Brand Health Metrics | Tech and Durables

Overview

This template is designed for high-value, infrequently purchased categories such as appliances, consumer electronics, and automotive.

In these markets, decisions involve research, evaluation, and timing, but brand growth still depends on being mentally and physically available when buyers enter the market.

Metrics	Questionnaire
Spontaneous/Unaided Brand Awareness Prompted Brand Awareness Brand Category Entry Point (Attribute/Image) Association Brand Usage Previous Brand Usage Brand Consideration Brand Barriers Brand Appeal First Choice Brand Brand Substitutability Reason for Satisfaction Touchpoint Recall Prompted Ad/Communications Awareness Importance of Category Entry Points Category Purchase Frequency Time to Next Purchase Past Purchase Channel Purchase Influencers Category Feeling Statements Custom Questions: + max 5 of your choice added at the set-up stage.	Thinking about [category name], please list all the brands that come to mind. Which of the following [category name] brands have you heard of before today? Next, you will see some statements that describe needs, situations, or reasons why people might think about or choose [category name]. Please review each statement and indicate which, if any, of the listed brands you associate with that statement. You can select as many or as few brands as you like. It does not matter if you have actual experience with that particular brand or not; it is your opinion we are interested in. Which of these brands do you link with the statement below? Remember that you can select as many or as few as you like, or none of these, if none are relevant to the statement. Which of these brands of [category name] do you own, if any? Which of these brands, if any, have you owned in the past? When you next look to buy [category name], how likely are you to buy each of the following brands? For which, if any, of the following reasons would you be unlikely to choose these brands? Overall how much do you like each of these brands? If you were buying a [category name] today, which of these brands would be your first choice? If your preferred brand was not available, which of these might you buy instead, if any? Which of the following aspects of the brands you use are you satisfied with (if any)? Which of the following brands of [category name] have you seen, heard, or come across in advertising, promotions or other communications recently? Where do you think you came across or head about these [category name] recently? Below is a list of statements that people have linked to [category name]. Please read through the list and select those statements of greatest importance to you when you buy a [category name]. How often do you typically buy or replace a [category name]? When do you think you are most likely to buy a [category name] next? How or where did you buy a [category name] last time? Who or what most influences your choice of [category name] brands? When thinking about [category name] to what extent do you agree with each of the following statements? In your own words, please tell us about the last time you bought or used a [category name] product or brand.

Metrics

Questionnaire

Spontaneous/Unaided Brand Awareness
Prompted Brand Awareness
Brand Category Entry Point (Attribute/Image) Association
Brand Usage
Previous Brand Usage
Brand Consideration
Brand Barriers
Brand Appeal
First Choice Brand
Brand Substitutability
Reason for Satisfaction
Touchpoint Recall
Prompted Ad/Communications Awareness
Importance of Category Entry Points
Category Purchase Frequency
Time to Next Purchase
Past Purchase Channel
Purchase Influencers
Category Feeling Statements

Custom Questions: + max 5 of your choice added at the set-up stage.

Thinking about [category name], please list all the brands that come to mind.
Which of the following [category name] brands have you heard of before today?
Next, you will see some statements that describe needs, situations, or reasons why people might think about or choose [category name]. Please review each statement and indicate which, if any, of the listed brands you associate with that statement. You can select as many or as few brands as you like. It does not matter if you have actual experience with that particular brand or not; it is your opinion we are interested in.
Which of these brands do you link with the statement below? Remember that you can select as many or as few as you like, or none of these, if none are relevant to the statement.
Which of these brands of [category name] do you own, if any?
Which of these brands, if any, have you owned in the past?
When you next look to buy [category name], how likely are you to buy each of the following brands?
For which, if any, of the following reasons would you be unlikely to choose these brands?
Overall how much do you like each of these brands?
If you were buying a [category name] today, which of these brands would be your first choice?
If your preferred brand was not available, which of these might you buy instead, if any?
Which of the following aspects of the brands you use are you satisfied with (if any)?
Which of the following brands of [category name] have you seen, heard, or come across in advertising, promotions or other communications recently?
Where do you think you came across or head about these [category name] recently?
Below is a list of statements that people have linked to [category name]. Please read through the list and select those statements of greatest importance to you when you buy a [category name].
How often do you typically buy or replace a [category name]?
When do you think you are most likely to buy a [category name] next?
How or where did you buy a [category name] last time?
Who or what most influences your choice of [category name] brands?
When thinking about [category name] to what extent do you agree with each of the following statements?
In your own words, please tell us about the last time you bought or used a [category name] product or brand.

Core Brand Metrics

Spontaneous / Unaided Brand Awareness

Measures which brands come to mind first when consumers think about the category. This reflects spontaneous brand salience, how easily a brand surfaces in memory without prompting.

Unaided awareness is a strong indicator of mental availability but not its entirety, since mental availability also depends on the range of buying situations and needs where the brand is thought of.

Prompted Brand Awareness

Captures recognition once a list of brands is shown. Together with unaided awareness, this shows the brand’s reach in memory and whether people recognize it when cued.

You can track up to 15 Brands.

