Survey research assumes people can recall and predict not just behaviour, but reasons for behaviour. Most brand trackers therefore create brand-centric models of usage and loyalty.
Traditional trackers are asking bad questions (purchase intent and brand image attributes) and drawing bad conclusions from them (building loyalty models and looking for differentiation). A rethink is needed.
Brand tracking insights should both inform brand strategy and validate it. But increasingly, research buyers want trackers to account for new inputs and detail in as close to real time as possible. This pushes brand tracking into a very tactical role, operating within the limited time horizons that “agile” decisions demand.
By focusing on fundamental drivers of decision making, a modern brand monitoring tool can offer simple, high-level, strategic insight.