Do you really know what goes through your customers’ minds when they hear your brand’s name?
You might assume they see it as you do, unique, trustworthy, and beloved.
But the truth is that brand perception isn’t built on what you say; it’s shaped by how people feel about you.
That’s where a brand perception survey comes in, an insightful tool that helps you uncover how customers actually perceive your brand, and why they choose you, or don’t.
In this article, we’ll explore what brand perception surveys are, why they matter, with practical examples, ready-to-use questions, and best practices for creating an effective survey that reveals your brand’s true image.
What Is a Brand Perception Survey?
A brand perception survey is a research tool used to understand the mental image that your audience has built about your brand, based on their direct experiences, what they’ve heard, or what they’ve seen in the market, whether those impressions are emotional or rational.
7 Benefits of Using a Brand Perception Survey
1. Builds trust and transparency
Understanding how your customers truly see you helps you act with confidence and realism instead of relying on assumptions. Listening to your audience accelerates brand development.
2. Improves brand identity
It reveals whether your visual and verbal elements, logo, colors, tone, communicate the right message or need refining.
3. Tracks market shifts over time
Repeating the survey every six months helps you monitor how customer perceptions evolve after campaigns or product updates.
4. Identifies strengths and weaknesses
Do people see you as genuine or dull? Do they feel you understand them? The answers show where to focus and what to fix.
5. Measures brand equity
Customer perception directly affects brand value. The higher people’s regard for you, the higher your brand’s worth, even before sales.
6. Enhances marketing and loyalty
The survey reveals which marketing messages truly resonate, allowing for sharper, more emotionally engaging campaigns that strengthen loyalty and differentiation.
7. Provides competitor and market insights
It helps you understand awareness of competitors and how your brand compares, empowering you to highlight unique advantages and reinforce your competitive positioning.
Types of Brand Perception Surveys
To accurately grasp how your brand is perceived, it’s best to combine multiple complementary survey types:
1. Brand Awareness Survey
Measures how familiar people are with your brand and how widespread that awareness is.
Questions like:
• When did you first hear about [Brand Name]?
• Have you seen, heard, or talked about [Brand Name] in the past week?
• What do you think [Brand Name] does?
2. Brand Identity Survey
Assesses how customers mentally picture your brand and whether it aligns with your intended identity.
Questions like:
• What’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear [Brand Name]?
• What message or value do you think our brand is trying to convey?
• How would you describe our communication tone (friendly, formal, innovative…)?
Read More: How to Design Your Survey Identity on BSure.
3. Brand Positioning Survey
Reveals your standing among competitors and how customers perceive your strengths.
Questions like:
• Which brand in the [product/service] category do you prefer?
• Why do you choose [Brand Name] over others in the same category?
• What makes [Brand Name]’s products/services unique to you?
4. Brand Experience Survey
Focuses on the customer’s real-life interaction with your brand, online, in-store, or via customer service, to connect emotions with tangible experiences.
Questions like:
• How was your most recent experience with us?
• Was our service clear and easy to use?
• Did you find consistency between what we advertise and what we actually deliver?
Comparison of the Four Types
Type | Main Goal | Example Question | Final Outcome |
Brand Awareness | Measure how well-known the brand is | “Have you heard of us before?” | Assess recognition level |
Brand Identity | Match marketing identity to audience perception | “What trait do you associate with us?” | Understand brand image |
Brand Positioning | Refine competitive strategy | “Why do you choose us over competitors?” | Gauge market position |
Brand Experience | Improve service and loyalty | “How was your last experience?” | Evaluate real interactions |
How to Design Your Brand Perception Survey
1. Start with qualifying questions
Ensure respondents actually know your brand.
Example: “Which of the following brands have you heard of?”
• Those who select your brand continue; others are screened out to save time and cost.
2. Identify current customers
Determining whether the respondent is a current customer is important, as it helps classify and analyze responses more accurately.
Example: How often do you usually purchase from [brand name]?
18 Suggested Questions for Building a Comprehensive Brand Survey
Below is a set of questions you can use to create a survey that covers the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of your brand:
1. How did you first hear about [brand name]?
• Multiple choice.
Purpose: To understand how customers discover the brand and the effectiveness of marketing strategies.
2. What type of products/services does [brand name] offer?
• Multiple choice.
Purpose: To determine whether respondents associate the brand name with its actual offerings.
3. What is the first brand that comes to mind when you think of [product/service category]?
• Multiple choice.
Purpose: To assess how strongly your brand is linked to its product category in the customer’s mind.
4. How likely are you to purchase a product or service from [brand name]?
• Likert scale.
Purpose: To identify purchase intent.
5. Which of the following traits, if any, do you associate with [brand name]?
• Multiple choice (select all that apply).
Purpose: To test desirable versus conflicting brand attributes (e.g., “modern” vs. “traditional”).
6. How would you describe [brand name] to a friend?
• Open-ended question.
Purpose: To discover what customers say about your brand in everyday conversations and in their own words.
7. What emotions do you feel when you think about [brand name]?
• Open-ended question.
Purpose: To explore the emotional side and measure how the brand makes customers feel, since purchasing decisions are often emotion-driven.
8. Have your feelings toward [brand name] changed over the past year?
• Closed question (Yes/No).
Purpose: To reveal shifts in public perception over time, especially after major changes such as new product launches or media coverage.
9. Who do you think [brand name] is intended for?
• Multiple choice (select all that apply).
Purpose: To assess how well the brand is targeting its intended audience.
10. How would you describe your level of connection with [brand name]?
• Multiple choice.
Purpose: To measure customer loyalty. The stronger the connection, the more likely customers are to repurchase and recommend the brand.
