Brands move through different stages.
At each stage, they face critical choices. Too often, those decisions are driven by experience and gut instinct alone—but it doesn’t have to be that way.
After working with hundreds of brands, we’ve found that five types of research cover about 80% of what most brands need throughout their journey.
In this article, we’ll walk through each of these brand research types: what they are, when and how to use them, including pricing, examples, and a summary table you can save for later.
1. Concept Testing
Got a new product, design, packaging, or wild idea? Concept testing puts it in front of your target audience so you know if they’re excited—or if you’re about to meet some resistance.
This type of research is for brands that want to reduce the risk of a flop and boost their odds of a successful launch.
You can test almost anything: products, services, packaging, messaging, ads, logos, and more.
When should you do concept testing?
Not every idea needs research, but if it could shake up your brand positioning or impact sales, getting feedback early is a smart move. Think of it as pre-launch insurance. If the financial stakes are high, concept testing is a must.
Even if your concept doesn’t get the green light, you’ll learn why, and what people do (or don’t) like about your idea.
Example:
When Leo Beer considered changing its iconic packaging, it partnered with us to test new designs with a pool of qualified respondents. The research showed which changes resonated—and which didn’t. The brand decided to stick with its original look, saving millions by avoiding a risky rebrand. 👉 See our full case study.
How to conduct concept testing:
- Define your goal. What do you need to learn from this test?
- Develop multiple concepts or variations. Make sure you have real options to compare.
- Identify your target audience and recruit participants.
- Choose your method:
- If your audience is broad, go for quantitative testing (think surveys with lots of people).
- If it’s niche, qualitative methods (like interviews or focus groups) might be better.
- If the decision is big and budget allows, do both for a fuller picture.
- Analyze the results and make the call. Use the insights to refine your idea—or pivot if needed.
Learn more about Concept Testing or start your first test from $1,390
2. Brand Tracking
There are four methods to keep track of your brand, but when marketers talk about research, we’re usually talking about brand health tracking.
Think of it as a regular check-up: survey-based, ongoing, and focused on the brand metrics that matter most—everything from customer journey, brand loyalty, brand association, and consumer habits to preferences, profiles, and more.
Usually, your study will focus on buyers in your industry. But if you’re in an emerging category or your market share is small, broaden your sample to include potential customers to spot new growth opportunities.
Usually, your study will focus on buyers in your industry. But if you’re in an emerging category or your market share is small, broaden your sample to include potential customers to spot new growth opportunities. This way, you’ll see both your current penetration and the room to grow. In low-penetration markets, that often means focusing on new customer acquisition. In high-penetration markets, it’s more about competing for share through loyalty, differentiation, or innovation. Read more about category penetration strategies here to better decide whether to expand or compete.
It’s the only way to measure what’s working (and what isn’t), track why things are changing, and see if your efforts are paying off.
When should you use brand tracking?
Brand tracking is a must for B2C brands with paying customers and clear competitors. If your brand is one of your most valuable assets, don’t leave its progress to guesswork; measure it.
How to run a brand tracking study?
- You can use a dedicated solution like Standard Insights (which has all the metrics mapped out for you).
- Or, run your own regular surveys, just be sure to keep your questions consistent so results are comparable month to month.
- Make sure your sample isn’t biased: Don’t just survey your own customers. Include competitor customers and people in your category who aren’t buying from you (yet).
Discover brand tracking or start tracking your brand from $4,490
3. Brand Lift
These days, brands need to be everywhere—social media, search engines, streaming platforms, offline, you name it. For marketers, figuring out what’s actually moving the needle can feel like navigating a maze.
Brand lift research doesn’t just give you the raw numbers. It reveals the why behind your results: what worked, what didn’t, and how your campaign changed the way people feel about your brand.
It’s not about direct attribution; it’s about understanding how your efforts are shifting perception in your target audience.
When should you do a brand lift study?
Brand lift studies are a must when you’re investing in a major campaign that aims to boost or reshape your brand awareness. If your goal is to make people notice you or see you differently, don’t just rely on platform analytics. Dig deeper to understand real consumer impact.
How to run a brand lift study:
- Define your objectives. What do you want to measure? (Brand awareness, consideration, purchase intent, etc.)
- Set up exposed and control groups. One group sees your campaign (exposed), the other doesn’t (control).
- Design and distribute surveys to both groups, ideally before and after the campaign.
- Analyze the responses to spot any meaningful shifts in your key metrics.
Tip: Some advertising platforms (like Google and Meta) offer built-in brand lift solutions.
