognition survey tool, also referred to as a brand awareness survey, comes into the picture. Using online survey software, brand recognition surveys start by determining not only whether your customers recognize your brand, but are able to associate your brand with the right product.
But a brand recognition survey can go well beyond that. In other words, it delves into the intangibles, and digs deeper than simply name or symbol recognition. For instance, it can be used as a survey tool to uncover customer perceptions about your product.
It makes the most sense to conduct your brand recognition survey as a blind survey. In other words, don't plaster your company name, product name, or brand or product logo all over your survey, like you would do for other types of surveys, like an employee or customer survey. If you identify your brand on your survey, you practically guaranteed to skew the results.
So, what kinds of questions are appropriate to include in online survey software for a brand recognition survey? Take a look at the following few examples:
* What is the first brand that comes to your mind in the marketplace today?
* What is the top brand that comes to your mind in the marketplace today?
* What do you think is the overall customer perception regarding this brand over the competition?
* Please list all the brands you can think of in this product category.
The results of these and other questions can shed further light into your brand awareness in the marketplace. More importantly, the results can be used not only to capitalize on brand strengths vis-à-vis competitors' weaknesses, but also enable launching or re-launching of more successful products while at the same time strengthening your brand.
As even the savviest marketer knows, building, redefining, and protecting your brand is a challenging task. And it's one that requires continuous monitoring and utilization of methodology and survey tools -- like a brand recognition survey -- in order to ensure that your brand recognition has a strong market presence -- and continues to do so for many years to come.
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