BRAND DISCOVERY QUESTIONNAIRE
Thank you for choosing us for your brand strategy.
To ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of your brand and its goals, please fill out the following questionnaire. Your responses will guide our brand strategy process and help us create a tailored approach for your brand.
BRAND INFORMATION
1. Brand Overview/ Brand Personality
Brand personality is defined as a "human set of characteristics" that are connected to a brand. Brands with a strong, well-defined personality instantly win some like-ability points because customers are able to relate to them on a personal level.
When you are in the beginning stages of defining your personality, it may be helpful to think in terms of archetypes.
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Some household brands and associated personality archetypes could include:
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Apple: Rebel
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Taco Bell: Jester
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REI: Outdoors-lover
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Target: Bold
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Subway: Optimist
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Whole Foods: Peace-lover
2. What's your Story
Brand stories are an important component of branding. This includes both your literal history, such as how and why you were founded -- and the story of the role you play in your customer's life.
Your brand's story should ultimately make your customer a hero. Perhaps you're able to make them more effective at their jobs,
so they receive tons of compliments from their boss. Maybe one of your products help them purchase their first home and start a family. This story can be an important basis for your brand identity and marketing content.
We’ll address this after you complete this section in your book.
3. Target Audience
Who are target audience and future members of your tribe?
4. What is Your Audience's "Language"? Audience
5. How Do You Interact with Customers?/ Brand Voice
The voice you use to interact with customers via social media and content marketing is an extension of your brand voice. Are you humorous, or straight-to-the-point? Do you respond to questions with experience? Your brand guidelines should include instruction for social media and customer interactions, in order to deliver a consistent brand experience.
6. Brand Perception:
7. Why Do Your Clients Trust You?
Conducting customer interviews or talking to your sales team can be an important tool for learning why your customers ultimately pick your company. The factor that leads to prospect trust and customer conversions can provide important clues to your brand identity. Your company's unique trust factor could be:
Transparency
Expertise
Flexibility
Use this "trust factor" as an important tool for defining why your brand is different, and building an appealing brand identity.
8. Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
What does your brand offer that your competitors don’t or can't offer? How can you communicate this (Unique Offer) in your brand identity messaging?
Whole Foods is one of the most visible and well-known organic grocery chains. Their difference is communicated clearly in the brand's logo, which is green and includes a leaf.
It is important to note that simply being different isn't enough. Branding to actively "make a difference" means actively carving out a niche and continually playing to your strengths. Anyone who's shopped at Whole Foods knows the grocery chain isn't trying to compete on price. In order for Whole Foods to maintain their "niche" of fresh, local, and specialty foods items, they can't compete on price; and considering their brand identity, that's perfectly fine.
9. What Pain-Point(s) Do You Solve?
Your customers don't start looking for your company because their lives are perfect. Chances are, you offer a product or service that will solve a problem. Maybe you offer personal finance software, and they're tired of over-drafting their bank account. Perhaps you do compliance training, and they're worried about regulatory requirement related fines. Your customers need you because of an existing pain-point or problem.
10. Brand Vision and Goals: (3, 6, 9YRS)
What does your brand offer that your competitors don’t or can't offer? How can you communicate this (Unique Offer) in your brand identity messaging?
Whole Foods is one of the most visible and well-known organic grocery chains. Their difference is communicated clearly in the brand's logo, which is green and includes a leaf.
It is important to note that simply being different isn't enough. Branding to actively "make a difference" means actively carving out a niche and continually playing to your strengths. Anyone who's shopped at Whole Foods knows the grocery chain isn't trying to compete on price. In order for Whole Foods to maintain their "niche" of fresh, local, and specialty foods items, they can't compete on price; and considering their brand identity, that's perfectly fine.
11. Competitor Analysis:
Make Customer Acquisition Your #1 Competitive Advantage
Your competitors could be textbook examples of poorly defined brand identity.
They may have little-to-no voice consistency across digital mediums, and a logo that's unoriginal. Perhaps they have an excellent brand identity that's memorable, unique, and incredibly easy to like. Regardless of where your competitors stand, use their statuses as a starting place for creating a brand identity that's objectively better.
12. Brand Messaging:
Make Customer Acquisition Your #1 Competitive Advantage
Your competitors could be textbook examples of poorly defined brand identity.
They may have little-to-no voice consistency across digital mediums, and a logo that's unoriginal. Perhaps they have an excellent brand identity that's memorable, unique, and incredibly easy to like. Regardless of where your competitors stand, use their statuses as a starting place for creating a brand identity that's objectively better.
13. Visual Identity:
Make Customer Acquisition Your #1 Competitive Advantage
Your competitors could be textbook examples of poorly defined brand identity.
They may have little-to-no voice consistency across digital mediums, and a logo that's unoriginal. Perhaps they have an excellent brand identity that's memorable, unique, and incredibly easy to like. Regardless of where your competitors stand, use their statuses as a starting place for creating a brand identity that's objectively better.
14. What are Your Colors?
Humans associate colors with emotions. Your brand's primary and supporting colors are an important component of your visual identity. By selecting colors that are associated with your brand values, you can instantly communicate your company's mission.
Common color associations include:
Blue: Integrity, Trust, Tranquility, Loyalty, Intelligence
Green: Money, Growth, Freshness, Environmental-Friendliness
Yellow: Happiness, Originality, Energy
Purple: Royalty, Spirituality, Luxury
Pink: Femininity, Compassion, Playfulness
Red: Power, Strength, Passion
Orange: Courage, Originality, Success
White: Cleanliness, Purity, Freshness
Black: Elegance, Drama, Strength
It is important for global brands to take note that color associations can vary according to culture. Blue's perception in the U.S. may be drastically different from in the Middle East.
15. What are 5 Words that Describe You?
An important exercise towards defining your brand's identity can be developing a list of five adjectives that describe your brand's personality, look, and voice. If Chik-Fil-A were to create a list, their five words might be:
Quality
Consistency
Values
Customer Service
Commitment
16. Brand Experience / how do you make clients feel
When your most satisfied new customers communicate with your sales or account management team, what do they have to say? Listening to the interactions of new, satisfied customers can reveal a wealth of information about how you make your customers feel.
Do they express:
Relief?
Inspiration?
New-found energy?
The most frequent positive emotion your customers associate with your company is critical information for building a brand identity. Use this emotion to select visual identity aspects, including the optimal colors and fonts.
17. What Brands Do You Admire?
You don't need to look towards brands with similar products, services or customers. Developing a list of brands you admire can offer various types of lessons that can be helpful. Perhaps you admire Boxed Water for their values-forward branding and minimalist aesthetic.
18. Additional Information:
Is there any other information, specific requirements, or considerations you would like to share regarding your brand?
