But what is brand development? Don’t mistake it for next month’s content marketing strategy. It is all about your overall brand message. Developing a brand is finding a way to differentiate your business without looking at your products, and instead focusing on your identity, values and positioning.

And there are a lot of reasons to invest in brand tracking and development. But you don’t need to outsource it or jump through hoops. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how you can do it yourself and get maximum value out of it. 

Let’s look at what brand building is and isn’t, and how you can get started with your brand development process ASAP.

What you’ll find in this guide:

• A clear definition of what brand development actually is
• The difference between branding and brand development, because it can get a bit confusing.
• Seven really good reasons why you should invest in a brand development strategy
• An explanation on when you should go for rebranding (first) instead
• What the brand development process looks like in 8 steps

What is brand development, and where do you start?

If you want to develop a brand without going brandless, you need more than a website, logo, colours and even a tone of voice. A brand goes beyond what people can see, it’s about what it makes them feel. Brand development is working on that. It’s aligning your brand with your objectives and values and strengthening your brand.

The brand development process is a long, ongoing one, of expressing your values and working according to your mission and vision. Let’s put it this way: If you would sell exactly the same products to exactly the same customers as your competitor, brand development is what could make them pick you – consciously.

Developing a brand is a creative process, but also an exploration of the principles you want to make standard in your business. And brand development, real brand development, doesn’t just happen on paper or screen. The implementation of it is what makes it real.

Besides that, brand building is also closely linked to customer experience and your company culture. Start by asking yourselves these questions to find the first building blocks for your brand identity.

1. What are my brand’s core values and how do they resonate with my target audience?

Reflect on the fundamental beliefs and principles that define your brand. Consider how these values align with the needs, preferences, and expectations of your target audience.

2. How does my brand differentiate itself from competitors?

Don’t think about price or features here. Think about the value you add and the story you tell. Think about how you fit into your customers’ lives.

3. What is the current perception of my brand among customers and the broader market?

Evaluate how customers and the general public currently perceive your brand. Be ready to dig deep into your reputation and the image others have of your brand.

4. How consistently is my brand’s message and visual identity conveyed across different channels?

Start assessing  your brand’s messaging and visual elements across various platforms, including social media, your website, advertising, and physical marketing materials – even internally used messages.

5. What are the long-term goals for my brand, and how does my current brand strategy support these objectives?

Consider your long-term business and branding objectives. Think about how your current brand development strategy supports these goals and what changes or improvements might be needed to align with your vision for the future.

Read how MOMA measured the success of their first big oat milk campaign with brand tracking. 

While we’ve done sporadic topline brand awareness surveys in the past, this is a much more insightful, detailed way of understanding the impact of our marketing over time. And it’s been brilliant to know that we’ve got a dedicated team at Attest if we need any help or advice.

Natasha Thompson, Marketing Director, MOMA Foods

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Find out how Attest can help you stay on track with brand tracking.

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Why is brand development important?

Building a business that stands the test if time means you can not neglect your brand. Developing a brand means unifying all aspects of your business – from your mission and vision to your sales pitch and SEO – into one unbreakable brand identity.

Brand development goes miles beyond having a sleek logo or a catchy headline. It’s about giving meaning to every element of your business and making sure this is based on what resonates with your target audience. The key benefits of a well-thought-through brand are:

• You carve out a unique spot in your market that sets you apart
• It makes sure every part of your business works together perfectly
• Creating a brand that people love and trust keeps them coming back
• You get ahead of the competition and stay top-of-mind
• It sets you up for long-term success and builds your brand’s legacy

The 8-Step process to create your brand development strategy

Okay, but how do you actually work on brand development? Even though it’s an ongoing process, there are some crucial steps to follow. We’ll show you how to get started and develop an effective brand development strategy in seven steps.

Step 0: Find out where your brand is now

We’ll start the brand development process by looking at the state of things as they are.

If you want to develop and grow your brand, you’ll have to put a mark on the wall to see where your starting point is. If you’ve been working on your brand and branding here and there, we recommend you start with brand measurement.

The benchmarks you get are a foundational piece of the puzzle. They will help you make well-informed decisions about making the right adjustments that actually solve problems in your brand, rather than just piling on creative ideas that aren’t aligned with your goals and vision.

With brand measurement, you can define the key areas in which you need to work on successful brand development.

Step 1: Define your target audience

Don’t roll your eyes and sigh, ‘ugh, again?’ just yet.

Yes, the target audience is part of, well, every X-step process to creating anything for your brand. The reason it keeps coming up, however, is that many businesses still get it (slightly) wrong.

Instead of mapping out who their customers are, they draw up personas of their ideal customers.

A little ambition is great, but you will need to be realistic. Do those fantasy, ideal customers even exist? And while you are targeting them, what about the people who are actually interested in buying from you?

If you are happy with the target market you are reaching now, talk to the people in it to make more accurate personas. You can do this with a customer survey.

Why do new customers choose you, and how do current customers feel about you? The only way to really learn all this, is by speaking directly to your customers and prospects. Even the smartest marketing minds can’t read minds. The most valuable information about your customers comes from your customers.

You can launch surveys, but also look into reviews and research forums to find out what your target audiences are talking about when it comes to your brand and market. That way, you’ll really learn what they value and are looking for.

Step 2: Define your true brand mission and vision

If you haven’t yet, define your brand mission – the right way. Formulate a mission that actually resonates with you and the people in the company. That way it’s more authentic, and you can actually reach it.

A mission statement is not just a bunch of words on your About page. It’s why you came in to work this morning, and why you’ll be back tomorrow.

Part of this is also your brand vision. As a quick reminder: your mission is what you want to reach. Your vision is how you believe this should be done – not in a practical way, but with what values. On to the next step!

Step 3: Pick values that really fit your brand

You should derive these from your mission to make sure it’s a match (or use a brand perception template.) Why have both? Because it makes it even easier to identify what actions come from your ideas and ”what you stand for”. Plus, they will make it easier to make brand development visual and tangible. You can show the values, and know what words to communicate.

Step 4: Formulate a brand promise

Now, this is a big one. Promises always are. Your brand promise, or value propositions, will affect your team (how they work) and your customers (what they expect from you). Better pick one carefully.

A brand promise is not a tag line or slogan. It’s a value you add. It’s what customers experience when they interact with you. And that’s not just when they buy from you.

Why does a brand promise matter for your brand development? Because it’s a daily reminder of what you’re working towards. The more you develop a brand, the easier it will become to deliver what you promise.

Step 5: Develop brand guidelines and create content accordingly

This is where (for a lot of people) the fun starts. You create the visual elements based on your values. That means you will not pick colours just because they look good, but because of what they stand for, what emotions they spark in people.

This is how your entire design process will look like: you’ll always look back at your values to see if it’s a match.

Apart from your visual identity, your tone of voice and communication guidelines are also important brand assets. You could create a style guide that every employee has to follow, so your brand is recognizable – not just in what it conveys, but also in what it looks like.

Step 6: Pick brand development and growth strategies that match your brand

Managing brand growth isn’t something like a marketing campaign. There are no sprints that will help you boost revenue or grow your customer base directly. It’s a long-term journey to grow and strengthen your brand.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any KPIs. Check out our article on 13 brand health metrics you should know about, and keep an eye on those as your brand develops.

Sentiment, brand equity and brand awareness are just a few that give you a great overview on how you’re doing in terms of brand development.

That being said, your brand development strategy has to be aligned with your value proposition and mission statement.

It’s not about reaching as many people as possible. We’ve mapped out how to create an effective brand strategy, but here is some more inspiration on brand growth strategies from brands we love:

Calm, a meditation app, knew just when to launch a brand growth strategy – during the 2020 presidential election. In a stressful time for everyone, they were seen on CNN offering free coping and calming tools to help stressed out Americans – perfectly aligned with what they stand for.

Gymshark helped both gym-goers and personal trainers during the pandemic, with free resources to train from home, and even the option for PTs to host workouts online. With this, they really doubled-down on taking care of the physical and mental health of their customers.