11. How likely are you to recommend [brand name] to a friend or colleague?
• NPS (Net Promoter Score) question using a Likert scale.
Purpose: To measure customer loyalty and willingness to promote the brand.
12. Which of [brand name]’s products/services have you used, and how was your experience?
• Multiple choice + open-ended question.
Purpose: To categorize respondents and understand which products shape their perception of the brand.
13. What negative experiences have you had with [brand name]?
• Open-ended question.
Purpose: To identify factors that may harm the brand’s image and evaluate how resilient it is to negative experiences.
14. How would you describe your most recent interaction with [brand name], and why?
• Multiple choice + open-ended question.
Purpose: To determine whether the customer’s experience was positive or negative, and to uncover weak points in the customer journey for improvement.
15. What do you think about [brand name]’s pricing?
• Likert scale.
Purpose: To assess whether the pricing aligns with the perceived quality.
16. What do you think about [brand name]’s advertising?
• Multiple choice.
Purpose: To evaluate marketing effectiveness, ad appeal, and memorability.
17. What words would you use to describe [brand name]’s packaging?
• Open-ended question.
Purpose: To collect feedback on the design and whether it reflects the brand’s intended traits.
18. Do you have any comments or improvements you’d like to see in [brand name]?
• Open-ended question.
Purpose: To gather participants’ suggestions and opinions to enhance customer experience and strengthen brand perception based on their needs and expectations.
How to Determine the Ideal Sample for a Brand Perception Survey
Selecting the right audience is the most crucial factor in the success of any brand perception survey, as the quality of results depends as much on who responds as it does on the questions themselves.
A survey should not target everyone, it should focus on those who can truly reflect market perception and how customers view the brand. The target audience usually falls into five main categories:
1. Current Customers:
A reliable source for assessing how closely their perception aligns with the brand’s actual identity, and for measuring loyalty and identifying areas for improvement.
2. Loyal Customers:
The most emotionally connected group to the brand. They reflect the trust and bond you’ve built with them and can provide insights into the reasons behind their loyalty and how to strengthen it.
3. Potential Customers:
Provide valuable understanding of initial impressions before purchase, as well as the clarity and effectiveness of marketing messages.
4. Former Customers:
Those who have stopped purchasing. Their feedback helps identify the reasons behind their departure and guides improvements in the customer experience to retain others.
5. Internal Employees:
Their perceptions reveal how well the internal culture aligns with the external image, influencing the overall consistency of the brand identity.
By engaging these groups, you can build a balanced sample that delivers accurate, market-representative insights, helping you refine your marketing and branding strategies intelligently and effectively.
When Should You Conduct a Brand Perception Survey?
First, it makes sense to conduct a brand perception study after your brand has been in the market long enough to achieve a reasonable level of awareness among the audience. If most people haven’t heard of your brand yet, they won’t have any opinions about it, making the results inaccurate or misleading.
You can also conduct a brand perception survey at specific strategic times to gain the most valuable insights, such as:
1. Before launching a new product or service:
To understand the current market perception and ensure your marketing messages align with customer expectations.
2. After a major marketing campaign:
To evaluate how the campaign influenced customer perception and whether the intended messages were effectively communicated.
3. When redesigning your visual identity or logo:
To learn how customers perceive these changes and whether they achieve the desired effect.
4. Periodically (every 6–12 months):
To track market shifts, measure brand progress, and monitor how customer perceptions evolve over time.
5. When noticing a drop in sales or engagement:
To identify the causes and perception gaps that may be affecting business performance.
In short, the right time to conduct a brand perception survey is whenever you want to understand how customers truly see your brand compared to how you want it to be seen.
Best Practices for Designing a Brand Perception Survey
1. Start with a clear objective
Do you want to measure loyalty, brand image, or customer experience? A clear goal guides your questions with precision.
2. Use simple and clear language
Avoid complex marketing jargon and write in the way your audience speaks.
3. Keep it concise and balanced
Don’t make the survey too long, which can cause fatigue, nor too short, which may compromise results. Usually, 10–15 questions are enough, taking no more than five minutes to complete.
4. Mix open-ended and closed-ended questions
Open-ended questions reveal emotions, while closed-ended questions facilitate quantitative analysis. Variety ensures more accurate data and increases the survey’s appeal.
5. State the expected survey duration upfront
This helps participants manage their expectations and stay focused.
6. Include alternative answer options to improve accuracy
Add options such as “I don’t know” or “None” to ensure accurate responses from participants unfamiliar with your brand and maintain data quality.
7. Target the right sample
Select participants who represent your actual audience (current, potential, or former customers).
8. Repeat the survey periodically
Conducting the survey regularly helps track changes in perception after campaigns or strategic adjustments.
9. Analyze results intelligently
Don’t stop at the numbers, look deeper. Are there recurring emotions? Keywords? Patterns in responses?
10. Share results with your team
Brand perception isn’t solely a marketing responsibility; it involves sales, customer service, design, and even senior management.
11. Turn insights into actionable decisions
Use what you learn to improve a product, adjust a marketing campaign, or enhance a service to achieve tangible impact.
Conclusion:
You can design the perfect logo and launch massive campaigns, but without knowing how your audience truly perceives you, you’re still guessing.
A brand perception survey is the mirror that reflects your real image in people’s minds, you might think your brand is “innovative,” while customers see it as “confusing,” or believe it’s “approachable” when they find it “pretentious.”
Let BSure guide you to discover how your audience really sees you. Take your first step toward a brand that’s seen as you intend it to be: authentic, relatable, and inspiring.
Listen, evaluate, and improve your services with the Voice of the Customer platform!