Category Entry Point / Attribute Association

Respondents link brands to Category Entry Points (CEPs) or simple need-based statements and attributes.

This measure maps the contexts and situations that bring each brand to mind - forming the foundation of mental availability and mental equity. The more diverse the associations, the greater the likelihood the brand will be thought of across many buying occasions.

You can track up to 15 Category Entry Points.

Mental Market Share (derived from Category Entry Point / Attribute Association)

From Category Entry Point / Attribute Association, we calculate Mental Market Share — the proportion of all category entry point associations in the market that belong to each brand.

While traditional market share measures what is purchased, MMS measures what is thought of. It indicates a brand’s relative mental footprint within the category.

Tracking MMS over time allows users to see whether mental penetration is expanding or shrinking, and whether marketing activity is helping the brand come to mind in more buying situations, not just by more people and therefore the likelihood to grow.

Brand Usage

Asks which brands respondents currently own or use. Ownership is the clearest behavioral measure in durable categories, it reflects both past choice and installed base, which drive much of a brand’s ongoing mental presence.

A large ownership base sustains awareness and recommendation even during periods when consumers are not in-market.

Previous Brand Usage

Captures brands respondents have owned in the past. This expands understanding of brand repertoire and switching behaviour over time, which is useful for identifying legacy strength, upgrade patterns, and re-purchase potential.

Brand Consideration

Measures the likelihood of choosing a brand when next in-market. This reflects future buying intent, which is often shaped by reputation, familiarity, and perceived reliability rather than impulse.

Brand Barriers

Identifies the main reasons consumers do not consider a brand, from practical constraints (price, availability) to perceptual issues (“not for me,” “poor quality”). Addressing these helps remove friction and expand the brand’s reachable customer base.

You can track up to 10 Brand Barriers.

Brand Appeal

Appeal represents confidence and reassurance, rather than emotional warmth. It captures whether consumers feel a brand is trustworthy, dependable, and worth the price, helping distinguish emotional desire (often limited in this space) from rational preference.

First Choice Brand

Identifies which brand consumers would most like to buy next if they were shopping today. It provides a leading indicator of conversion readiness, which brands are most likely to win when buyers eventually enter the category. High first-choice preference can signal strong brand equity even before purchase cycles turn over.

Brand Substitutability

Assesses how easily buyers would switch to another brand if their preferred one was unavailable. Low substitutability implies perceived superiority or unique reputation; high substitutability indicates a more competitive, price-driven market position.

This measure may also help reveal the competitive set within the competitive set and a brand’s truest rivals.

Reason for Satisfaction

Explores which specific factors drive satisfaction among current owners, for example, quality, reliability, ease of use, design, or after-sales service. It links ownership experience to future advocacy and re-purchase, offering clues about functional strengths that sustain mental availability.

You can track up to 10 Satisfaction reasons.

Brand Touchpoint Recall

Measures which brands have been noticed in advertising or promotions recently. This indicates share of voice in memory, helping link marketing activity to refreshed brand salience. It is not a direct measure of effectiveness, but of mental presence created through exposure.

Touchpoint Exposure

Captures where people remember encountering brand communications across social, digital, in-store, outdoor, and interpersonal contexts. It helps diagnose which routes to memory activation are currently most visible and which channels reinforce the brand’s presence most effectively.

Category Metrics

Category Entry Point Importance

Respondents select which Category Entry Points (CEPs) or simple need-based statements and attributes most influence their brand choice. These represent the category’s dominant entry points, the frames of reference within which brands must compete to be recalled, and provide valuable context to associations captured at a Brand level.

Category Purchase Frequency

Tracks how often people buy within the category overall. Understanding category-level frequency provides context for interpreting brand usage changes, indicating whether growth is brand-specific or category-wide.

Time to Next Purchase

Asks when respondents expect to next replace or upgrade. This identifies upcoming buying windows and supports forecasting and campaign planning, which is critical for long-lead marketing in low-frequency categories.

Past Purchase Channel

Captures where previous purchases occurred (e.g., retailer, brand website, marketplace, dealership). It provides insight into channel preference and physical availability, whether the category remains store-driven or has shifted toward digital research and online buying.

You can track up to 10 Purchase Channels.

Purchase Influencers

Identifies who or what shapes purchase decisions, friends, online reviews, expert opinions, salespeople, or advertising. In Tech & Durables, trusted sources such as reviews and expert recommendations often outweigh traditional media, so this measure highlights where influence really resides.

Category Agreement Statements

These statements explore the deliberate, high-stakes nature of decision-making in durable categories, and show how methodical and risk-averse buyers might be in what are often long-cycle categories.

Statements

I take my time to research options before choosing in this category.	Captures careful decision-making and information-seeking — a key behavioral norm that lengthens the path to purchase.
I usually stick with brands I’ve used before and trust.	Reflects brand loyalty and risk aversion, helping explain high re-purchase rates and low switching.
I’m willing to wait for the right deal or timing before purchasing.	Indicates deal sensitivity and purchase timing, showing how buyers balance desire with value-seeking.
I only replace items in this category when it’s absolutely necessary.	Highlights functional inertia - consumers buy mainly when prompted by need or product failure, not proactive upgrading.