Papa John’s also knows what brand growth is all about: delivering meaning. Instead of an expensive Christmas episode telling people about the importance of giving, they actually gave the money reserved for that commercial to a charity. In a simple, fun video, they explained what they did.

Step 7: Implement your new brand developments and be consistent

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, brand development is all about being consistent. It’s crucial that you include all aspects of your business in this, internally and externally.

From your packaging materials to your customer service and from your website to your meetings: your brand is being built everywhere where people can see it – customers and employees.

Step 8: Keep measuring and improve

And just like that, we’ve come full circle. We recommend you to keep measuring your brand health metrics to see if your strategy is paying off.

Having set moments to look at these metrics will also help you stay on top of it and make brand development a priority – which it should be.

7 ways the brand development process will help your business

Brand development will affect different aspects of your business. Your marketing efforts might shift. Your customers will notice, but so will your team. So, what are the benefits of brand building and development?

It will be easier to develop relevant content for your target customers

Is filling up your content calendar a monthly struggle? If you work on brand building, you’ll never be lost for words ever again. Once you know your values and what you want to radiate to your target audience, you will always have something relevant to talk about, besides your products.

It gives you a competitive edge

It’s easy to recognize the brands that have invested in brand building. They’re the ones we reach for automatically in the supermarket, the ones we browse first. Brand awareness is built by brand development.

It helps you make sure you are always top-of-mind, leaving little space for your competitors, and helps build consumer loyalty.

Brand development makes you more authentic

”Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.” – Elon Musk.

We couldn’t have said it better. 86 percent of people name authenticity as a key factor in deciding what brands they like and support – or buy from, in other words. Real authenticity comes from matching your actions to your words, over and over again.

Brand building helps build trust for new brands

An important part of the brand development process is working in alignment with your values. If people can relate to those values, and you work according to them time and time again, you’ll inevitably build trust. The more your target market trusts your brand, the longer the queues when you launch a new product.

A brand development strategy helps you create a high-value business

How can you expect a customer to value your business if you don’t? Businesses that are too product-centered will see the effects of that in the long run. Consumers will spot a well-developed brand from miles away and recommend it to others, increasing the value even more.

Brand development makes you more resilient when the going gets tough

A strong brand promise will increase brand loyalty. Whenever you get into rough waters, but you stay true to your brand, your target audience will know exactly what they can get from you — even if you slightly alter the product or service itself. It’s the values and quality that stay the same.

Brand development is a great framework for your company culture

Your company culture influences how your brand is perceived, and your goals for your brand development affect your company culture. The two are inseparable. Ultimately, it’s your staff who needs to make the brand development happen.

Not just in big strategic moves, but also smaller, day-to-day actions and interactions. Having a plan for your brand development in place will steer them in the right direction (or you can use a brand tracking company to streamline the process.)

The Experts’ Guide to Brand Tracking

How to look at the impact of things like audience reach, panel diversity, and survey design to help you decide whether your current brand tracker is up to scratch.

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The difference between ‘brand development’ and ‘branding’

Brand identity, brand strategy, branding – are we just mixing up words here? Not at all: brand development and branding are two different things. Connected, yes, but not the same.

Branding is promotion. It’s how you advertise your company or products with ads and visuals. It’s design-oriented, and focused on execution. It’s websites, brochures, ads, colours, logos, and tone of voice.

Brand development is building a reputation. It’s basically personality development for businesses, not focused on promotion, but rather on connection. It’s more strategic and long-term, more conceptual. It’s how you as a brand distinguish yourself from your competitors, if all your products and prices were the same.

Now, branding is a part of brand development. But both require different experts.

When done right, branding contributes to brand development, and the two make each other stronger. What a team!

Should you go for rebranding or brand development?

We’ve covered the difference between branding and brand development, but brand development isn’t always the right choice right away. Sometimes you’ll first need to do a (full) rebranding before you start further developing your brand.

Rebranding isn’t something you should take lightly. It’s a big investment – time and money-wise. And you shouldn’t do it just because you feel like your company needs a new look.

Rebranding is often done to battle a bad reputation or update an outdated image. Sometimes it’s necessary to rebrand if you want to expand internationally and your current branding doesn’t fit into the markets of other countries.

Many brands opt for a rebranding process when they find their current branding isn’t working, when in reality they are simply not using it right.

So, when do you start with brand development? Brand development is the right choice when you want to build on what you already have, or after you’ve completed your rebranding.

Rebranding is only right if there is really a need for change and your current branding is harming you and standing in the way of your business objectives.

‘But business is going well! Why should we invest in brand development?”

There are plenty of big brands that are slowly but surely losing market share. They were household names for new generations, who then stopped bothering with establishing a strong brand under the young kids. Their target audiences from several years ago still love them, but what about their kids?

New brands enter the market rapidly, and the consumer’s attention is more divided than ever. Brands that are still deciding on what personality they want to have and what they stand for, will be cancelled quickly by the younger generations who are looking for connection more than ever.

No brand is immortal. If you feel like you’ve exhausted all the possibilities of improving your product or service, focus on something a little more long-lasting: your brand.

If in ten years, your product isn’t in demand anymore and you want to introduce something new, you better have a strong brand in place that people will recognize and trust right off the bat.

Ways to promote your brand

If you feel like you have an awesome brand but it’s not getting noticed, or you’re revving up for that big rebrand launch, you are probably looking for ways to promote your brand. And we don’t mean any of the run-of-the-mill tactics – a static 9 grid on Instagram isn’t going to cut it. We’re here to give you some fresh ideas on promoting your brand (not your products!).

1. Bring your brand to the real world

Maybe we should say ‘’offline world’’, but you get the picture. Tons of brands go through revolutionary rebrands and end up with great websites and stunning social media content – but they don’t seem to get the recognition they deserve. That might be because they forgot that your brand shouldn’t just exist on a screen.

Create merch for your employees (or customers) that they actually want to wear. Attend conferences to show off your new rebrand in your own booth. Put the best copy you developed during the rebranding on a billboard. Make sure your product packaging matches your brand to a tee. There are (still) countless ways to be noticed in the offline space.

2. Partner up with a cause

Many brands are driven by a clear mission, but it’s highly unlikely that they’re the only ones who are passionate about it. If it matches your brand, find a charity, local cause or other organizations that resonate with your brand value and find ways to contribute to their success with your brand. A collaboration for a campaign or product could be a great way to do that. Just make sure it’s sincere and not a marketing gimmick.

3. Diversify your content

It’s challenging to give a brand a clear personality if you solely stick to TikTok and Instagram. But what about a podcast? Or a zine? If you feel like your brand has more to say than traditional formats allow for, find new places to say it.

4. Think about your brand as an employer

Carry out your brand everywhere – even when communicating to your employees. They can – and should – be aligned with your mission, vision and story and communicate it to the rest of the world. Make sure they have the assets they need to do that on LinkedIn, but take it further than that. 

• Implement onboarding programs for new hires that immerse them in your brand story, mission, and vision – not just in the work they are expected to do.
• Ensure that all internal communication, whether it’s newsletters, intranet, emails, or team meetings, reflects the brand’s voice and values. This will make it easier to always communicate like that as a company.
• If your employees come to the office, ensure there’s a branded work environment. Make sure that the workspace visually and culturally matches your brand.

These are just a couple of things you can do to promote your brand, rather than promoting your products. What mix of tactics you should use depends on the industry you’re in and, of course, also what matches your brand identity.

Ready to build a successful brand that is future-proof?

Developing your brand and watching it grow is an exciting process. Stay on top of it using our brand tracker to always have an accurate idea of how well you’re performing brand-wise.

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Here’s a TL;DR of the 17 methods to whet your appetite…

1. Base your decisions on market research
2. Create a product in collaboration with your existing customers
3. Give early access to loyal customers
4. Let influencers promote products
5. Determine the best place to sell your new product
6. Go wild with guerrilla marketing
7. Focus your marketing efforts on referrals
8. Start a wait list
9. Buy one, give one for free
10. Double down on personal sales
11. Partner up with bigger names

How to market a new product: 11 methods

You want to get your target audience as excited about your new product as you are. How do you turn them into customers (and ideally fans) in the first months after launching your new service or product?

