Brand health tracker survey template and questions
Track how awareness, consideration, perception and relationship with your brand change over time.
The short version
- A brand health tracker repeats the same core measures in every wave, to show whether the brand is strengthening, weakening or changing over time.
- Ask unprompted awareness first (Q1), before showing brand names, then prompted awareness, familiarity, consideration, usage, associations and future choice (Q2 to Q7).
- Read the results as movement along the funnel, from awareness to future choice, rather than as one score.
- Run it as a recurring 8 to 12 minute survey, with the same measures, wording and audience definition at every wave.
About this research
Brand health tracking is different from a one-time brand perception study.
A tracker repeatedly measures a consistent set of brand indicators, so teams can understand whether the brand is strengthening, weakening or changing over time.
A tracker usually measures awareness and perception. It can also include measures such as familiarity, relevance, uniqueness, quality, value and loyalty-related indicators.
Study at a glance
| Study type | Longitudinal quantitative brand tracking |
|---|---|
| Method | Recurring survey, plus optional in-depth interviews |
| Average survey time | 8 to 12 minutes |
| Core measures | 7 |
| Best suited for | Brand, Marketing, Insights, Research and Strategy teams |
When to run this study
Run a brand tracker when you need to monitor brand performance over time, particularly around sustained marketing activity, brand repositioning, category change, competitive movement or major campaigns.
Who to recruit
Recruit against a consistent definition of the relevant category audience at every wave.
What you’ll learn
- Brand awareness
- Familiarity
- Consideration
- Usage
- Brand associations
- Perceived relevance
- Differentiation
- Experience and advocacy
- How these measures change over time
Ready-to-use research guide
7 questions, in the order to ask them. The numbers are the ones the table below refers to.
Brand awareness
When you think about [Category], which brands come to mind?
Record spontaneous (unprompted) awareness before showing brand names.
Which of the following brands have you heard of?
Include relevant category brands; randomize where appropriate.
Familiarity and consideration
How familiar are you with each of these brands?
Which of these brands would you consider if you were choosing [Category] today?
Usage
Which of these brands have you used or purchased?
Structured follow-up: Which have you used most recently?
Brand associations
How well does each of the following statements describe [Brand Name]?
Use a stable set of strategically relevant attributes, for example value, quality, ease, innovation, reliability or other category-specific associations. Choose attributes based on prior research rather than copying a universal list.
Brand relationship
Based on what you know or have experienced, how likely would you be to choose [Brand Name] in the future?
Copy all 7 questions as plain text.
What this study can derive
| Research output | What it can tell you | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness funnel | Whether people know the brand spontaneously or when prompted | Q1–Q2 |
| Brand familiarity | How well audiences feel they know the brand | Q3 |
| Consideration | Whether awareness translates into being considered | Q4 |
| Usage and conversion funnel | Relationship between awareness, consideration and actual usage | Q1–Q5 |
| Brand association profile | Attributes audiences currently connect with the brand | Q6 |
| Future relationship indicators | Whether people are inclined to choose the brand in future | Q7 |
| Brand health trend | How core indicators move across repeated waves | Q1–Q7 across waves |
How to analyze the research
The most important element isn't one score. It's movement over time.
- Awareness
- Familiarity
- Consideration
- Usage
- Future choice
Look for where movement is occurring, and whether one part of the funnel changes while another remains stable. Compare waves using the same measures, wording, audience definition and broadly comparable methodology.
Researcher’s notes
- Avoid: Don't keep changing the questionnaire every wave.
- Avoid: Don't read small fluctuations as meaningful on their own. Consider sample size and statistical uncertainty first.
- Avoid: Don't collapse everything into a single "Brand Health Score". Only do it when there is a defensible measurement model behind it.
- Do: Keep core metrics stable. Use optional rotating modules for emerging questions.
Related
Questions people ask about brand health trackers
What is a brand health tracker?
A brand health tracker is a survey that repeats a consistent set of brand measures over time, such as awareness, familiarity, consideration, usage, associations and future choice. Unlike a one-time brand perception study, it shows whether the brand is strengthening, weakening or changing from one wave to the next.
How many questions should a brand health tracker have?
This template uses 7 core questions in an 8 to 12 minute survey. They cover brand awareness, familiarity and consideration, usage, brand associations and the brand relationship. Optional modules can add measures such as recommendation, preference, satisfaction or perceived value.
When should you run a brand tracker?
Run it when you need to monitor brand performance over time. It matters most around sustained marketing activity, brand repositioning, category change, competitive movement or major campaigns.
Can you change the questionnaire between waves?
Keep the core questions stable, and compare waves using the same measures, wording and audience definition. Put emerging questions in optional rotating modules instead. Changing who qualifies for the study is just as risky, because a sample change can look like brand movement.