Customer surveys: when it’s truly needed

In the five layers of brand health diagnosis, the first four layers are positioning, identity, content, and touchpoints. All four can be illuminated from internal documents, publications, and direct observation. However, the fifth layer, which is customer perception, cannot. This is the only layer where the data resides in the minds of outsiders, not in your computer.

Why the perception layer cannot be guessed

Many business owners understand their products very well, so they easily believe they also understand how customers perceive them. In reality, this is often skewed. Customers may remember the brand name in a completely different way than how you define yourself. They may associate it with a characteristic that your team did not intend to communicate. Or they may not remember anything at all, even though you have run a campaign for six months.

According to Keller's brand exploratory research framework, the goal of this step is to understand what customers think, feel, and how they behave towards the brand. From there, both the sources of strength and resistance of the brand can be identified. This part cannot be replaced by any internal reasoning, no matter how experienced the team is.

When to survey, when you can wait

Quantitative and qualitative: use both to be sufficient.

A quantitative survey informs you of what percentage of customers recognize the brand, how many have a favorable impression, and the level of satisfaction. These are numbers that can be compared over time.

A qualitative interview helps you understand why they feel that way, the words they use to describe the brand, and barriers that do not appear in the survey. The two methods complement each other rather than replace each other.

Only running quantitative means knowing the numbers but not understanding the reasons. Only running qualitative means understanding the reasons but lacking numbers to measure progress. Combining both provides a complete picture for decision-making.

Greenbook / GWI, Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

When diagnosing, both customers and internal teams should be interviewed in the same round. The two sides often provide distinctly different perspectives, and it is this gap that needs to be addressed.

Common mistakes when measuring this layer

• Guessing what customers think instead of asking them, then concluding based on the team's biases. This is the most common and dangerous mistake because it looks like analysis but is actually self-persuasion.
• Only conducts quantitative surveys while neglecting qualitative aspects, leading to knowing the scores but not understanding why they are low or high, and not knowing what to do next.
• Drawing conclusions from a sample size that is too small, for example, fifteen responses, and then presenting it as if it were representative data. The sample size needs to be large enough for statistically reliable results.

Choose a measurement method based on your company's stage.

Businesses preparing to seek funding or relaunch should have a separate report on the perception layer, measuring awareness, overall perception, and favorability towards the brand at a scale appropriate for the current customer base. This is objective baseline data before entering that phase.

Businesses at an earlier stage or with smaller budgets can start with a small round of qualitative interviews to gain direction, then expand to quantitative when needed. It is important that you know what you are measuring for and what decisions the results will inform.

This article is for reference. The scope, pricing, and specific commitments of Sinh Vũ are detailed in the proposal and signed contract.