Why brand research matters for a business
Most owners judge their brand by sales, followers and reviews. But sales depend on price, stock and season, and followers are people who already know you. Brand research looks at the wider market: who remembers you, what they associate you with, and why they choose you or walk past.
It pays off before a rebrand, after a large campaign, when expanding from Tashkent to the regions, when a strong competitor appears, or when sales dip for unclear reasons. Without measurement, decisions about the logo, tone of voice and positioning come down to the founder's taste.
What to measure
The core set is short, and each item answers a different question.
- Unaided awareness: people name your brand on their own when asked about a category, for example "which dental clinics in Chilonzor do you know?"
- Aided awareness: people recognise the brand from a list or a logo.
- Associations: the words and images that come up when they hear the name.
- Brand traits: reliable, expensive, modern, "one of us", rated on a scale and compared with competitors.
- Consideration: whether the brand makes the shortlist at the moment of choice.
- Loyalty: repeat purchase and willingness to recommend.
The brand funnel and competitor comparison
It helps to line these up as a chain: aware, considering, tried, buying regularly, recommending. Then place the funnels of two or three competitors next to yours. A single figure on its own means little, because you can't tell whether it is high or low for your category.
The funnel shows where people drop off, and that decides what you fix:
- Many know you but few consider you: the problem is positioning or perception.
- They consider you but don't try: price, low trust, poor availability or weak arguments get in the way.
- They try but don't come back: the issue is the product or the service.
Research methods: from interviews to surveys
Qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and focus groups show the words people use for your brand and how they feel about it. Projective questions like "if this brand were a person, who would it be?" help when direct answers are hard to get. Quantitative methods, meaning a survey of the target audience and comparison scales, give you numbers you can track.
A practical sequence is a handful of interviews first, to hear how the audience talks, then a survey that turns those phrases into answer options. Add reviews on maps, OLX and Uzum, Instagram comments, Telegram chat discussions and the trend in searches for your brand name.
How to write a brand awareness survey
Question order matters, so keep this sequence:
- Unaided awareness: "Which companies in this category do you know?" with no hints.
- Aided awareness: a list or logos.
- Associations and ratings, only for brands the respondent knows.
- Respondent details such as age, city and preferred language, for segmentation.
Who to ask, and how to start in-house
If you show the list first, unaided awareness can no longer be measured. Respondents should be the target audience of the category, not just your customers or your Telegram channel subscribers, who will make results look better than reality. In B2B, ask the people who decide on purchases. Account for language and region: the brand may look different in Tashkent, Samarkand and the Fergana Valley, or among Russian-speaking and Uzbek-speaking audiences.
A small company doesn't need a large study on day one. Ask every new customer how they found you and what they thought at first contact. Once a year, run a short poll in a neighbourhood or industry chat. Collect the words from reviews: repeated phrases are your real image. This won't replace a full study, but it shows whether your image matches what you believe about yourself.
Using the results and avoiding mistakes
Results without decisions are wasted budget. As a guide: if associations differ from your positioning, revisit your communication; if awareness is low, invest in reach channels; if people know you but don't choose you, work on your arguments and customer experience; if one attribute scores badly, fix the product or service.
The usual ways to spoil measurement are drawing long-term conclusions from a single wave, changing the questionnaire between waves, surveying only loyal customers, and confusing brand metrics with sales. The real value comes from repeating the same method every six to twelve months.
If you want to design the research and turn the findings into a plan, markdev works on marketing strategy and consulting for businesses in Uzbekistan. Tell us about your task and we can discuss where to begin.
FAQ
What is the difference between unaided and aided awareness?
With unaided awareness people name your brand themselves when asked about a category. With aided awareness they recognise it from a list or logo. The first shows whether you come to mind at the moment of choice.
Can I survey only my Instagram or Telegram followers?
It can tell you about loyalty, but not about your brand in the market. Those people already know you, so results will look too positive. You need the category's target audience.
How often should brand research be repeated?
Every six to twelve months using the same method, and before and after a major campaign or rebrand. A single measurement says little on its own.
Can a small business run brand research itself?
As a start, yes. Ask customers how they found you, run a short poll in an industry chat, and analyse the words used in reviews. It gives you first reference points.
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