How to Build Your Brand Identity Using Surveys

Regardless of which industry you operate in, your brand has its own unique identity. Whether you think of it as the “face” of your brand or the personality of your business, your brand’s identity is an incredibly important part of growing a successful business and a dedicated customer base. The problem is, brands often leave their identity up to chance. Rather than strategizing to build a brand identity (including with the help of surveys!) that supports their growth and aligns with their values, their brand’s unique identity is never really developed.

Ultimately, their business gets lost in the crowd. Customers don’t know what your brand stands for, what makes it unique, what you offer, or worse yet, that your brand exists at all. Worried this applies to you?

Using Brand Identity Surveys to Build Your Business

Fear not! Today we’re going to tell you all about using surveys to help you establish your brand.

First, it’s also important to note the difference between your brand’s identity and your branding.

Your branding is part of your brand’s identity, but it’s not all of it.

For example, “brand identity” refers to your brand’s values, voice, and personality. Branding, on the other hand, has more to do with the aesthetic elements of your marketing materials. You know, things like colors, fonts, and logos.

(By the way, our online poll maker includes all kinds of customization options so your surveys can be designed with your branding in mind)

But for now, back to brand identity.

One of the best ways to help create your brand’s ideal identity is first finding out where you stand with customers now. Do they view your brand the way you want to be viewed? Do they have an accurate idea of what your business offers? With brand identity surveys, you can find all of this out and more.

Brand Identity Surveys: Question Examples

Here are some of the questions to include on your surveys to get the information you’re looking for.

List the words you would use to describe “Brand Name”

The results from this survey question can be game changing for your business. You’ll know right away if the answers you’re getting align with how you view your brand. If there’s a big gap between what respondents think and what you think, it’s time to address this. For example, tweaking your marketing so it better corresponds with the identity you want to portray, rather than how respondents view it.

(PS. Why not use a word cloud for this question? You’ll be able to see the most common responses displayed in bigger bubbles, with less frequent answers in smaller spots.)

How do you feel about this brand?

For this question, we recommend using a Likert Scale. For example, respondents can choose from these five options:

Very Negative, Negative, Neutral, Positive, Very Positive.

Of course, the more positive responses the better! But if you’re noticing a lot of undesirable survey answers to this question, it’s time to look at what you can do to improve the perception of your brand’s identity.

(We cover everything you need to know about Likert Scale surveys in this post)

Have you purchased from this brand before?

While you’re using brand identity surveys, it’s also important to take a look at who the responses are coming from. You’ll want to know how existing customers view your brand, along with how aware non-customers are with your brand. It’s particularly interesting to note the words associated with the brand and feelings toward the brand and how they vary between customers/non-customers.

Rate the likelihood you would recommend this brand to a friend, family member, or colleague

Another important step when you set out to build your brand identity is determining your Net Promoter Score or NPS. We talk all about how to do that in this post: What are NPS Surveys? Answering Your Top Questions.

But in the meantime, let’s talk more about NPS surveys specifically for brand identity purposes.

These surveys simply tell you how likely a customer is to refer your brand/product/service to a friend, family member, or colleague.

It tells you a lot about how someone views your brand. For example, if you’re getting a lot of “very likely” responses, this is good news for your brand!

But if you’re receiving less desirable responses more often than not, this is another sign it’s time to make some changes.