Brand awareness is a fundamental aspect of marketing that references consumer recognition of a brand and its products or services. It serves as a foundation for constructing a brand's identity and its market presence.
Establishing strong brand awareness is often the first stage in the consumer's purchase process (from research, social proof, and more).
Without awareness, potential customers are less likely to consider a brand when making purchasing decisions.
In this guide, we’ll go over everything from how to measure, improve, and even how to start from scratch for your brand awareness strategy.
Article Contents
- Brand Awareness Definition
- What Impacts Brand Awareness
- Why Brand Awareness Is Important
- Measuring Brand Awareness
- Improving Brand Awareness
- Creating Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is how consumers recognize and remember a brand and its associated products or services.
Recognition can include things like the brand's name, logo, colors, or other distinctive elements that constitute a brand's identity.
There are even types of brand awareness such as aided and unaided awareness that provide a 360-degree view of how recognizable a brand or product/service is.
In our experience, brand awareness directly affects purchase intent.
When individuals recognize and remember a brand, they are more likely to buy something or go further down the brand’s marketing funnel.
A well-known brand is often interpreted as trustworthy and reliable, forging a positive association in the consumer's mind. This is critical because nearly 4 in 5 consumers report needing to trust a brand to consider buying from it.
Improving brand awareness can sometimes be the first step in the marketing funnel, critical for attracting top-level, new potential customers.
Increasing the spread of your funnel also can reach current customers which usually strengthens the bond with them, helping your brand loyalty.
What Impacts Brand Awareness In Our Experience
Brand awareness is primarily influenced by consistent marketing efforts across various channels, positive customer experiences, and the ability of a brand to effectively differentiate itself from competitors.
This can be achieved through the following…
- Consistent Messaging: Companies should maintain a consistent message across various platforms, ensuring that their values are clear and memorable.
- Visibility Efforts: Using campaigns in both digital and traditional media to reach their target audience (through ads or social media).
- Customer Experience: Brands provide exceptional customer service, knowing that positive experiences help reinforce brand recognition and encourage word-of-mouth referrals.
- Engagement: They foster strong, two-way interactions with customers through social media, and create a sense of community around the brand.
Why Brand Awareness is Important
In today's crowded marketplace, getting noticed is half the battle for businesses. That's where brand awareness comes in. It's not just about being recognized; it's about making a lasting impression on your audience.
Here's why we care about measuring and improving brand awareness (and you should too):
It Measures Trust
Trust and credibility are vital components of consumer decision-making processes.
When consumers encounter a brand they recognize and are familiar with, they tend to associate it with positive attributes and experiences.
Not only does trust help impact purchase decisions, but it can also lead to people spending more with your organization.
In fact, studies have shown that 46% of consumers are willing to pay more for a brand they trust.
This trust is not anecdotal either, it can be measured with brand loyalty surveys or brand perception surveys to understand the general level of trust a brand has with its target market.
It Measures Brand Equity
Brand equity is the added value a brand name gives to a product or service, distinct from other counterparts.
Like when Amazon or Google announces a new product, the value of that product is backed by the billion dollar brands and it generally receives more attention and trust than some of the competitors in the market that are newer or smaller companies.
This value is part of what brand awareness captures, reflecting the brand's standing in the market.
It is quantifiable through several metrics including pricing, customer loyalty, and perception.
It Provides Social Proof
Social proof helps build confidence and reduces the perceived risk associated with trying out a new brand or product. It leverages the power of peer influence to shape consumer perceptions and behaviors.
When consumers see others endorsing or recommending a brand they recognize, it reinforces their perception of its trustworthiness and credibility.
For example, when consumers see positive reviews or testimonials from satisfied customers, it validates their decision to trust and engage with the brand.
Similarly, when they observe friends, family members, or influencers endorsing a brand, they are more likely to view it favorably and consider trying its products or services themselves.
How To Measure Brand Awareness
Ever wondered how well your brand stacks up in the minds of consumers? That's where measuring brand awareness comes into play.
It's not just about counting clicks or likes; it's about understanding how deeply people connect with your brand.
Here is how our market research company measures brand awareness for our clients:
Surveys (Quantitative)
Brand awareness surveys provide direct insight into the consumer's mind, enabling brands to gauge things recognition and recall.
Some common questions we see and use are ones like, "How familiar are you with this brand?" or "Can you recall any of the recent marketing campaigns?" to quantitatively evaluate brand awareness.
The more targeted and crafted the survey, the better the data quality will be and the better decision can be made from it.
That’s why it’s crucial to know your goals and your audience going into a survey to capitalize the best from it.
If you're looking to measure brand awareness with surveys or focus groups, Drive Research can help. You will gain valuable insights into your audience's perceptions and stay ahead of your competition.
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Focus Groups (Qualitative)
Focus groups offer a qualitative approach to understanding brand awareness, allowing you to gather in-depth insights and perspectives from your target audience.
They allow you to ask open-ended questions surrounding brand associations, ad recall, comparison to competitors, barriers to awareness, and more.
When used in conjunction with quantitative measures, such as surveys or market research studies, focus groups can provide a comprehensive understanding of your brand's position in the marketplace and inform strategic decision-making.
Website Traffic (Quantitative)
Website analytics can also offer quantitative data on brand awareness. Metrics such as unique visits, page views, and the bounce rate reflect the audience's knowledge and interest.
Increases in traffic, especially from direct searches or brand search results, indicate growing brand recognition.
Social Engagement and Listening (Both)
Social engagement involves actively interacting with your audience on social media platforms, such as responding to comments, initiating conversations, and sharing relevant content.