See how Brand Lift works or measure your next campaign from $2,750
4. Consumer Profiling
Most brands think they know their target audience because they’ve built a persona. The truth? In our experience, 80% of customer personas are wrong.
Why?
Because those personas often get lost in corporate fantasy, rely on biased or incomplete information, or ignore the reality that your brand probably has several different types of customers.
Your brand has a core audience, but they don’t represent 100% of your clients. Ideally, you want to map out the full spectrum of customers you have (or could have), then prioritize your most valuable segments.
With this information, you can craft better messages, use channels more effectively, and be confident you’re actually targeting the right people.
When should you do consumer profiling research?
Consumer profiling is research every established brand should do at least once. It’s especially useful for new brands, new products, or when you hit a ceiling and need to optimize your messaging or plan your next campaign. Profiling is the difference between talking at people and connecting with them.
How to conduct consumer profiling research:
- Start with your internal data: Use what you already have—point-of-sale info, CRM data, employee interviews. Post-purchase surveys are gold for uncovering purchase motives and learning who your real buyers are.
- Survey your broader category: Survey category buyers and segment the results to reveal different profiles in your industry. This helps you spot your most profitable segments. With tools like Standard Insights, you can even chat with them using AI, or manually compare your own segments.
- Go qualitative for niche audiences: If you’re in a niche space, qualitative interviews are your friend. Ideally, mix quantitative (surveys, data) and qualitative (interviews, focus groups) for the richest insights. But don’t overcomplicate it—sometimes, one method is enough (think: stable mass product vs. luxury launch).
Example:
When Wynn Ras Al Khaimah decided to open the next big luxury casino destination in the UAE, they worked with us to uncover the true personas of their future potential customers. 👉 See the full case study.
Explore Consumer Profiling or start profiling from $2,790
5. Usage & Attitude (U&A)
Usage & Attitude research uncovers when, why, and how consumers engage with your category. Think of it as your roadmap for spotting new opportunities—and winning customers away from the competition.
When should you do a usage & attitude (U&A) study?
U&A studies are especially useful when you’re entering a new market, launching a new product, or repositioning an existing one.
In saturated markets, brands often compete on features and positioning. U&A research helps you discover untapped segments and needs that competitors might have missed, giving you an edge.
How to conduct a U&A study:
U&A research follows a classic approach:
- Define your goals and audience: What are you hoping to learn, and from whom?
- Survey your target consumers: Focus your questions on:
- Product/service usage: How, when, where, who, and how often do people use products in your category?
- Attitudes & perceptions: What do they think about existing brands?
- Needs, preferences, loyalty, and satisfaction: What drives their choices and keeps them coming back?
- Analyze the results: Look for patterns, unmet needs, and new angles for your brand to own.
If you want a head start, you can use ready-made scenarios on platforms like Standard Insights.
Get started with Usage & Attitude research from $2,990
Which Research for Which Challenge?
Brand marketers will need these types of research at different moments in their brand journey.
You don’t need to run every study for every challenge, but when your reputation or budget is at stake, these are the ones to consider.
There are more research types out there, like pricing research, and many have subtopics depending on your needs and your brand’s stage. For example, packaging testing is a form of new product testing, and brand tracking looks different for a top-of-mind brand than for a newcomer.
Keep this list handy for your next brand decision.
| Brand Challenge | Recommended Research | Why use it? |
|---|---|---|
| Measure ongoing brand performance | Brand Tracking | Measure awareness, perception, loyalty, and trends over time for you and competitors. |
| Test new ideas (products, designs, ads) | Concept Testing | Validate new concepts before launch, reduce risk, and optimize using real audience feedback. |
| Understand your consumer segments | Consumer Profiling | Identify and prioritize your most valuable audiences; tailor messaging to real customer needs. |
| Find new growth opportunities | Usage & Attitude (U&A), Consumer Profiling | Discover unmet needs, new uses, or overlooked segments in your category. |
| Monitor the competition | Brand Tracking, Usage & Attitude (U&A) | Benchmark your brand against competitors and spot shifts in market share or perception. |
| Boost campaign effectiveness | Brand Lift, Brand Tracking, U&A | Measure how campaigns change perceptions and determine what’s driving impact. |
| Expand into new products or markets | Usage & Attitude (U&A), Consumer Profiling, Concept Testing | Assess market fit, understand new audiences, and test ideas before investing heavily. |
| Optimize marketing channels/messaging | Consumer Profiling, Brand Tracking | Ensure you’re communicating on the right channels, with the right message, to the right people. |
| Protect brand reputation | Brand Tracking | Quickly detect threats or negative trends before they harm your brand long-term. |
| Refine brand positioning | Brand Lift, U&A, Brand Tracking | See how your brand is viewed today—and how you can shift perceptions for the future. |
How to Conduct Brand Research (and the Tools You Need)
Running brand research doesn’t need to be complicated. Most projects, whether it’s testing a new concept, tracking brand health, or profiling your consumers, follow the same core steps:
1. Define Your Goals
Start by clarifying what you want to learn. Are you measuring awareness, testing a new ad, or checking if your brand perception has changed? Clear goals will determine which method to use.
