More Than a Logo:

Why Effective Brand Strategy Starts with Research

By ONR & Qwerry

In today’s crowded marketplace, successful brands don’t just stand out—they stand for something. A powerful brand strategy makes that possible, and market research makes it real. In this article, ONR (experts in turning customer feedback into strategic action) and Qwerry (leaders in brand positioning and strategy) show how smart research leads to brand strategies that drive measurable business outcomes.

Isn’t Branding Just For Consumer Brands?

Not anymore. Branding is just as essential in B2B as in B2C, especially in competitive, commoditized, or high-trust industries.

B2B brands with strong reputations command price premiums of 20% or more (McKinsey)

Emotional connection drives more than 50% of B2B buying decisions, despite the stereotype of rational-only buyers (Google/Motista/CEB)

What You Need To Know When Developing A Brand Strategy:

Effective brand strategy requires diagnosing the present and designing the future. Key areas include:

Brand Funnel/Pyramid Location (Awareness → Consideration → Loyalty)

Category Shopping Drivers: What your audience cares about most

Brand Strengths: What customers already associate with you

Competitor Strengths: Where others outperform and where you can win

White Space: High-value attributes where customer demand exceeds brand delivery

According to Nielsen, brands that meet consumer needs in just 2 additional areas can increase market share by 2x.

Using Market Research To Inform Brand Positioning

Here's where ONR and Qwerry go deep. We translate complex customer research into meaningful brand differentiation.

What we uncovered:

Fact: Brands that align customer priorities with their brand promise outperform competitors by up to 60% in loyalty and repurchase rates (Qualtrics XM Institute).

Analytics That Help You Find Your Brand’s Place

Every market is different, which is why the methodology matters. For example, regression analysis is a well-known and proven technique to determine the relative importance of category drivers. While this can be powerful, it’s not always the best fit especially when brand awareness is uneven across the category. For example, smaller or newer brands can distort regression results if they’re unfamiliar to many respondents. In these cases, we test the model’s stability by removing low-awareness brands or rerunning the analysis with only “in-market” buyers. This helps ensure that we’re not mistaking brand familiarity for importance.

And when regression isn’t appropriate, for instance, if there’s not much difference in brand perceptions, we lean into a decision-tree framework that helps teams understand how different analytic methods (like stated importance, perceptual maps, or factor analysis) can still provide brand clarity. This ensures we’re not defaulting to one-size-fits-all analytics, but tailoring the approach based on the data.

Tailoring Analytics to Match Each Client & Market’s Situation

What if regression doesn’t work? It’s not a failure; it’s a signal. Often, it means you’re in a fragmented or emerging category. That’s where strategic interpretation matters most.

In ONR’s experience, layering both approaches increases strategic clarity and confidence. Mixed-method brands report a 35% higher success rate in launching new positioning or messaging strategies (source: ONR client data analysis, 2023).

Connecting Research To Brand Strategy

A brand strategy needs more than instinct or a single afternoon workshop. It should be rooted in a clear understanding of what drives people to notice, consider, and choose. That’s where research becomes more than validation it becomes a tool for focus, differentiation, and longterm growth. We use research to uncover not just what people say, but why they act. We start by identifying the moments and motivations that bring people into a category. Our Discovery Surveys are designed to crowdsource these triggers known as Category Entry Points, or the moments people think about brands in the category so your brand can show up at the right time. It’s a fast, effective way to move beyond internal assumptions and start thinking like your customers.

Once we’ve uncovered how people enter the category, we add analytic layers that clarify what matters, where your brand stands, and how to position it:

Stated vs. Derived Importance reveals what customers say matters and what actually predicts brand choice. This helps identify attributes that are both compelling and credible; ones your brand can own in a way competitors can’t.

Perceptual Mapping shows how customers mentally organize brands making it easier to spot white space and understand how crowded or differentiated the market really is.

Factor Analysis uncovers deeper, often hidden patterns in how people think. In complex categories, this helps simplify decision-making and can even shape early positioning directions by revealing core themes or tensions in the market.

Together, these methods inform not just the insights but the decisions that go into creating a brand strategy. And the real magic happens in synthesis. It’s not just about identifying strong attributes it’s about weaving all your insights into a cohesive, distinctive story about:

Whether your brand is repositioning or launching, these insights will form the foundation of a brand strategy that’s both bold and believable. Research strengthens your market and brand understanding so you can set your north star and show up in a way that is credible, distinct, and designed to last.

A Forrester study found that brands using data-backed personas and positioning increased marketing effectiveness by 28%.

Summary: Research-Driven Strategy Drives Real Results

Brand success is never luck; it’s research, insight, and execution. A powerful brand strategy helps you:

Clarify your distinct value

Align teams and touchpoints

Build loyalty and long-term growth

ONR provides the insights. Qwerry translates them into strategy. Together, we turn market research into your most valuable brand asset.

Your brand can’t just exist. It must mean something. Let’s find that meaning and make it matter.

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