Take a look at these tips and real-life examples to fuel your product marketing strategy.

1. Base your decisions on market research

We can’t stress enough how much market research should be a part of your product marketing. This is because a super creative campaign doesn’t automatically resonate with your target market. So, let’s get to know them.

You probably used some form of consumer research to help you develop and create your product effectively. But your research projects definitely shouldn’t end there—you should use research to market a product, as well as to create it in the first place.

Using data to support your marketing campaign always pays off. That’s also what DRY Soda Co. saw when they wanted to launch a new product during the pandemic. Thanks to market research upfront, they created a product and strategy that landed them an increase of 136% new-to-brand customers.

Their combination of small focus groups and a larger surveys through Attest helped them validate their findings. Eventually, they confidently launched three new flavors. They became the bestselling item on DRY’s site, and ended up in the top 15 of new products on Amazon.If you want to get it right, make market research a no-skip step in your product marketing process. With Attest, you get access to your very own dedicated research expert to make sure your survey asks all the right questions. Make the most of your market research!

2. Create a product in collaboration with your existing customers

Including your target audience in the decision-making about your new product is always a good idea, and it certainly helps in your marketing efforts.

But your existing customers are also an important source of inspiration. They know better than anyone what it’s really like to use your products, so could give you a particularly useful nuanced opinion of your latest offering. Plus, you need to know whether you’ll retain customers or generate repeat customers with your new products, as well as whether you’ll gain new customers.

The company that probably has gone the furthest in this approach is IKEA. In 2018, they launched Co-Create IKEA. On this digital platform, anyone could help develop new products or give suggestions for existing products, one of which is shown below.

Not only is this a great way to innovate products directly based on what consumers want, but it can also play a great role in the new product marketing for those co-created products.

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3. Give early access to loyal customers

You don’t have to find new customers for your new product. You can sell it to existing or previous customers as well. They already love your products, so love them back.

Give loyal customers first access or even a discount pre-launch. This can help you build a hype around the product and get those first sales in. It should also help you retain customers by making them feel special and a part of your strategy.

A lot of AI tools are deploying this tactic right now. Take Jasper.ai. for example. Before they launched their AI image generator, they gave all their existing customers the opportunity to put themselves on the waitlist and get the tool first, at a discounted price. Works like a charm, as long as the reward is big enough. Show your customers that you appreciate them and want them to enjoy your new product!

And remember to make use of your existing loyalty programs. You could invest thousands in ad campaigns to attract new customers, or you could use your loyalty programs to reach the people who already fit your picture of the ideal buyer.

You can easily use email marketing to offer free shipping, exclusive packages or discounts. You can even give a free gift to the first 100 customers, or whatever number makes sense in your market.

4. Let influencers promote products

Sometimes influencers are the way to market your new product. Heck, sometimes they are even the ones coming up with the products.

Influencers are great at building hype around a product. From podcasters talking about books that are only out for pre-order still, to beauty influencers trying out new lipsticks that will only be released the next season: every industry can benefit from influencer marketing.A prime example is Germany’s most successful fitness influencer Pamela Reif and everdrop, a sustainable shop for all things personal care and cleaning. Together they developed a detergent especially for your sweaty sportswear, and with 9 million dedicated followers the first few batches sold out instantly. It’s a great example of playing into what your target group wants, and using the perfect channels to market to them.

5. Determine the best place to sell your new product

Your product can be the best thing since sliced bread, but if you’re not putting it out there in the right places, it won’t sell. Don’t necessarily stick to the channels and stores you know, but make the ‘where’ part of your product.

Survey consumers to find out what their preferred shopping channel would be for this particular product. That data will also give you an entry point in those places, which is what Big Prawn Co learned.

Big Prawn Co embarked on a fish-free fingers and burgers NPD project, using consumer research to shape the new offering at every step of the way. Using an audience of vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians and flexitarians they identified strong demand for their ‘Free From The Sea’ plant-based fish fingers and burgers. And that data helped them secure a spot at Waitrose.

We literally put the survey data into the initial sales pitch as a key element as to why this is suitable to launch in your store. And because I asked where people shop, I was able to filter it and dedicate a survey specifically to Waitrose.

Claire Evans, Category Manager, Big Prawn Co.

When you embark on a mission to market a product, make sure you choose the right locations. Whether it’s online marketing channels, social media platforms or even a brick and mortar store, make sure your decision is based on data.

6. Go wild with guerrilla marketing

In 2021, dating app Thursday launched, with 100,000 people signed up before the app even became available to download. Those numbers grew rapidly in the following months, and they’ve got an interesting strategy to thank for that.

First of all, Thursday did a great job on PR in the weeks leading up to their launch, being covered in press releases on platforms ranging from LADbible to the BBC.

But they developed a marketing strategy for their new product that was daring and creative. They’re ace at guerilla marketing, with product marketing campaigns that range from sassy billboards in train stations to hosting events in bars. It shows they have a deep understanding of what their ideal customer likes and they are standing out from all other dating apps in terms of content marketing.

They even use their interns as influencers, sending them out on the street with balloons. And in the right location, that will get you a lot more new users than other marketing efforts like search engine optimization can achieve in a single day.

Then Thursday thought: why stop at letting our human interns out on the streets? And they sent out a camel.

Outside Liverpool Street Station in London they promoted the app with a camel wearing a handwritten billboard, jumping on the hump day trend. Which is on Wednesday. Smart, Thursday.

And remember to make use of your existing loyalty programs. You could invest thousands in ad campaigns to attract new customers, or you could use your loyalty programs to reach the people who already fit your picture of the ideal buyer.

You can easily use email marketing to offer free shipping, exclusive packages or discounts. You can even give a free gift to the first 100 customers, or whatever number makes sense in your market.

7. Focus your marketing efforts on referrals

One product marketing strategy that has proven to be successful time and time again, is referral marketing. The examples are endless, and the concept is simple. Ask those signing up or buying your product to refer you to someone else. Give both participants a reward and watch your sales spike.

A famous example is Dropbox, who grew from 100k registered users in 2008 to 33.9 million in 2017, with most of the new users coming through referrals.

Its success is self-explanatory: chances are someone who signs up or buys from you is friends with other potential customers who fit your product persona. People with similar interests tend to hang out. And everyone loves discounts or rewards.

You can use referral marketing even in the early stages, and without giving monetary rewards. Fintech platform Robinhood used referrals for their product marketing and gave earlier access for each referral that was given. Smart, and it builds excitement.

8. Start a wait list

Much like shortening the queue, waiting lists also work. Yeah, people are weird.

We all want to be the first one to try something shiny and new. That’s why wait lists have been and probably always will be smart methods for selling new products.

A recent example of a company that is building a waiting list is OpenAI. While ChatGPT is still free for all, they’ve already started with a waiting list for an experimental paid version of the AI tool. The promise is that this ChatGPT Pro version will always be available, will be quicker and give more answers.

Waiting lists are a smart way to generate leads while setting yourself up for a successful product launch, and allow you to build more of a buzz through email marketing. It’s ticking a lot of boxes!

9. Buy one, give one for free

A great way to boost sales for any product, but especially for new products, is by deploying the ‘buy one, give one’ model. You might have seen this from Masterclass: they offer new subscribers the chance to give away a subscription for free to someone they know. It’s a great way to spread visibility in your target market.

Sure, that doesn’t boost your revenue directly, but you get a lot more people to try out your product. You’re in it for the long run with this tactic, because those users could turn into repeat buyers once their subscription ends or the product needs a refill. Think ahead!

10. Double down on personal sales

If you’re launching a particularly difficult new product, don’t just focus on the campaigns: focus on the people.

You can make customer education a big part of your sales strategy, and for some products, that really pays off. Research found that selling new products requires significantly greater intensity and consumes much more attention.

When it comes to new products, salespeople spend 35% more time meeting with customers throughout the sales cycle than they do when selling established goods and services. Create content that educates your prospective customers. From a blog post to FAQs, to how-to guides about your new product features. And: train your team to give the best advice possible. You can even host webinars or free Q&A sessions to talk about the new product and resolve any doubts!

