Brand Building 101: Market Research

Building a brand is like building a house. The strength of the foundation will always be based on brand strategy—the “why” of your business and how that “why” drives your brand decisions and differentiators. Next, you’ll put up walls of the house and start building rooms—that’s your brand’s visual identity, the aesthetic choices that represent your brand. But before you can even start building that foundation and putting up those walls, you need to understand the lay of the land prior to creating any blueprint to guide construction. This is where market research comes in. 

Without conducting market research before you build your brand, you’re essentially building a house blind, hoping it’ll stay upright. Brand strategy begins with knowing who you’re talking to and who you’re up against, and those insights come from doing research.

In this edition of our Branding 101 series, we’ll dive into the why, what, how, and when of market research and explain how experts at Quill Creative use it to craft data-driven, insight-rich strategies that build successful brands.

Why do market research?

You don’t know what you don’t know. And even if you think you know, chances are there’s more to the picture. 

Many business owners feel like they know their brand like the back of their hand. After all, they’ve poured endless time, energy, and resources into developing their business. But when you’re that close to the action, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. 

That’s where market research comes in. Think of it as peeling back a few layers of the onion (without the tears). It helps you look beyond assumptions and gut feelings to see what’s actually shaping your brand in the marketplace. You want a brand strategy that’s grounded in real insights, not just guesses or personal preferences. Otherwise, you’re taking shots in the dark and hoping something sticks.

What can market research tell you?

Market research isn’t just a bunch of random data points—it’s the story of your brand’s potential. Solid research gives you the facts, insights, and clarity you need to build a strategy that actually connects with people. Here’s a look at what good market research can uncover:

• Your Target Audience: Who’s your ideal customer? What are their preferences, habits, values, and needs?

• Competitor Landscape: Who are you up against? Market research reveals what competitors are known for, what they’re doing well and where they’re dropping the ball.

• Industry Trends: What’s hot right now in your industry, and what’s on its way out? Being up-to-date with trends keeps your brand fresh.

• Industry Challenges: What hurdles does your industry face? Identifying these can help you position your brand as a solution.

• Customer Perception: What are people saying about your brand? Honest feedback is invaluable for getting honest insight into your brand’s reputation.

• Influences on Customer Decisions: What factors sway your customers? Knowing this can sharpen your message and align it with what matters most to them.

• Customer Attitudes: How do people feel about key industry topics or issues? Understanding this can build a brand that resonates with customer emotions and values.

• Underserved Markets: Are there segments of consumers that your brand could be serving? Identifying these gaps can help you connect with overlooked customers and reach a whole new audience.

What types of market research should you do?

Doing market research can feel overwhelming. Where do you even begin? What specific information do you want or need to uncover? What resources are available to conduct research? Once you’ve established objectives and scope, choose research methods that align with your goals and available resources. 

Competitor Research

Understanding your competitors will be essential for carving out a unique position in the market. Competitor research helps you see how other players operate, where they succeed, and where they fall short.

Start by defining your primary competitors. These can be direct competitors who offer the same type of product or service or indirect competitors who target a similar audience but may not have identical offerings. Look at their services, pricing, brand identity, and customer interactions to get a holistic view of their strategy and values.

What to look for:

• Products & Services: What are they selling, and how do their products compare to yours? Look for differences in quality, features, and variety.

• Pricing: How do they price their offerings, and do they offer discounts or membership perks? Pricing can tell you a lot about a brand’s target demographic and positioning.

• Brand Identity: Evaluate identity—things like general aesthetics, colors, fonts, messaging, and tone. A brand’s visual and written identity often reveal its overall vibe and values.

• Customer Experience: Look at how competitors interact with customers. From customer support to post-purchase engagement, this shows you what they prioritize when it comes to the customer experience.

• Customer Reviews: Check online reviews for honest feedback from their customers. Look for trends in what people praise or complain about to understand customer pain points and strengths.

• Market Positioning: How does the competitor present itself in the market? Look at its advertising, social media presence, and any strategic partnerships to see how it stands out or blends in.

Methods and tips for gathering this type of market data:

• Website Analysis: Start by thoroughly exploring competitors’ websites. This is often the best place to understand a brand’s voice, target audience, and product or service line. Review blogs, case studies, or resources that showcase their values and expertise.

• Social Media Analysis: Check out their main social media channels to see what type of content they post, how frequently they engage with followers, and how audiences respond. Social media comments and discussions often contain direct feedback from customers, revealing pain points and likes or dislikes.

• Online Reviews and Customer Feedback: Check sites like Google Reviews, Yelp, Trustpilot, and industry-specific review platforms to gather unfiltered customer feedback. Look for recurring themes in complaints or praises, as these often highlight consistent strengths or weaknesses.

