28 Brand Positioning Survey Questions to Elevate Your Strategy

Brand Perception & Image Surveys

You’re not fishing for compliments, you’re digging for the real story behind how people see you with a **brand perception survey.**

When Do You Need These?

• You’re ready to hear the truth about your emotional and functional value.

• They are great for checking campaign impact or diagnosing why people say “meh” instead of “wow.”

• You want to hold your brand up to the competition’s mirror to spot gaps.

Why Is This Important?

If awareness is about “knowing you exist,” then perception is about “would I want to grab coffee with you, or avoid eye contact in the break room?”

You use perception surveys to spot your brand’s hidden strengths and awkward weaknesses before your audience walks away.

Spot strengths and weaknesses in areas like:

• Innovation, trust, fun factor (hey, it matters!).

• Emotional associations (do you make people grin or grimace?).

Brand Perception Survey Questions Sample

These questions help you uncover what people really think and feel when your brand shows up in their world. For more ideas, see these brand perception survey questions.

1. Which three words best describe [Your Brand]?

2. How strongly do you agree: ‘[Your Brand] is innovative.’

3. What feelings do you associate with [Your Brand]?

4. How does [Your Brand] compare to competitors on trust?

5. What, if anything, would make you view [Your Brand] more positively?

Handy Hints

Here’s the thing, those slightly painful words like “boring” or “confusing” are actually priceless clues you can use to level up your brand.

• Don’t panic if you see words like “boring” or “confusing,” because these are golden clues.

• Use this feedback to align your brand image with your intended goals.

• Revisit post-campaign to see if your tweaks moved public sentiment.

On top of that, it is your best tool to catch brand perception drifts before customers drift away.

Open-ended questions in brand perception surveys, like asking “Which three words describe our brand?”, generate richer, more authentic insights than closed-ended checkboxes. Source (qualtrics.com)

Competitive Benchmarking Surveys

Wondering if your brand outruns, outsmarts, or flat-out outshines the competition? Competitive benchmarking puts you and your rivals on the same starting line.

Why & When to Use?

• Map the competitive landscape before you make bold moves.

• Monitor crafty competitors as they pivot, rebrand, or crank up ad spend.

• Identify gaps and unclaimed territory in your category.

What Does It Look Like?

Think rankings, ratings, and side-by-side comparisons, where you can see who is “best dressed,” “most reliable,” and “fan favorite.”

Here’s the thing: you get a clear leaderboard that shows exactly where you shine and where you need a tune-up.

Brand Research Questions & Survey Example

1. Rate these brands on quality (1-10).

2. Which brand is ‘best value for money’?

3. Which brand’s advertising do you notice most?

4. Rank these brands from most to least trustworthy.

5. If [Top Competitor] didn’t exist, which brand would you choose?

On top of that, these questions give you a front-row seat to how customers see each brand in your space.

Pro Tips

• Ask identical questions across brands for clear comparisons.

• Make it interactive with ranking exercises, since they stick in the brain and deliver richer data.

• Do not get discouraged if a rival comes out on top, because it simply means you have a clear goal.

Plus, benchmarking surveys help you spot your edge or tweak your game plan to build a stronger competitive advantage.

Value Proposition Alignment Surveys

Your value proposition is your battle cry, but you need to know if it actually lands with real people.

Your brand value proposition survey questions help you avoid shouting into the void and start saying what your audience really cares about. For a more comprehensive approach, consider reviewing brand image survey questions to understand and improve perceptions alongside your value proposition.

When Should You Use These?

• Before rolling out splashy new messages or offers

• As early-warning radar for product-market fit pivots

• When customers say, “Wait, what do you even do again?”

What Will This Reveal?

You will see which benefits actually matter, which are ho-hum, and whether you truly deliver.

Here’s the thing: Not all features spark joy, and this shows you which ones should stay and which can quietly exit stage left.

