How do you run brand tests?

1 Define your objectives

Before you start any brand test, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Depending on your brand goals, you may want to test different aspects of your brand, such as awareness, recognition, recall, preference, loyalty, or advocacy. You also need to define your target audience, your key competitors, and your success criteria. For example, you may want to test how well your brand name and logo are recognized by your potential customers, compared to your main rivals, and set a target percentage of recognition as your success metric.

2 Choose your method

There are many ways to run brand tests, depending on your objectives, budget, and resources. Some of the most common methods are surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, and online tools. Surveys are useful for collecting quantitative data from a large sample of respondents, using standardized questions and scales. Interviews and focus groups are more suitable for gathering qualitative insights from a smaller group of participants, using open-ended questions and discussions. Experiments are designed to test causal relationships between brand elements and outcomes, such as purchase intention or satisfaction. Online tools are platforms that offer various features and functions to conduct and analyze brand tests, such as logo testing, slogan testing, or brand personality testing.

3 Design your test

Once you have chosen your method, you need to design your test according to the best practices and ethical standards of your field. For surveys, you need to create clear, concise, and relevant questions that avoid bias and ambiguity, and use appropriate scales and formats to measure your variables. For interviews and focus groups, you need to prepare a guide that outlines the topics and questions you want to cover, and use techniques such as probing and paraphrasing to elicit detailed and honest responses. For experiments, you need to define your independent and dependent variables, your control and treatment groups, and your procedures and protocols to ensure validity and reliability. For online tools, you need to follow the instructions and guidelines provided by the platform, and customize your test according to your objectives and preferences.

4 Run your test

After designing your test, you need to run it with your target audience. Depending on your method, you may need to recruit and screen your participants, obtain their consent and feedback, and compensate them for their time and effort. You also need to ensure that your test environment is suitable and comfortable for your participants, and that you minimize any distractions or interferences that may affect their performance or responses. You should also monitor and record your test process, and troubleshoot any issues or problems that may arise.

5 Analyze your results

Once you have collected your data, you need to analyze it using appropriate techniques and tools. For surveys, you may use statistical software or online platforms to perform descriptive and inferential analysis, such as frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, correlations, or regressions. For interviews and focus groups, you may use qualitative software or online platforms to perform thematic analysis, such as coding, categorizing, or clustering. For experiments, you may use statistical software or online platforms to perform hypothesis testing, such as t-tests, ANOVA, or chi-square. For online tools, you may use the features and functions provided by the platform to generate reports, graphs, or charts.

6 Apply your findings

The final step of running brand tests is to apply your findings to improve your brand strategy. You should interpret your results in relation to your objectives and success criteria, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your brand, as well as the opportunities and threats in your market. You should also compare your results with your competitors and industry benchmarks, and evaluate your competitive advantage and differentiation. Based on your analysis, you should formulate recommendations and action plans to enhance your brand performance, such as modifying your brand name, logo, slogan, or personality, or developing new products, services, or campaigns.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?