11. Partner up with bigger names

One of the smartest ways to make sure your product launch is a success is by partnering up with an established name that your target market happens to love.

Ocado used Attest to conduct consumer research to shape their new Disney meal bundle offering and maximize an important partnership opportunity.

Partnerships like this are a great example of effective product marketing based on research. It gives your new product an extra layer of fun and you benefit from each other’s audience!

Other tactics worth stealing 

There’s more than one way to get a new product off the ground. Here are a few more tactics that are easy to implement and test. 

Run a preview — and make it juicy
This isn’t the time for vague “coming soon” posts (when was it ever?). Show people what they’ll be getting and why it’s worth paying attention to. Screenshots, behind-the-scenes, first-looks, limited demos — give them a reason to want in before the rest of the world does. Just because your team is excited to be working on something, doesn’t mean everybody else will be. So choose what you preview wisely.

Contests & giveaways that don’t suck
No one needs another “tag a friend to win” post with a sad prize. If you’re doing a giveaway, make it something your audience actually cares about — and tie it to your launch in a way that builds visibility or email signups. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience: is the giveaway your planning worthwhile and easy enough to sign up to for them to take five minutes out of their day for it? If not, rethink.

Write the blog/FAQ section/guide that answers every question pre-launch
Don’t make people dig. Yourcontent should do what no press release ever does: clearly explain what the new product is, who it’s for, how it works, and why it matters. Details are what gets people really excited. If you’ve got juicy research, test results from features, or use cases — put them in there.

Do something IRL
Events work — even small ones. A pop-up, launch party, panel talk, demo day. Real-world interactions go a long way in making your product feel legit. If you treat it like big news, other people will see it like big news.

Launch market-winning products

Boost your position with retailers, derisk product launches and defend market share – with trustworthy consumer insights from Attest.

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Base all creative decisions data-backed market research

Whatever tactic you go for, we can’t stress enough how much market research should be a part of your product marketing. This is because a super creative campaign doesn’t automatically resonate with your target market. So, it’s important you get to know them.

You probably used some form of consumer research to help you develop and create your product effectively. But your research projects definitely shouldn’t end there—you should use research to market a product, as well as to create it in the first place.

Using data to support your marketing campaign always pays off. That’s also what DRY Soda Co. saw when they wanted to launch a new product during the pandemic. Thanks to market research upfront, they created a product and strategy that landed them an increase of 136% new-to-brand customers.

Their combination of small focus groups and a larger surveys through Attest helped them validate their findings. Eventually, they confidently launched three new flavors. They became the bestselling item on DRY’s site, and ended up in the top 15 of new products on Amazon.

If you want to get it right, make market research a no-skip step in your product marketing process. With Attest, you get access to your very own dedicated research expert to make sure your survey asks all the right questions. Make the most of your market research!

Best practices to create loyal customers

When launching a new product you don’t want people to buy it just once. Here’s how you keep them coming back over time.

Recurring market research

What customers are looking for is constantly changing. Stay up to speed by running regular surveys to your various customer segments. Having fresh data available will take out the guesswork of your product marketing strategy and new product development, which will give you speed and better results.

Delight, delight, delight

Is it really a great product if customer service isn’t up to par? Treat your customers with the utmost care and make sure your customer service team is delivering a great experience.

Treat them like you’d treat your best friend

Go the extra mile and give loyal buyers or users perks. It helps build a relationship and you will stay top of mind. We love this example of how DRY Soda Co. does it.

Personalize the experience

Personalization isn’t just cute, it’s useful too and can be a part of a great user interface. Make sure their account or profile has everything they need and throw in some personalization there to give it a purpose.

Always follow up

Follow up with them after a purchase, ask for feedback, and address any issues promptly. This will make sure they are using their products the right way, which is simply part of the product!

Create a community

Nobody loves seeing ads. But if you can build a community in which useful tips can be shared, where people can connect and where they can come for advice, you also create a place in which you can more organically talk about new products or new features. Plus, it’s a great source of information on your customers.

What’s the best new product marketing strategy?

Crafting the perfect market strategy for a new product is difficult, no matter what industry you’re in. It requires extensive market research and effective decision-making based on the data that’s obtained, plus a whole lot of creativity. Take some time to investigate your target market’s interests and needs before deciding on a strategy!

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Boost your position with retailers, derisk product launches and defend market share – with trustworthy consumer insights from Attest.

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Frequently asked questions

The post How to market a new product: 17 must-follow methods for 2025 appeared first on Attest.

In this article, we dive right into that food product development process. We’ll run through the steps to take, what challenges you’ll face and what else to consider when creating a new food brand or products, so you won’t bite off more than you can chew. Hungry to learn more?

What is food product development?

Food product development is a process that involves a load of crucial steps: ideation, ingredient selection, taste testing, packaging design, regulatory compliance, marketing strategy and distribution. It’s an iterative process in which food brands search for a balance between product quality, cost-effectiveness, sustainability and consumer appeal to bring a successful product to the market.

Your food product development team

You need more than just a few foodies to make your product a reality. Here’s who you’ll want on your team and why:

1. Food scientist or technologist: Expert in food chemistry, formulation, food processing and product development.
2. Chef or culinary professional: Brings culinary creativity and expertise to the team. Probably has great restaurant recommendations.
3. Regulatory specialist: You’ll be grateful to know a compliance crusader who is knowledgeable in food safety, regulations, labeling requirements and industry standards.
4. Packaging engineer: Designs and tests packaging to ensure product protection and appeal.
5. Marketing and design: Develops branding and marketing strategies to bring the product to market. Together with packaging engineers, they come up with genius packaging like these.
6. Sales and distribution specialist: Identifies the best distribution channels and develops sales strategies to reach consumers.
7. Financial analyst: ensures the viability and cost-effectiveness of the product.

Ideally, you’ll also have a market researcher on your side. But for many brands, hiring someone specifically for this or outsourcing it is a time-consuming task, and it’s more expensive than it is efficient. If you want to act fast, get relevant results and actionable data, try Attest. You can conduct surveys whenever you want to and get results in mere hours. Moreover, you have access to a dedicated research expert that will help you make the most out of your survey.

Find out whether people will eat up your new food product

With Attest you can reach the people you need—your target market—and find out whether your latest product ideas will be a success. Get reliable consumer insights fast!

Try the concept testing survey template

The stages of food product development

Developing a new food product isn’t something you do overnight. There are plenty of steps to take, and sometimes taking a step back is the best decision. Between all the stages, extensive testing and research should be done to make sure you’re on the right track. Keep in mind that these steps don’t simply follow after each other, some will run simultaneously, other disciplines require jumping back and forth.

1. Food product ideation

Ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes you pick something up from the market, or a consumer or employee has a great suggestion. But you’ll have to make the idea more specific and ideally test it against other similar ideas.

Big Prawn Co. picked up a signal in the market that led them to develop a new product.

One of the things that concerns us is the statistics about there not being commercially viable fishing stocks left in the oceans by the next 20, 25 years. We asked, ‘can we do more to help people eat a bit less fish by giving them something that is equally as good an alternative?

Claire Evans, Category Manager, Big Prawn Co.

Claire and the team started their new product development process to develop fish-free fingers and burgers. They relied on consumer research to shape the new offering at every step. Using an audience of vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians and flexitarians, they identified what the market was missing, and started creating that.

This shows that developing a new product isn’t always just about creating a new taste. In fact, it might not even be about creating something ‘new’ at all. Find what’s already working well (perhaps using a concept testing survey), and then do it better in terms of sustainability, brand or other aspects.

2. Market research and validating your product concept

From the ideation phase to the moment you start selling, there are all kinds of market research you could be doing. Taking decisions based on assumptions can create results that leave a bad taste in the mouth and cost you tons of time and money. You can use different types of market research to check you’re on the right track and to make your new food product your best yet. These are the ones we don’t recommend skipping.

Research competitor products

Yours won’t be the only candy bar on the shelves, so get to know your neighbors. Examine the competition to understand their products, marketing strategies, and target market. This will help you avoid their mistakes, and learn from their successes.

