Brand Perception and Tools for Measuring It

Before deciding to buy a product, it is natural for a customer to do so based on emotional considerations. Usually, it is difficult to change the attitudes that a brand has adopted, especially regarding its associations with consumers.

When measured as a metric, this can be something that you may be able to control, but is also out of your control. Different from brand awareness, customers who show whether they like or dislike a brand form a brand perception.

In order to be able to understand it as part of optimizing marketing strategy, see the complete explanation regarding brand perception.

What is Brand Perception?

Brand perception is a metric that focuses on awareness, reach and sentiment from customers towards the brand. Customers not only need to know about the existence of your brand, but they also need to express opinions about their liking for the brand.

You can form a narrative regarding brand identity, but the perception achieved by the market is something that is inevitable. Factors that can influence brand perception include product quality, customer service, competitors in the market, changes in market trends, and advertising and marketing.

Measuring brand perception is also often done through sentiment analysis on social media and websites in general. There are several marketing tools that can be used to identify conversations from customers about your product brand.

However, it is important to remember that analysis of customer sentiment is not a science that can be measured perfectly. The difference between one product and another is relatively difficult to decipher using machine learning alone.

Brand Perception Measuring Tool

Even though its nature is in the form of sentiment which is not an exact science, you can still use data to understand how consumers view brands. You can combine metric measurements from reviews, experience, engagement, customer use, reputation, to functionality. The following is a method that can be used as a measuring tool.

1. Survey

You can measure brand perception to find out what people think about your business. Through surveys, you can also find out business competition compared to other businesses in the midst of market competition.

Survey questions to measure brand perception touch on emotional, cognitive and action-oriented factors. Below are some examples of survey questions that can be asked to customers.

• What do you think about the “Ayam Gledek” menu in terms of the quality of the products we offer?
• On a scale of 1—10, what was your overall experience when visiting or ordering from Nyayur Grocery Store?
• What was your first impression when you heard or saw the "Cute Clothes" brand?

2. Social listening

You can also use social listening tools like Google alerts or Meltwater to track mentions on various social media platforms. You can track media comments, online reviews, forums, relevant hashtags, including mentions in news media.

As your brand grows, that data set will continue to grow. You can create a system to handle negative things related to mentions of your brand, product or ongoing product campaign.

3. Brand audit

Brand-related evaluations can show brand perception compared to your competitors. This must include research regarding primary and secondary target audiences. You can also conduct a competitive analysis of products or services with a thorough evaluation of communication strategies. Also carry out a complete audit to gain an in-depth understanding of your brand positioning.

4. Customer data

Getting to know customers is the right way to get insights regarding products and brands. By researching the customer journey, you can find out how buyers search and find information, evaluate products, compare with competitors, make purchasing decisions, and post-purchase interactions with brands.

Recognizing the factors that shape brand perception can be done through surveys, audits, or using customer data analysis. In strengthening business strategy, it is important to have an in-depth understanding of the elements of a brand and how to form a brand identity, which executives can learn through Strategic Brand Management.