February 17, 2023 8:30AM

How to Measure Brand Performance with Brand Health Tracking

Having a strong brand is an essential part of a company's success. Understanding how your brand is performing in the market, how many people are aware of your brand and how your brand is perceived by consumers are all important metrics which together indicate the overall health of a brand. 

In this article, we take a closer look into the importance of brand health tracking and how businesses can effectively measure their brand's performance in the market.

Why is Brand Health Important?

When we look at global markets today, it's clear that there is no shortage of competitors across each industry. Even in sectors which benefit from emerging technologies and innovation, once a new product or solution is launched to market, within a short space of time there will be a variety of businesses competing for market share. 

When it comes to marketing, maintaining a healthy, profitable brand is more cost-effective than trying to revive a brand which is struggling or needs revamping. It's also important to remember that in today's economic climate consumers are much more likely to switch brands when they feel unsatisfied with a brand experience.

Key Benefits of Brand Health Tracking Include:

Understanding Your Brands Market Position

Knowing how your brand compares against competitors in the market is vital in achieving your long-term marketing and revenue goals. What makes your brand different from your competitors, whether it is the price point, quality or availability, understanding these key factors are essential in maintaining a healthy brand.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Marketing Activities

How are your marketing efforts impacting your brand? Do you need to revise the messaging or strategies in place? Understanding how your marketing activities are impacting your brand is a factor in determining your brand health.

Identifying Key Strengths & Weaknesses in Your Brand

Finding your brand's strengths and weaknesses will allow you to adjust your strategies accordingly, leveraging your strengths and addressing any areas which can be improved. 

Top Metrics Used to Determine the Health of Your Brand

The most effective metrics for brand health are those which are relevant to your business. Some of the most commonly used metrics for determining brand health include:

Brand Awareness

The level to which consumers are familiar with a brand. It can be measured by the percentage of the target audience that recognizes the brand name, slogan, logo, tagline or visual identity.

Brand Perception

How a brand's target audience perceives a brand in terms of factors such as quality, value, and reputation. This can be measured through surveys that ask consumers to rate a brand on specific attributes.

Brand Recall

This measures the ability of consumers to recall a brand from memory. This can be measured by the percentage of the brand's target audience that can name a particular brand when prompted with a product category. For example, a survey question for carbonated drinks might ask, “When you think about canned drinks, what's the first brand which comes to mind?”

Brand Loyalty

Understanding which customers are loyal to a brand and expect to make again in the future purchase. Customer retention rates and repeat purchases are common metrics used to identify and track the level of brand loyalty 

Brand Sentiment

Identifying customers' perceptions and emotional connection to a brand provides an overall reflection of how customers feel about a brand. These insights can give us a better understanding of how likely customers are to purchase from the brand as well as identify any areas for improvement.

Brand Equity

The overall value of a brand as an asset. Brand equity takes into account various factors such as brand awareness, brand perception, and brand loyalty to determine the brand's overall value and provides a key indicator to brands in identifying the right product pricing. The higher your Brand Equity, the higher your ability to rake in profits, hence the higher the value of your brand.

Market Share

This is an important metric used to determine a brand's position in the market against competitors. It is commonly measured as a percentage of total sales generated by a brand within a specific product category.

By tracking the above metrics, brands can understand the health of their brand, allowing them to make informed decisions on branding and marketing strategies moving forward. Keeping an eye on your brand's health is something which should be monitored over time in order to identify any patterns or trends in consumer behaviour or changes in the market.

What Are the Most Effective Ways of Measuring Brand Health?

The processes used to track a brand's health involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods which typically include :

Surveys

Provided they are short, simple and convenient, surveys are a great method of collecting data and insights. With more surveys now utilising online platforms, brands are able to gather a large amount of market survey data in a very short space of time.

Focus Groups

More in-depth qualitative information about a brand can be gained by using the results of surveys to develop more focused group questions.

Listening to Customers

Having clear accessible channels for customers to provide feedback can be a great source of insights which help to determine the health of your brand. Identifying trends across channels such as customer service and social media will help to identify areas where a brand may be in need of improvement.

Social Listening

Social Listening is a great way of gathering insights on how and where your brand is being mentioned online. What people say about your brand and products across popular platforms such as Social Media is a key method of gaining insights into customer sentiment. Competitors' brands can also be monitored and the volume of brand mentions can be compared to understand which are the most talked about/mentioned.

NPS

A company's Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a popular metric used to understand the levels of customer satisfaction towards a brand. This method presents customers with a simple survey, which once completed provides a Score. As well as gaining insights on customer satisfaction, customer experience and loyalty, the NPS score also helps to identify any weak points with a brand and helps identify customers who are at risk of switching to alternative brands. 

Most Common Reasons for Declining Brand Health

Having measured your brand's health and found issues which can be improved on, you may be asking what has caused your brand health to suffer. Below are some of the most common causes of declining brand health in businesses today:

• Changes in market conditions. Is your brand in a market which is suffering?
• Your brand has not evolved in line with the market and consumer preferences.
• Limited target audience/lack of expansion into new markets has restricted growth.
• Lack of Innovation in both marketing and product development.

How Can Vodus Research Help You to Achieve a Healthy Brand?

In businesses today, teams across Senior Management and marketing are often left wondering what the current health of their brand is. In some cases, marketing campaigns are launched in hope of reviving a brand without fully understanding where a brand is failing or falling behind. At Vodus Research we have developed our own Brand Health Tracking Solution, providing brands with everything they need to know about the current health and performance of their brand, in line with both their competitor's and target audience preferences.

We help businesses identify what drives consumers to purchase their brand as well as understand areas where a brand can gain more value in the market.

As one of the leading market research companies in Malaysia, Vodus Research has a wealth of experience and knowledge from working with leading brands across a wide range of industries including FMCG, telecommunications, retail, consumer finance, education, property development and entertainment.  

For more information on how Vodus Research can assist you in your Brand Health Tracking, contact us now for a FREE consultation.