Consumer research

Taste is a very personal thing, so get to know your target market. Survey your target audience to understand their preferences, needs and opinions about your product, but also dive into their personality, lifestyle and more—it’s surprising how much it affects people’s buying decisions. You could find out useful things for your marketing campaigns to really connect with them!

Test your (creative) concepts

Don’t just test flavors, test creative assets as well. From packaging to campaigns: with Attest you can determine which choices are the most effective and appeal most to your target audience.

Measure the effects on your brand health

What has this new product done for your reputation? How easily do people link it to your brand? Has it changed their perception of your brand, or make you more famous? With brand health surveys, you can find out how your new food product has impacted your brand.

3. Formulation

Time to put your culinary skills to the test. In this step, you’ll be creating the perfect recipe. Selecting the ingredients, a nutritional analysis, finding out how you can scale up your recipe and more: this is a crucial step—one where regulations and compliance come into play.

4. Consumer testing

You’ve probably already tested simplified versions of the products before, but now it’s time for the real deal. You’re bringing taste and marketing together to find out if consumers like your product, or not!

But consumer testing isn’t only about finding out if customers like it or not. You can use the data you gather to get your products placed in stores. That’s what Big Prawn Co. did, and it got them into Waitrose.

We literally put the survey data into the initial sales pitch as a key element as to why this is suitable to launch in your store. And because I asked where people shop, I was able to filter it and dedicate a survey specifically to Waitrose.

Claire Evans, Category Manager, Big Prawn Co.

5. Processing

Even when people are raving about a product in the research data, that doesn’t mean it’s actually feasible to eventually produce and market it on a larger scale. This is where food science comes in.

One of the main things food technologists test in this phase is if a long enough product shelf life can be established. You might play around with different types of processing equipment and producers at this point.

6. Commercialization

If you want to approach the commercialization phase right, don’t just let a team of creatives dive into names and packaging styles. You guessed it: find out what your target market would like to see and what works for them. Carry out product research to see what other competitive products are already out there, and find out how your new products can do it better.

Concept testing is a great tool to validate whether your creative ideas are also commercially viable. You can test packaging design, measure several brand health metrics and even see what the impact of launching a new product is on your overall brand health.

How AI is affecting the food development process

AI isn’t replacing food scientists or product developers. After all, it doesn’t have taste buds just yet. But it is becoming a useful tool in the process of food development. More companies are experimenting with AI to speed up tasks like flavor profiling, ingredient selection, and shelf-life prediction. It can also help analyze consumer feedback at scale, or model how a recipe will perform under different processing conditions.

In early-stage development, AI tools are being used to predict which combinations are most likely to appeal to certain consumer segments, based on purchase data or trends. That doesn’t remove the need for real-world testing—but it can help food development teams make smarter decisions, faster.

Challenges of food product development

It’s not all chocolates and gummy bears behind the scenes of food product development. Behind every bite, there are numerous challenges food brands face when creating new products. There are the obvious ones like food safety, but here are some other obstacles you might not think about while snacking away:

Costs and pricing

There’s a real cost conundrum when creating food products. Margins can be small and if prices of ingredients change, this could have huge consequences for a food brand. Make sure you test enough scenarios and do thorough pricing research to find the sweet spot for your price point.

Pro tip: as useful as it can be during your consumer testing, remember that pricing testing can be an imprecise science. There’s nothing quite like looking at a product in a store, alongside other products and in the context of that shoppers economic circumstances—answering a price testing survey online will always lack a bit of that context.

Sustainability and ingredient sourcing

Consumers are more critical than ever, and finding sustainably sourced ingredients can also be a plus for times when your key ingredients are hard to get by. Make sure you carefully select the right ingredients and the right suppliers, by keeping an eye on the future and the environmental impact.

Regulatory hurdles

Navigating the world of food regulations is like trying to make it through Charlie’s Chocolate Factory without having to sit through an Oompa-Loompa concert nobody asked for. From food safety standards to labeling requirements, there are a lot of boxes to tick in any part of the process. Make sure you’re on top of this from the very first step. Think ahead!

How brands can evolve and adapt to the HFSS crackdown

A great example of just how challenging it can be, comes from Mallow & Marsh. The premium confectionary brand is facing strict reforms for high-fat, sales and sugar foods.

An overcrowded market

A quick walk through the supermarket says it all: there’s a smorgasbord of existing products and brands out there in almost any category across the food industry. That doesn’t mean the market you’re eying is too saturated for your product, though! If you can develop a food product that is new and appeals to the ever-changing wishes of consumers, you will be able to land in their shopping basket. It all boils down to doing enough market research, consumer testing and asking critical questions.

In need of some inspiration? Check out our sample survey questions for new food product development. Or if you’re ready to go, we have a market analysis survey template that’s sure to help you stand out from the crowd.

How the food industry is evolving: trends to watch

Some trends come and go. Others reshape what people expect from the products they buy—and what retailers choose to stock. Here are the ones worth paying attention to:

Alcohol-free alternatives
This category keeps expanding. We’re not just talking about beers and mocktails anymore—think zero-alcohol spirits, wines and ready-to-drink options that feel grown-up and taste like something you’d actually want to order again.

Functional food and drink
Consumers want their food and drink to do more than just fill them up. Products with added benefits are gaining ground. From adaptogens and nootropics to collagen and protein boosts, more consumers are looking for food and drink that supports focus, sleep, gut health or energy levels—without crossing into supplement territory.

Cleaner, clearer labels
It’s not just about being healthy. People want transparency: where ingredients come from, what role they play, and why the product is made a certain way. The demand for short, recognizable ingredient lists isn’t going anywhere.

Fermented and probiotic products
From kimchi and kombucha to gut-friendly granolas: gut health is moving from niche to normal. Fermented snacks, drinks and dairy alternatives are becoming everyday items, not health store exclusives.

Home-grown, made simple
Growing your own food is getting easier—and more popular. Think kits that help people grow herbs, greens or mushrooms at home with minimal effort. Especially appealing to urban consumers with limited space.

Use a secret ingredient: market research surveys

New product development is a creative process, but ideally, also backed by data. That’s what our market research tools help you get.

If you identify the need for a tasty new food product concept and start developing something based on what your ideal consumer really wants, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Need help setting up a survey for your new food product? Check out Attest. We’ll supply you with a dedicated research expert who will make sure you’re asking the right questions, to the right people. It’s a recipe for success, wink wink.

Get started with example survey questions

Our in-house research experts have created this set of sample survey questions to help you get genuinely useful insights about your new food product!

See the questions

The post How to develop a winning food product: From concept to market success appeared first on Attest.

The right brand extension can transform your business, unlock new revenue streams, and get your existing customers excited about something fresh from a brand they already love.

In this guide, we’ll give you the practical lowdown on brand extensions. You’ll discover the different types worth considering, learn from real-world wins and facepalms, and walk away with a clear roadmap for implementing your own extension strategy without diluting what makes your brand special in the first place.

What is a brand extension?

A brand extension is when a brand develops a new product or service and offers it under their already established brand name.

By introducing new products under a familiar brand name, companies can stretch the boundaries of their offerings while maintaining existing customer loyalty.

Instead of creating something completely different from scratch and building up recognition in an already crowded marketplace, why not leverage your current success to branch out into related markets?

That’s what brand evolutions are all about—capitalizing on positive associations with your original product or service, so you don’t have to start back at square one!

Using the power of its existing brand, companies often introduce new products or services that are related to what they already offer. This helps them tap into unfamiliar markets without having to start from zero and grow a whole new name—plus it allows customers to feel at home with their favorite inspirational brands!

Find out whether you should launch your brand extension

Learn about whether your awesome new product is as awesome as you think it will be—run consumer research with Attest to learn directly from consumers whether you’ll see ROI

Learn about new product development

Different types of brand extensions you can use

There are several types of extensions that a brand can use to expand its product line or reach new markets. Here are the most used ones.

Line extensions or product extensions

Line extensions are the simplest and often safest way to stretch your brand into new territory—you’re basically taking what already works and adding variations or improvements.

