Which needs does a brand survey respond to?

At Innolink, we are discussing brand surveys as a tool for strategic knowledge-driven leadership in a two-part series of blog posts. Part 1. Which needs does a brand survey respond to?

Discussing the topic are
Jukka Aro
Pasi Lahtinen
Tuomas Liukkala

Enterprises have been increasingly interested in the status and development of their own brands. Brand surveys are generating interest, and Innolink has been contacted about them several times this year. We are reflecting on what the most important reasons are for customers to look into carrying out a brand survey.

Research Director Tuomas Liukkala has the following to say about brand surveys as verifiers of market value: “The endgame on the market is played on a competitive field against other players. It is interesting to know who wins any given tender by, let’s say, a hair’s breadth. More than anything, brand surveys are competitive surveys. They are used to measure the enterprise’s position on the field and in relation to the competition. By conducting a survey, it is possible to find out whether the business is the best known in the desired target group or if the respondents haven’t even heard of you. It will also let us know the positions, weaknesses, and strengths of our competitors.”

“I have clients who are very interested in the status of their brand, increasing its awareness, and making comparisons with the competition, because the going is tough in any field,” says Research Manager Jukka Aro. A brand survey can also determine the interest and attractiveness of a brand on the market. In many cases, the research results mean more development tasks for marketing or sales to undertake.

“Yes, a brand survey is an excellent way of measuring the strength of a brand image and the ability of a business to make a profit on any given market. A brand survey can measure the genuine sentiments of customers or other interesting focus groups concerning the company’s brand. This creates insights into brand strengths and development targets. Before carrying out the survey, I often specify a target image with the client; this is the position and brand image that the business would like to have. The achievement of such a target image can be measured more extensively,” Liukkala sums up.

“Exactly right. Target image is a good term. I always ask my clients if their value or brand strategy statement mentions what they would like to be and how they would like to be seen. After that, we can determine whether their customers agree. Target values for consumer brands may include for example being trendy and family-oriented, or being digital, forward-looking, innovative, and quality-focused for various industrial brands,” says Research Director Pasi Lahtinen about the significance of values.

Aro has the following to say about the opportunities of brand surveys in the development of sales: “I think that a brand survey can be employed to recognise the hottest directions into which sales can be targeted. It works very well as a survey of customer potential. A brand survey can be used to contact businesses in the sector, which are potential customers. My own clients want to conduct surveys to find out about what kinds of companies are interested in what they have to offer.”

“Innolink can also construct a brand position analysis, which is determined with hard market data, that is financial figures and statistics. By comparing and analysing the experiential data from a brand survey and hard market data, we can generate reliable insights into the actual market position of a brand,” says Liukkala.

An Innolink brand survey can respond to the following needs

• Mapping out the position and awareness of a brand in a stable or changed market situation
• Mapping out and developing online visibility
• Monitoring and comparing competitors and increasing market share
• Strategically reinforcing and renewing a brand image. Recognising the factors that increase attractiveness and attaching desirable properties to a brand image.
• Strategically increasing sales and reinforcing customer loyalty
• Developing and deepening customer understanding
• Comprehensively utilising information. Combining experiential information with hard data and tacit knowledge

Get in touch

Jukka Aro
jukka.aro@innolink.fi
+358 40 062 2127

Pasi Lahtinen
pasi.lahtinen@innolink.fi
+358 40 533 9367

Tuomas Liukkala
tuomas.liukkala@innolink.fi
+358 40 033 9766

#knowledegdrivenleadership #research #brandsurvey