• Product Analysis: For competitors with products similar to yours, review their online listings and try buying and testing them firsthand. Take note of product quality, packaging, and customer service.

• Public Data and Industry Reports: Use public sources like government databases, industry reports, or free tools like Google Trends for insights on demographic data, market trends, and industry statistics. Some resources, like Statista or IBISWorld, provide more in-depth data that can help gauge the overall health of the market and estimate your competitors’ reach.

• Keywords & SEO Analysis: Use SEO tools to analyze which keywords competitors rank for, how they structure their content, and whether there are gaps in keyword targeting you could fill.

• Set Up Google Alerts: Stay updated on competitor activities by setting Google Alerts with their brand names or key phrases associated with their offerings. Alerts will notify you of any news, press releases, or updates that reveal new product launches, rebrands, or other strategic moves.

Customer Research

Surveys, Interviews, & Focus Groups

Surveys, interviews, and focus groups are some of the most powerful ways to collect impactful market data because this kind of direct feedback gives you firsthand insight from real consumers.

Conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups can reveal customer attitudes about your brand and distinct customer segments. This kind of feedback is also especially valuable during times of change for your business, like a rebrand, merger, or launch of a new product or service. You can also uncover a variety of insights about your competitors as seen through your customer’s eyes.

Methods and tips for gathering this type of market data:

• Reach out to customers via newsletters, social media, and follow-up surveys after they’ve received your service or product.

• Ask open-ended, candid questions, and when you get a response (especially one you weren’t expecting), dig deeper to understand why.

• Offer incentives to increase participation. You’re more likely to get responses when there’s something in it for participants, and it will show them that you’re serious about their feedback.

• Don’t forget to gather insights from your own staff members. Being a “man on the inside” gives you a valuable perspective that can reveal insights you may not get from your customers. 

Social Listening

Social media is a goldmine of unfiltered consumer thoughts and opinions. Listening to conversations across different platforms gives you a candid look at how people feel about your brand, your competitors, and your industry as a whole. 

Methods and tips for gathering this type of market data:

• Identify hashtags, keywords, products, and competitors that you want to monitor. Look for topics your audience cares about, as well as any challenges or desires they mention frequently.

• Check multiple platforms to get a balanced view. Not every brand needs to be on every platform, so hone in on where your audience is most active, but don’t forget to look for opportunities to connect with customers on platforms you might not have considered.

• Analyze the sentiment. Track not only what people are saying but how they are saying it. You should even look outside of text and note what kinds of videos, images, or gifs people are using. All of this info can give you insight into how your customers actually feel, which is key in building brand strategy.

• Stay consistent. Social listening isn’t a one-and-done exercise. Monitor trends and conversations regularly to stay on top of shifts in customer sentiment.

When should you do market research??

There are two key times to perform market research. 1. Before any big changes to your organization and 2. all the time.

Market research is not a one-and-done deal. It’s an ongoing process, but it doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. Regular surveys, social listening, or competitor checks can provide valuable insights with minimal effort.

Anytime you’re considering a major change, like a rebrand, launching a new product, expanding to a new market, or merging with another business, market research is an absolute must. A rebrand, for example, should be informed by the most current data on your target audience and competitors, as well as industry trends. Being proactive and doing the research before you make any major changes will save you headaches down the line and keep everyone on the same page.

How can a branding agency help with market research?

Market research can be overwhelming, especially if you are building a new brand or embarking on a rebrand. A branding agency like Quill can help make the process more streamlined, effective, and best of all, stress-free for you.

When you work with Quill on a brand project that requires market research, we’ll always begin with a brand audit, compiling data on how your brand is currently perceived and assessing core messaging, voice, and visual identity. This kind of audit will give you a comprehensive snapshot of your brand’s alignment with your vision and the expectations of your target audience.

Next we’ll work on what we need to know in order to build you an effective brand. We’ll dive into research using advanced market research tools so we can analyze things like SEM and keyword research, competitor website audits, and company records. We can also set up targeted customer surveys, interviews, and focus groups to capture specific insights from current and potential customers. 

Once we’ve done the research and gone through a positioning workshop with your team, we’ll synthesize all that information to show you where your brand stands today versus where you want it to go. We’ll provide a roadmap for bridging that gap and from there, begin creating a fully realized brand strategy and brand identity. 

Turn insights into impact.

You don’t want to leave your brand’s impact to chance. Thorough market research takes the guesswork out of understanding where you stand in the market and reveals how you can differentiate yourself. Quill can guide you through a research-driven approach that shapes impactful, informed brand strategies.

If you’re ready to dig deeper into your brand’s potential, let’s chat!