2. Choose the Right Methods
In this article, we’ve already covered the five main survey‑based methods (Concept Testing, Brand Tracking, Brand Lift, Consumer Profiling, and U&A).
But surveys aren’t the only option. For example, if your goal is to track your brand, you can combine survey research with other approaches such as:
- Social Listening – monitoring conversations and sentiment across social platforms.
- SEO Analysis – analyzing branded search demand over time.
- Web & Sales Analytics – studying how traffic and conversions are influenced by campaigns.
👉 We go deeper in our guide to the four methods of tracking your brand.
3. Recruit the Right Audience
One of the most important steps is making sure you get unbiased responses.
- Purchased respondents (via online panels or agencies) give you the most reliable data.
- Self‑recruiting (through your own customers or social media) can work if budgets are tight, but avoid only surveying current clients if your goal is general brand perception.
- With Standard Insights, you can recruit respondents directly from $3 without needing to request quotes from multiple agencies.
👉 Looking for more options? Read our 11 ways to find survey respondents.
4. Collect and Analyze the Data
Once your study is live, collect responses and look for patterns. Segment results by demographics, competitors, or purchase behavior to reveal the “why” behind your numbers.
We’ve also created a step‑by‑step guide to analyzing and reporting survey data to help you move from raw results to clear insights.
5. Apply Insights to Strategy
The final step is turning data into action, adapting your messaging, product strategy, or campaign depending on what the research shows. Brand research only adds value when it feeds business decisions.
What Tools Are Best for Brand Research?
Marketers often use a mix of tools to manage different parts of the research process:
- Survey Builders → Platforms like Google Forms, Typeform, or Qualtrics to design and distribute questionnaires.
- Panels & Respondent Recruitment → Online panels or agencies to purchase unbiased participants.
- Data Analysis → Tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, or SPSS to clean, structure, and explore datasets.
- Visualization & Reporting → Software like Tableau or Power BI to turn results into dashboards and presentations.
The challenge? Juggling multiple tools can be slow, expensive, and fragmented.
That’s why many brands choose an all‑in‑one solution. With Standard Insights, you can:
- Build and launch surveys in minutes
- Purchase qualified respondents (from $3 per person)
- Analyze results with built‑in AI & segmentation
- Visualize trends instantly
- Create custom reports to share with stakeholders
Everything happens in a single platform, so you spend less time managing tools and more time acting on insights. For more options, check out the 12 best AI market research tools by use cases.
Ready to Take Action?
These five research types are ready to guide your next big move. Whether you’re launching something new, tracking your brand’s health, or outsmarting the competition, the right research makes all the difference.
At Standard Insights, we’ve simplified all these research processes, with transparency and pre-made scenarios that can be customized for you, just by creating a free account.
Got questions? Want to dive deeper, or need help figuring out where to start? Reach out anytime: we’re here to help you get it right.
FAQ: Brand Research Methods
What is brand research?
Brand research is the process of collecting insights to understand how people perceive your brand, how it performs against competitors, and where growth opportunities exist. It helps guide decisions on strategy, positioning, and marketing campaigns.
What are the main types of brand research?
The five essential types are:
– Concept Testing – validate new ideas before launch.
– Brand Tracking – monitor brand performance over time.
– Brand Lift Studies – measure campaign impact.
– Consumer Profiling – understand your audience segments.
– Usage & Attitude (U&A) – explore how and why consumers use your category.
Other types include brand evaluation, brand affinity, brand research tools, and brand monitoring
How is brand tracking different from brand lift?
Brand Tracking is continuous, measuring awareness, loyalty, and perception over time.
Brand Lift is campaign-specific, showing how a particular ad or campaign shifts awareness, consideration, or purchase intent.
How do you conduct brand research?
Typical steps include:
1. Define your goals (awareness, perception, testing concepts).
2. Choose methods (surveys, U&A studies, profiling, etc.).
3. Recruit the right audience.
4. Collect and analyze data.
5. Apply insights to refine strategy or campaigns.
What tools are used in brand research?
Common tools include survey platforms, audience panels, AI‑powered analytics, and social listening tools. Solutions like Standard Insights integrate surveys, visualization, and reporting to streamline the process.