By monitoring social engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, comments, and mentions, brands can gauge the level of audience interaction and interest surrounding their brand.
From our experience, higher engagement rates often indicate a deeper level of brand awareness and resonance among followers.
How To Improve Brand Awareness
Here are some practical strategies for enhancing your brand's visibility, engaging your audience, and making a memorable impression that lasts.
Have A Brand Story
A compelling brand story distinguishes a business from competitors and resonates emotionally with the audience. In fact, 55% of customers are more likely to purchase from businesses if they enjoy the brand's story.
It should be consistent across all platforms and encapsulate the brand’s values, mission, and unique selling propositions.
An effective story helps to make a brand memorable and relatable, creating a narrative that customers can connect with.
Connect With Your Audience & Customers
Interaction with the audience is not just about promoting products or services; it's about building relationships.
Engagement doesn’t have to be complicated either.
It can be something as simple as asking or using user-generated content when customers share their experiences.
It can also be personalized communication like replying to comments on social media or emails directly.
It can also be something as broad as getting involved in the local community.
Be Open To Feedback & Communication
Another factor that helps enhance brand awareness for businesses is being receptive to feedback and communicating with their audience transparently.
Something as little as having strong customer service/support can go a long way.
It’s also great to ask for feedback directly.
Whether it’s through a survey or review requests - you can collect the feedback through many different ways.
How To Create Brand Awareness (From Scratch)
Building a brand from scratch is like laying the foundation for a skyscraper – it requires careful planning, strategic execution, and a solid understanding of your target audience.
If you're stuck on where to start, we recommend the following:
Blog On Your Website & Guest Blog On Other Sites
Having a blog on your website provides a platform to share news, relevant content, establish expertise, and improve how potential customers can find you.
Guest blogging on other respected sites exposes the brand to a wider audience and can drive a bigger audience to the company's website.
Especially if you know the voice of your customer - this can be a big way to improve the brand’s awareness from nothing.
Advertise Your Brand
Obviously, we have to talk about ads.
Effective advertising—whether it's digital ads, traditional print media, or other channels— can increase the visibility of a brand.
Advertising should focus on channels where the target audience spends time and should convey a compelling message that resonates with potential customers.
It can be more of an attention grabber, something that the viewer will remember or want to know more about.
Advertising might be a little bit different for brands trying to build awareness from 0, but still, the same underlying principles are relevant.
Come Up With a Face For Your Company
Associating the brand with a recognizable face can humanize the company and create a personal connection with consumers. Usually, this is the founder, a dedicated spokesperson, or a fictional character that embodies the brand's values.
Think...The Colonel for KFC, Jake From State Farm, or Wendy's.
Sometimes it’s more than 1 person - it can be a team of people who are core members of the company (which we’ve seen before).
Offer Freebies
We don’t always jump to this one but providing free samples or trial services can entice customers to experience the brand without risk on their part.
Freebies should be used sparingly and ideally in certain situations but if done right they can encourage customer feedback and promote word-of-mouth marketing.
Sponsor Events
This is an easy one for brands looking for a way to get started right away. By sponsoring events that align with the brand's target audience or core values, a company gains exposure and builds goodwill.
Event sponsorship can range from local community events to larger industry conferences.
Launch a Podcast
Many have probably heard this before but for good reason. Starting a podcast can position a brand as a thought leader and provide a regular touchpoint with listeners.
It gives more room for a founder, individual, or team to showcase their expertise.
Topics should be relevant to the brand's audience and provide tons of value to ensure audience growth and engagement.
Add a Jingle
Even something that seems silly like creating a catchy jingle can significantly boost brand recall.
Ideally, your jingle should be short, memorable, likable, and closely associated with the brand's key messages or slogans.
Think like JG Wentworth, Farmers Insurance, and even jingles like Free Credit Report.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brand Awareness
How can a brand increase its equity in the market?
A brand can enhance its equity by ensuring consistent quality, creating a positive customer experience, and utilizing strategic marketing efforts to foster customer loyalty and brand recognition. Brand equity is built through delivering a reliable value proposition and engaging with the consumer base meaningfully.
What do you mean by brand awareness?
Brand awareness refers to the extent to which consumers are familiar with the qualities or image of a particular brand of goods or services. It represents how recognizable a brand is to potential customers and plays a crucial role in consumer decision-making.
How do you create brand awareness?
- Blog on your site and others
- Advertising
- Add a face to your company
- Give out a freebie
- Sponsor events
- Launch a podcast
- Add a jingle
What are the 4 stages of brand awareness?
The four stages of brand awareness are brand rejection, brand non-recognition, brand recognition, and brand preference. These stages illustrate the journey from a consumer's lack of awareness about a brand to a preference for the brand over its competitors.
Why is it critical for a company to invest in building brand awareness?
Brand awareness helps to establish trust and credibility with customers, differentiates the company from its competitors, and paves the way for customer loyalty and advocacy. Awareness is a key driver in a consumer's purchase decision process.
What is the main goal of brand awareness?
Create a distinct and lasting image of the brand in consumers' minds, influencing their purchasing decisions and fostering brand loyalty. It aims to ensure that potential customers know the brand and consider it an option in their buying process.
Measure Brand Awareness With Drive Research
Drive Research is a full-service marketing research company. Our team of seasoned research and marketing experts works with organizations every day to measure and improve their brand awareness through surveys, focus groups, content marketing, SEO, and more.
To learn more about our services, contact Drive Research by filling out the form below or emailing [email protected].
Austin Parker
Austin has an extensive background in SEO as he's been blogging since 16 years old back when the internet was in its infancy. As fitting, he holds a Bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in creative writing.
Learn more about Austin, here.