Brand Value Proposition Survey Questions

1. How important is [Benefit] when choosing a [product]?

2. To what extent does [Your Brand] deliver on [Benefit]?

3. Which benefit would make you switch brands?

4. Which statement best reflects why you buy [category] products?

5. What is missing from [Your Brand]’s offering?

Smart Strategies

• Use their words to sharpen your messaging and skip the fancy jargon that no one repeats in real life

• Find those “would switch for” benefits and shout about them in your ads

• Keep these short, because attention spans are now competing with goldfish

Tune up your value prop so future campaigns hit like a catchy summer song you secretly play on repeat.

A hybrid survey combining open-ended (explore “why”) and closed-ended (measure “what”) questions gives you richer, more actionable brand positioning insights than either type alone. ^

Brand Equity & Health-Tracking Surveys

Think of your brand’s long-term health like a regular checkup at the doctor, where brand health survey questions track everything from loyalty to that warm, glowing “brand glow” factor.

When to Run These?

• Quarterly or biannually so you can catch erosion early

• After major crises, scandals, or viral wins

• When you are re-evaluating your yearly “brand report card”

Why Bother?

Long-term loyalty means recurring revenue, while disappearing trust means… not so much.

These surveys help you catch trouble before it turns into a full-on brand emergency.

KPIs to watch include:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

• Repeat purchase intent

• Emotional connection or “would miss you” factor

Brand Health Survey Questions

1. How likely are you to recommend [Your Brand] to a friend?

2. How likely are you to buy from [Your Brand] again?

3. How would you feel if [Your Brand] disappeared tomorrow?

4. Which brand do you consider your primary choice in this category?

5. Rate your overall satisfaction with [Your Brand].

Revved-Up Tips

• Use consistent scales for clarity over time so you are comparing apples to apples, not apples to mystery fruit

• Watch for NPS dips because those usually signal deeper issues

• Celebrate improvement, even small wins

Here is the thing: keeping tabs on brand equity pays off in loyalty that rivals find very hard to steal.

Naming & Rebranding Surveys

You know when you stare at a new name so long it starts to look strange? A smart brand name survey saves you from a branding oops that could follow you for years.

Why & When Are These Crucial?

• Ahead of a flashy new brand, sub-brand, or logo reveal

• To sidestep legal no-nos or accidental bad translations

• When you want target audiences actually proud to rep your name

What Do You Test?

You want to see how the name feels, sticks, and signals status before it hits the real world.

From memorability to emotional vibes and status signals.

Even the humble tagline gets to join the test party.

Branding Survey Questions Sample

1. Which of the following names is easiest to remember?

2. What does the name ‘[Option]’ make you think of?

3. How well does ‘[Option]’ fit a premium product?

4. Which name would you be proud to display or recommend?

5. Do any of these names have negative connotations?

Stellar Suggestions

You protect your future brand by stress-testing your favorites before you fall in love with them.

• Use open-ended questions to catch surprises, including meanings you have not noticed yet

• Double-check names in every key language or culture

• On top of that, do not skip this survey even if you “love” a name, because blind spots are very real

The right name sticks. The wrong one turns into the branding horror story you tell other people to avoid.

Positioning Statement Validation Surveys

After all those workshops, you’ve got a spicy new positioning statement, but now you need to know if it actually lands with real people. Brand positioning survey questions are your final gut check before you unleash that brilliance on the world.

When Is This Survey a Must?

• Just before you drop your statement on the public

• When your exec team is split between “It’s genius!” and “It’s confusing!”

• When you want to be sure your market sees you as you hope, not as a giant question mark

How Does It Work?

You show up to three versions to fresh eyes and ask them to rate clarity, resonance, and uniqueness so you can see which one really sticks.

Plus, keep your test simple so people react to the idea itself instead of the design around it.

Brand Positioning Survey Questions Examples

1. How clear is this statement in explaining what [Your Brand] stands for?

2. Which part of the statement resonates most and least with you?

3. How differentiated does this make [Your Brand] feel?

4. Does this positioning fit your experience with [Your Brand]?

5. After reading, how interested are you in learning more about [Your Brand]?

Gold-Star Guidance

Ask about both the strongest and weakest points so you can polish your statement until both shine.