It’s more about adding flavors of your existing products, less about new products. This often makes it easier for your customers to be convinced to try your line extension products.

Another benefit is that your supply chain is already set up, your retail partners already stock your category, and customers already understand your product and brand.

Coca-Cola didn’t need to explain what Vanilla Coke was—they just needed to tell people it existed. Oreo doesn’t reinvent the cookie with each limited edition flavor; they simply give fans new reasons to return to a trusted favorite.

Line extensions are a relatively easy way to expand usage occasions, target different segments, or simply create fresh excitement for your brand. Just make sure each variant adds meaningful value—endless trivial variations can create decision paralysis and actually hurt sales of existing successful products.

Category extensions

Category extensions take a bigger leap—you’re moving into a different product category while still leveraging your existing brand name and equity. It’s saying to customers, “You trust us for this, so try us for that too.”

The key is finding categories where your brand values and expertise create a meaningful advantage. (This is where Colgate took a wrong turn, clearly).

When done right, category extensions feel logical to consumers. Under Armour expanding from performance apparel to athletic footwear keeps the same promise of helping athletes perform better.

The strongest category extensions maintain your brand’s core benefit and credibility while applying it to new problems. Don’t just slap your logo on a product you know nothing about.

Derivative extensions

Derivative extensions aren’t technically extensions of one brand. What you doi is launching a new product line, which is similar to your existing product lines, but give it its own branding and positioning. It’s almost like creating competition for your own brand, except it’s not – because the key is who you target.

Toyota did this brilliantly with Lexus—same automotive expertise but targeting luxury buyers with a separate identity. Similarly, Nestlé created Nespresso as its premium coffee experience, distinct from its mainstream coffee offerings. Your usual customers who want to level up (or down) suddenly have a choice that, surprise, is also your brand, it just doesn’t immediately look like it.

The main benefits of course is that it is relatively safe, if you’ve done your market research, because you’ll already know the overall market, product and will have a supply chain set up.

Co-branding

Co-branding is teaming up with another brand to create something neither of you could pull off alone. You’re combining forces for a limited time or specific product that carries both your names. 

The magic happens when you find a partner whose strengths complement yours in a way that makes consumers think: ”why didn’t they do this sooner?”. Think of the lovechild between Doritos and Taco Bell, or the partnership between RedBull and GoPro.

Licensing

Rather than figuring out how to make and sell products in unfamiliar categories, licensing lets you partner with experts who already know those markets inside and out.

This works wonders when your brand has fans who want to engage with it beyond your core products. Disney doesn’t need to become a toy manufacturer—they let Hasbro handle that while ensuring the products meet their standards. Caterpillar extended from heavy machinery to fashion using the same approach. The trick is maintaining quality control—your brand reputation is still on the line even when someone else is making the products. You’re delegating, but still supervising.

Corporate branding

Corporate branding is the “go big or go home” of brand extensions—creating entirely new businesses under your company umbrella. Instead of just adding products to your lineup, you’re building whole new operations that might look quite different from your original business but share your company’s DNA.

This is how Amazon went from selling books to dominating cloud computing with AWS, or how Virgin jumped from records to airlines. The connection might not be obvious at first glance, but there’s usually a thread of shared values or expertise running through these seemingly unrelated businesses.

It’s the most ambitious extension strategy and requires serious investment (and lots of time!), but the payoff can be transformative—essentially building multiple businesses that stand on their own while benefiting from shared resources and philosophy.

It future-proofs your business in unimaginable ways, because even when your original product goes out of fashion, you will have built an entire ecosystem of other products and services that you can thrive on.

Digital extensions

Why stick to the physical world when there’s a whole digital landscape to explore? For example, if you’re already selling athletic gear, why not launch a fitness tracking app that helps customers get more from your products?

A digital brand extension involves taking your physical brand into the digital realm, creating apps, online services, or virtual products that complement your core offerings.

Digital extensions let you meet customers where they spend hours each day—on their devices. Nike did this successfully with their Training Club app. But even luxury brands like Gucci have jumped in, creating virtual clothing for avatars and gaming platforms.

The beauty of digital extensions is they often cost less to produce than physical products while potentially reaching a global audience instantly. Just make sure your tech actually works—nobody wants a buggy app with your brand name on it.

Benefits and drawbacks of brand extensions

Brand extensions are a double-edged sword for businesses—they can open exciting new revenue streams or dilute what makes your brand special. Before jumping into expansion, it’s worth weighing what you stand to gain against what you might risk.

Benefits: The upside of expanding your brand

Done strategically, brand extensions can transform your business trajectory. Here’s what you stand to gain:

Built-in credibility – You’ve already established trust with customers. Extensions let you tap into that existing goodwill instead of building reputation from scratch.

Marketing efficiency – Launching under your established brand costs substantially less than creating something entirely new. Your audience already recognizes you—half the work is done.

Deeper customer relationships – Give loyal customers fresh ways to engage with a brand they already like. More touchpoints mean stronger connections.

Natural upselling paths – Create logical next purchases for your customers. When done right, extensions complement your existing products and encourage additional spending.

Revenue diversification – Spreading your business across multiple product lines reduces vulnerability to market shifts. If one category takes a hit, others can keep you afloat.

Drawbacks: When brand extensions miss the mark

Not every extension deserves your brand name. Watch out for these potential pitfalls:

Identity dilution – Venture too far from your core strengths, and you risk confusing customers about what your brand actually stands for. 

Self-competition – Sometimes your new product simply steals sales from existing offerings rather than growing your total revenue. You’re essentially competing with yourself.

Reputation blowback – If your extension fails or disappoints on quality, the negative perception can backfire onto everything else you make. One subpar product can tarnish your entire brand.

Focus fragmentation – New products demand attention, resources, and energy that might be better invested in your core offerings. Don’t neglect what’s already working.

Expertise gaps – Success in one category doesn’t automatically translate to another. New territories require different skills, knowledge, and market understanding.

How to implement a brand extension

Ready to expand your brand’s horizons? Here’s how to do it right:

1. Get real data through market research

Before committing, understand the landscape:

• What specific needs aren’t being met in the market?
• How do consumers currently perceive your brand’s boundaries?
• What’s their gut reaction to your extension concept?
• Who are the established players, and where are they vulnerable?

Use surveys and testing to validate demand before making major investments.

What do target customers think about your brand extension?

Test your extension plans with your target customers before you launch – so you can tweak anything that needs improving, and potentially avoid expensive failed launches!

Test your extension

2. Evaluate authentic brand fit

Be ruthlessly honest about alignment:

• Does this extension naturally flow from your brand’s core purpose?
• Will it deliver the quality standard customers expect from you?
• Does it feel intuitive to your audience, or forced and random?

The strongest extensions feel like a natural evolution, not a random departure.

3. Define a sharp value proposition

Clarify exactly:

• What specific problem are you solving better than current solutions?
• What’s your unique angle compared to competitors?
• Why would customers choose your brand in this unfamiliar territory?
• How does this build on what they already value about you?

If your answers feel generic or weak, rethink your approach.

4. Test before scaling

Minimize risk through incremental validation:

• Create working prototypes or detailed mockups
• Collect unfiltered feedback from target consumers
• Launch in limited markets to gauge real-world performance
• Adapt quickly based on early results

Small failures early save enormous headaches later.

5. Develop a targeted marketing approach

Create a plan that:

• Bridges your established identity with this new territory
• Highlights distinctive benefits rather than just the brand name
• Reaches the right audience segments through appropriate channels
• Uses familiar brand elements while introducing something fresh

Your marketing needs to make the connection obvious without overexplaining.

6. Monitor and adapt

After launch:

• Track specific metrics tied to your success criteria
• Gather ongoing customer feedback and sentiment
• Compare actual performance against projections
• Be prepared to refine or even withdraw if necessary

Treat early results as information, not validation. Be willing to course-correct quickly.

What is needed for brand extension success

1. A distinctive parent brand

You need a solid foundation to build upon:

• Clear positioning that stands for something specific
• Positive associations that transfer well to new categories
• Strong recognition among your target audience
• Established loyalty from existing customers

Fix any core brand weakness before attempting extensions.

