When designing brand health surveys, marketers and researchers often make incorrect assumptions about consumers:
They accurately remember which brands they bought long ago.
They have strong preferences and loyalties for certain brands.
They actively reject brands they don’t purchase.
They can clearly explain why they buy certain brands.
They have detailed opinions and knowledge about brands.
These assumptions are deeply flawed. In reality, for most product categories, consumers do not think deeply about brands. Designing surveys based on these myths can lead to misleading conclusions.
Low Mental Involvement in Purchase Decisions
Consumers typically buy with low mental effort, choosing brands they recognize and trust to do the job. Humans have evolved to be risk-averse, habitual decision-makers—a survival instinct that extends to buying groceries, beverages, and household items. People have more important things to think about than which toothpaste or snack brand to choose.
While some categories involve more consideration, most survey questionnaires are too complex. The more detailed and abstract the questions, the less reliable the data. Not because consumers don’t want to answer honestly—but because they simply don’t know. When asked, they rationalize their choices post-purchase, often in ways that differ from their actual subconscious decision-making.
A Smarter Approach to Brand Surveys
To improve data quality, we must think like a casual buyer, not a marketing expert. This means:
✅ Asking questions that respondents can accurately answer. If they don’t know the answer, don’t force them to guess.
✅ Using a layered approach. First, assess a respondent’s familiarity with a brand before asking detailed questions.
✅ Prioritizing data quality over quantity. It’s better to exclude unreliable responses than to collect misleading data.
Practical Implications for Better Surveys:
✔ Ask about recent purchases only. Consumers struggle to recall past purchases, especially in high-frequency categories. A one-month recall period improves accuracy.
✔ Don’t ask where they saw your ad. People rarely remember and default to saying “TV.”
✔ Not buying a brand ≠ rejection. Most non-buyers don’t actively reject brands—they just haven’t purchased them.
✔ Buying a brand ≠ strong preference. Many purchases happen without deep consideration.
✔ Measure image attributes only among knowledgeable respondents. Simply being aware of a brand does not mean they can evaluate it. Avoid overly detailed attributes unless familiarity is established first.
At Be Digital, we design surveys that reflect real consumer behavior—keeping it simple, realistic, and actionable.