In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just a great product or service. It demands a deep understanding of the market, consumer behavior, and emerging trends. This is where the market research process becomes invaluable. In this blog post, we will delve more into market research and explore...
There is never a wrong time to do market research. However, most research projects are birthed because a company or organization is at a crossroads. Whether you’re a startup or Fortune 500 company, you’ll have critical decisions to make. This blog will detail common market research examples and how our clients have used them to...
How to Measure Product Awareness and Purchase Intent
Emily Taylor
Knowing how well your target audience recognizes your product—and how likely they are to buy—is key to shaping effective marketing strategies.
But questions like “Who knows about my product?” and “How do we stack up against competitors?” can be tough to answer without solid data.
That’s where market research comes in. By measuring product awareness and purchase intent, you gain valuable insights that help you target the right customers, optimize messaging, and boost sales.
Keep reading to discover proven methods for accurately tracking awareness and intent through retail market research.
Unlock deeper customer insights—start your product awareness survey with Drive Research today.
Why Measuring Product Awareness and Purchase Intent Matters
Understanding product awareness and purchase intent is critical for businesses aiming to grow their market share and optimize marketing efforts.
Awareness tells you whether your target audience knows your brand or product exists—without this baseline, even the best campaigns can fall flat. Purchase intent reveals how likely customers are to buy, giving you a clearer picture of your sales potential and the effectiveness of your messaging.
Together, these metrics help identify gaps in your marketing strategy, highlight strengths to leverage, and prioritize resources efficiently. Whether you’re launching a new product, entering a new market, or tracking ongoing brand health, measuring these factors ensures you’re making data-driven decisions that drive real results.
Surveys and Polls: One of the most direct ways to measure awareness is by asking consumers if they recognize your brand or product. Brand awareness surveys can be conducted online, via phone, or in-person, and can include aided (showing brand names or logos) or unaided (open-ended) awareness questions.
Brand Recall and Recognition Tests: These tests evaluate whether respondents can recall your brand without prompting or recognize it among competitors. They provide insight into how top-of-mind your product is among your target audience.
Focus Groups: Qualitative discussions with targeted consumers can uncover deeper perceptions of your brand, how well it’s known, and the reasons behind that awareness or lack thereof.
Social Listening and Online Analytics: Monitoring social media platforms, search trends, and website traffic can offer indirect but valuable clues about brand visibility and public interest.
Purchase Intent Surveys: Often combined with awareness surveys, these assess how likely respondents are to buy your product, helping you connect awareness levels with potential sales.
By leveraging these research techniques, you gain a comprehensive understanding of your product’s market position and can craft strategies that resonate with your audience and convert awareness into action.
Case Study: Measuring Awareness and Purchase Intent With Market Research
Objectives of the Product Awareness and Purchase Intent Research
Our retail market research company partnered with an e-commerce company that sells sleep products online and in retail locations.
The brand was interested in measuring consumer awareness and purchase intent around their line of mattresses.
During the project kickoff meeting, Drive Research asked the mattress brand about their key objectives for the product awareness and purchase intent research.
The objectives included:
Measuring the level of awareness of our brand as well as competitors.
Measuring the perception of our brand as well as competitors.
Understanding the market share of our brand as well as competitors.
Identifying the level of appeal of our products and services as well as competitors.
Understanding what would help consumers make their purchasing decisions.
Understanding what would make a product more appealing to consumers.
Keeping these goals for the market research in mind, our team used these objectives as a baseline for writing and fielding the online survey.
Results of the Product Awareness and Purchase Intent
In addition to sharing the highlights of the results by email, several interactive report links were included.
While the results of the study are kept confidential with the mattress brand here are a few highlights of the results.
With a probabilistic sample, a total of 500 responses at the 95% confidence level offers a 4.4% margin of error.
For context, if the survey was conducted with another random pool of 500 respondents, the results would yield within +4.4% or -4.4% of the stated totals in the reports.
The market research report shared key findings such as those included in the subtopics below.
Shopping preferences:
“The top three sources respondents would use to help make a mattress purchase decision were…”
“When asked to rank what is most important when purchasing a mattress four factors stood out. This included the…”
Brand awareness:
“Brands with the highest awareness included…”
“Brands with the highest percentage of positive perceptions included…”
“The most commonly owned mattress brands included…”
Brand reactions:
“After reviewing the [ad test], [example %] of the reactions were positive and [example %] of the reactions were negative.”
“After the [ad test] image was shown, respondents were asked how appealing the mattress is for them in the future. Nearly [example ratio] respondents said the [insert product] was appealing.’
“Nearly [insert ratio] felt the [insert product] would be priced similarly to other mattress brands.”
Brand and department stores:
“If shopping for a [insert product] at [insert department store], many respondents mentioned being [example] would help them make their purchase decision.”
“[Insert ratio] of respondents would also be interested in purchasing mattresses at [insert department store].”
Drive Research, a full-service market research company, partners with organizations across the country to execute end-to-end qualitative and quantitative research studies.
Our team of certified market research professionals can help your team easily measure product awareness and purchase intent with your target demographic.
To learn more about our services, contact our team today!
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