2. A logical consumer connection

Your audience should immediately understand the link:

• Shared benefits or values between original and new products
• Natural usage occasions that complement each other
• Consistent quality expectations
• Aligned tone and personality

The less obvious the connection, the harder you’ll need to work to explain it.

3. Meaningful consumer benefits

Your extension must deliver tangible value:

• Address real pain points or unmet desires
• Improve upon existing alternatives in meaningful ways
• Provide convenience through brand familiarity
• Meet or exceed quality expectations

Customers won’t buy something just because of your name—the product must stand on its own merits.

4. Strategic business alignment

Successful extensions advance broader goals:

• Access to specific customer segments you’ve targeted
• Entry into growing markets with long-term potential
• Protection against competitive threats
• Relevance to evolving consumer preferences

Extensions should take you where you want to go, not just where you can go.

5. Operational capability to deliver

Ensure you can execute flawlessly:

• Relevant production expertise and quality standards
• Appropriate distribution channels to reach your audience
• Robust quality assurance processes
• Customer service readiness for the new offering

Even brilliant concepts fail without operational excellence to back them up.

Back your brand extension strategy up with research

Now more than ever, businesses need to think outside the box when it comes to developing their brand. Strategic brand extensions can give companies a winning edge in today’s competitive landscape! It is however crucial that you test your new concepts before putting them out there, to make sure they land in the right way and don’t turn consumers away.

By extending into new markets and targeting different segments of customers with existing positive associations around its current product or service offerings, well-tracked brands will be able to maximize reach.

Expanding your horizons also means diversifying your revenue streams. Your band becomes less dependent on single products or services, which in some markets, can be a great idea.

It’s also great for building customer loyalty. By offering more products or services, you can give customers an even wider range of choices—improving their experience while helping to buffer income.

Brand extension examples by type

Some brand extension ideas have been around for so long, we often don’t even realize what the original brand was anymore.

When drinking a Guinness, few of us think of the world record of base jumping.

When eating at a Michelin-star restaurant, you often forget to think about your car tires.

This is just to show how huge a success some brand extension ideas can be. Let’s look at some successful brand extensions and what brand extension strategy these brands used – and some that failed, so you can learn from that too.

Line extension examples

Starbucks: Beyond the coffee shop

Original focus: Coffee shop selling brewed coffee 

Key extensions: At-home coffee beans, ready-to-drink bottled coffee, coffee machines

Key takeaway: Extend your core product into different consumption contexts to meet customers wherever they are, whenever they want your product.

Starbucks has successfully extended its coffee offerings from in-store to grocery stores, creating multiple touchpoints with customers. They’ve maintained their premium positioning while making their products accessible in new environments.

Dove: From women’s to men’s care

Original focus: Women’s beauty products 

Key extensions: Dove Men+Care line of personal care products

Key takeaway: When extending to new demographics, maintain your core brand values while adapting messaging and formulations to address the specific needs of the new audience.

Dove kept its focus on gentle, moisturizing formulas but adapted packaging, scents, and marketing to appeal to men. The brand’s body-positive values remained consistent throughout the extension.

Category extension examples

Apple: From computers to lifestyle ecosystem

Original focus: Personal computers (Apple I)

Key extensions: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV+

Key takeaway: Apply your core brand values consistently across new product categories to create an ecosystem that keeps customers within your brand universe.

Apple extended its brand by applying its principles of elegant design, user-friendly interfaces, and premium quality across multiple product categories. Each product reinforces the others and creates a complete ecosystem.

Dyson: From vacuum cleaners to personal care

Original focus: Vacuum cleaners 

Key extensions: Hair dryers, air purifiers, fans, lighting products

Key takeaway: Look for opportunities to apply your technological expertise to solve problems in adjacent categories where the same strengths can create value.

Dyson leveraged its expertise in airflow technology to create revolutionary hair dryers and fans. Their extension strategy focuses on innovation and high performance across different product categories.

Derivative extension examples

Google: From search engine to tech giant

Original focus: Search engine 

Key extensions: Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Photos, Google Assistant, Google Pixel, Gemini AI

Key takeaway: Focus on your core competencies (in Google’s case, organizing information) and find new applications for these skills in different contexts.

Google has successfully extended its brand by focusing on its strengths in organizing information and developing user-friendly technology. Their recent extension into consumer AI with Gemini shows how they continue to apply core competencies to emerging technologies.

Red Bull: From energy drinks to experiences

Original focus: Energy drinks 

Key extensions: Sports teams, extreme sports sponsorships, media content

Key takeaway: Create derivative extensions that reinforce your brand’s core emotional benefit, not just its functional benefit.

Red Bull doesn’t just sell energy drinks; it sells excitement and adrenaline. Their extensions into sports teams and extreme events reinforce this brand promise and create additional touchpoints with their audience.

Co-branding Examples

Nike and Apple: Nike+ platform

Original focus: Athletic footwear (Nike), Consumer electronics (Apple) 

Key extension: Co-branded fitness tracking technology

Key takeaway: Partner with brands that share your target audience but bring complementary expertise to create something neither brand could achieve alone.

Nike and Apple’s partnership combined Apple’s technology prowess with Nike’s fitness expertise to create a seamless experience for runners, benefiting both brands.

Licensing examples

Ferrari: From sports cars to lifestyle products

Original focus: Luxury sports cars 

Key extensions: Licensed clothing, watches, perfumes

Key takeaway: Carefully control quality standards when licensing your brand to maintain premium positioning and avoid dilution.

Ferrari selectively licenses its brand to high-quality partners that reinforce its luxury positioning, allowing the brand to reach customers who may not be able to afford its cars but aspire to the lifestyle.

Corporate branding examples

Virgin: From record store to space tourism

Original focus: Record store (Virgin Records) 

Key extensions: Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Galactic

Key takeaway: A strong brand personality and values can transcend vastly different industries, though not without risks.

Virgin’s extensions demonstrate how Sir Richard Branson’s innovative, customer-focused, and disruptive approach can work across industries. However, not all Virgin extensions have succeeded, highlighting the importance of careful market assessment.

Michelin: From tires to fine dining

Original focus: Automobile tires 

Key extensions: Michelin Guide (restaurant ratings)

Key takeaway: Look for strategic extensions that indirectly support your core business while establishing expertise in a new area.

This unconventional extension worked because it shared a strategic purpose with the core business—encouraging more road travel, which would lead to more tire sales—while establishing Michelin as an authority on quality and excellence.

Guinness: From beer to world records

Original focus: Stout beer 

Key extensions: Guinness World Records

Key takeaway: Sometimes the most successful brand extensions come from unexpected places—be open to creative ideas that could become standalone successes.

What began as a marketing tool to settle pub disputes became a globally recognized brand of its own, demonstrating how creative thinking about brand assets can lead to surprising and successful extensions.

Failed brand extension examples and what we can learn

It’s also fun (and of course, valuable) to look at some examples of brand extensions that didn’t get very far. Chuckle and learn.

1. Colgate Kitchen Entrees

What happened: Colgate (the toothpaste brand) launched frozen ready meals in the 1980s. 

Why it failed: The strong association of Colgate with toothpaste created an unappetizing connection for food products. 

Lesson: Ensure your extension doesn’t create negative associations with your core product.

2. Cheetos Lip Balm

What happened: The snack brand tried to enter the cosmetics market with cheese-flavored lip balm. 

Why it failed: The snack flavor that works well for chips doesn’t translate to personal care products. 

Lesson: Product sensory experiences don’t always transfer across categories.

3. Virgin Brides

What happened: Virgin expanded into the wedding dress and bridal wear market. 

Why it failed: The brand name created unfortunate connotations in this context. 

Lesson: Consider how your brand name might be interpreted in different contexts.

4. Zippo Women’s Perfume

What happened: The lighter company introduced a line of women’s fragrances. 

Why it failed: The association with lighter fluid and smoking clashed with the desired premium fragrance positioning.

Lesson: Ensure your core brand associations complement rather than contradict your extension category.

Find out what brand extensions your audience want to see

We’ve got everything set up for you to run meaningful surveys and get actionable data and feedback from consumers that can help you create your next brand extension.