On top of that:

• Only present your draft text, not full landing pages yet

• Use simple language, and if people do not “get it,” head back to the whiteboard

The right positioning statement becomes your north star and quietly guides every campaign, chime, and click you put into the world.

Dos and Don’ts of Crafting Brand Positioning Survey Questions

Here’s the thing: high-impact surveys don’t happen by accident, and “best practices for brand surveys” make your results more accurate, actionable, and actually fun.

Do’s

• Segment your audience for razor-sharp insights, because one size rarely fits all.

• Use language that’s neutral, clear, and easy for even first-time respondents.

• Test on mobile devices, since thumb-typing is the new normal.

• Pilot test your survey to chase out confusing questions before they chase out your respondents.

• Set realistic incentives aligned to the survey’s time requirement.

• Tie question types to your learning goals so you stop asking “just because” questions.

• Limit your survey to a reasonable length so you keep it digestible.

• Prioritize data privacy, because everyone loves brands that respect boundaries.

Don’ts

• Don’t lead respondents toward the answer you want, so avoid “Don’t you agree...?” phrasing.

• Don’t use industry jargon that makes eyes glaze over faster than a long legal disclaimer.

• Don’t collect unnecessary personal data, since less is always more here.

• Don’t forget to proofread and spell-check, because typos breed distrust.

• Don’t force people to answer every single question, since optional is okay.

• Don’t ignore timing and fatigue, because short beats long every time and your data will thank you.

With these survey design tips, your brand research questions will spark honest answers without losing respondents along the way.

You won’t get a full view of your market position from any one survey, because each type reveals a unique angle and together they create a crystal-clear 360º picture.

On top of that, you’ll see over time how brand surveys can transform foggy brand ideas into vivid, actionable insight.

For best results, pick any 2,3 survey types from this guide and run them next quarter.

Plus, if you want to make this process even easier, download our ready-to-use template or subscribe for more hand-picked brand survey questions and expert resources.

Dos and Don’ts: Best Practices for High-Impact Brand Positioning Surveys

Not all surveys are created equal, and you want yours to sing, not snooze.

Plus, with a few essential tricks and a sprinkle of caution, you can turn every response into gold.

Optimizing your brand survey questions makes insights pop.

Smart Dos

• Choose a sample that matches your target audience (including quotas for different customer groups), so you hear from the right people, not just the loudest ones.

• Mix closed-ended (scales, rankings) with open-ended questions for juicy, detailed feedback that gives you both numbers and nuance.

• Use neutral, unbiased language and randomize answer order to shake off guess fatigue and keep results clean.

• Keep your survey under 10 minutes so people actually finish it and maybe even like you a little more for respecting their time.

• Build in regular, longitudinal benchmarking to track trends and see how your brand shifts over weeks, months, or years.

• Visualize your data for easier storytelling, using charts instead of walls of numbers, so your insights do the presenting for you.

Major Don’ts

• Don’t lead respondents to an answer, so skip questions like “Wouldn’t you agree our brand is fantastic?” unless you want your data to be fantastically useless.

• Avoid survey fatigue with concise, well-structured questionnaires that help people glide from question to question without brain fog.

Quick, clear questions keep your data clean.

Quick Checklist for Higher Responses

• Go mobile-first, since that is where people actually answer and where your survey needs to look sharp.

• Offer some kind of incentive if you want a real boost in response rates, because people love a little payoff for their time.

• Always show a clear, transparent privacy notice so people trust your brand and feel safe sharing honest feedback.

A memorable survey is short, clear, and a little bit fun, which keeps respondents clicking “next” with a smile instead of plotting their escape.

With these brand positioning survey questions examples and tips, you are set to craft your best-ever questionnaire and unlock meaningful insights.

On top of that, the playing field is yours, so grab those brand wins one well-asked question at a time.