We’ll help you get started with a guide to brand tracking, guide to concept testing and survey templates—and our in-house team of research experts is here to help you through your brand extension project. Read our brand tracking case studies to see how it works.

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What is a product demand analysis?

With a product demand analysis, you try to get an accurate estimate of future sales of your product. It’s a way of understanding how competition, seasons and other relevant events affect the sales of a certain product. 

Product demand analysis can be done at various times – even for products that aren’t for sale yet. It’s not only based on past sales, demand can also be predicted based on changes in society, technological advancements and environmental changes. 

So yes, there are a lot of factors weighing in, and nobody can predict the future down to the last chocolate bar being sold. But gauging product demand is crucial for building a future-proof business. Here’s why.

Why conduct a product demand analysis?

The goals of your product demand analysis depend very much on at what stage your business or product is in. 

Validating ideas and financial planning

You could be doing exploratory market research and trying to find out if there’s a big enough market for you to enter with your product. And if there is, could you enter at a price point high enough to make your idea worth pursuing? 

Buying materials from suppliers

Product demand analysis is also important for businesses who heavily rely on secondary manufacturers or resources from external sources. Will you be able to get the necessary materials in time? 

Save money and work more efficiently

Saving money could also be one of the goals of performing a product demand analysis. Knowing when your product will be popular will help you better allocate your budget and manpower.

Knowing when demand will be higher will help you plan the budget and timing for marketing campaigns, but also make sure you have enough employees on the work floor to handle the extra orders. 

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What are the types of product demand?

Product demand isn’t as straightforward as you’d think. Products and categories are connected to each other, and sometimes demand comes from where you were least expecting it.

Here are the most important types of product demand with examples. 

• Direct demand: the simplest form of product demand is the demand for a final product. For instance, how many people are planning to buy a new smart TV.
• Indirect Demand: this is the demand for a product that is used to produce another product. Are you still following? A simple example is the rising demand for, let’s say, standing desks. The wood of the table would be the product that is in higher indirect demand, due to the popularity of the end product.
• Joint demand: Joint demand occurs when two products have a direct and positive correlation in demand. If people start buying more paint, they will start buying more canvases.
• Composite demand: this is the demand for products that can be used in more ways than one. For materials like the wood earlier, it’s important to know that it’s not just in demand for stand-up desks. It could also be used for millions of other products.
• Latent demand: this is the demand for a product that consumers can’t satisfy. There are three scenarios in which this happens:

When conducting your product demand analysis, it’s important to distinguish between these types of demand, but also to see the connections where possible.

How to conduct a product demand analysis in 5 steps

Product demand analysis shouldn’t be wild guessing: it’s building a solid foundation of knowledge and structuring your research on top of that- and it’s a fundamental part of market research for new product development. Here are the steps:

1. Define your market
2. Assess the maturity of the market business cycle
3. Identify your market niche
4. Calculate market growth potential
5. Evaluate the competition 

1. Define your market 

Who could you be selling to, how much do those people have to spend, and who are they currently giving their money to? Those are crucial questions to ask when defining your market. 

Defining your market shouldn’t just be done in words, by explaining personas or target audiences – the numbers are crucial to this. 

Depending on the goal of your product demand analysis, you could also look at secondary markets for this part of your research. There might be some ground you could cover in markets where your product would be used by people who are not in your primary target audience. 

2. Assess the maturity of the market and business cycle

Some products seem to have an endless life cycle. The oldest beer brewery has been around since 1040, and we’re still drinking it – even though many other alternatives have entered the market. But there are also breweries that have gone bankrupt. What’s up with that?

The market and business life cycle are two important things to analyse. First of all, you want to get an idea of how steady the market is. Will you be entering a market that is in the growth phase, is it mature and stable, or is it heading towards decline?

The same should be done for your business: how mature is it? It’s important to make this a part of your product demand analysis. If your market is growing but you can’t keep up, how will you deliver enough products to actually be profitable?

3. Identify your market niche

Your market niche is the sweet spot of where there’s potential to enter and where you would be able to deliver. Not only in terms of physical products or practical services, it should also be a match when it comes to values and USPs. Consumers aren’t just looking for products, they are looking for brands they connect with. 

When doing a product market analysis, it’s important that you are specific and don’t paint a better picture by looking at the entire market, or too large a part of it. Eventually, you will have to choose a targeted message that will not speak to everyone in the market: keep this in mind when defining the real size of your market.

4. Calculate market growth potential

Now you have the data on the current situation: time to look into the future. To do that, we’ll start by going to the past. 

How has the market share been divided among your competitors ever since the market came to exist? What events and products affected these changes in the division? What was happening in related or similar markets in the same time period? 

Based on this information you can try to pinpoint patterns and find opportunities for growth in the future. Also keep societal factors in mind, like wages and costs of other possibly related products, and changes in tax.

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5. Evaluate the competition

Chances are, your competitors are also performing some kind of product demand analysis while you are too. Maybe they also have a new product in mind that they want to launch, or they’re trying to increase their market share another way. 

Look at how they went about their previous product launches and how this was received by your target market. How were the sales numbers? What could you learn from them?

You can keep an eye on what’s being said by and about your competitors using smart competitor tracking tools. 

Product demand analysis examples

Is it magic? Is it witchcraft? Is it espionage? No, it’s artificial intelligence. 

One of the kings in product demand analysis is undoubtedly Amazon. How do they have that tiny screw in the right colour available for next day delivery, when all hardware stores in your area are out of stock?

A lot of it is thanks to artificial intelligence, and an exquisite product demand analysis. Amazon has mastered the craft of balancing human intelligence with human tasks. Product demand analysis on the scale they are doing would simply take too long to do manually, so where possible they let AI do the heavy lifting. In the background, their team is figuring out the details that make their supply chain so impressive. 

The team knows not only what products to have in stock, but also where. In 2013, they got a patent for ‘anticipatory shipping’. This technique helped them to get a product to the closest warehouse to you, even before you actually hit ‘buy now’.

Other parts of their product demand analysis are more common sense. Certain local products will only get stocked in relevant regions, and they look beyond the obvious seasonal changes. Sunscreen is important in summer, yes, but also in winter in places where, for example, families go on skiing holidays. 

Product demand analysis best practices

How do you actually gather all that information we mentioned above? Let’s look at some tools and best practices that will help you get the most relevant and actionable insights regarding product demand predictions. 

Product demand surveys

To accurately estimate the demand for your product through a survey, it’s crucial that you ask the right questions. Think about how precise you would want people to answer, what data you need. Is it just numbers, or also about days or months? Will you ask them about alternative buying reasons for your product? 

Set a clear goal for your product demand survey and build the questions based on that, so you won’t miss a single piece of information. 

Another crucial element is defining quality respondents. Your product demand analysis survey should only be sent to people who match the criteria of actual buyers. This way you prevent getting data on latent demand, from people who would buy, but don’t actually have the money. 

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Experiments with price and offer

Some markets are unpredictable, mostly because they are new. If after your initial product demand analysis you find that the numbers are a tiny bit lower than you’d hoped for, try analysing what happens if you tweak your offer.

You can experiment with different price points, package deals or bundles, or other types of promotions. You can also try finding partnerships or products that go well with yours to create more demand, even if it’s just secondary. This could be especially helpful if you are just entering a new market, and you want to ride on the success of another product.

Consumer trends

To identify consumer trends, you can use tools such as Google Trends, look into frequent Amazon searches and keep an eye on trending topics on social media. 

With social listening tools, you can keep track of what people are saying about a certain product or brand, which will help you get data on what’s trending. Joining online communities or Facebook groups that are relevant to your market is also a great way to stay up to date on what’s happening. 

Don’t forget to also look into popular topics in specific regions if that’s relevant for you. When looking at specific keywords, you can get incredibly precise data that will drive your decision-making process forward. 

Picking the right market research tools

Still feel like product demand analysis is just a guessing game? With the right market research tools, you’ll see that getting accurate data is more a science than an art. Here are three of our favourite tools for market research that could help you getting your product demand analysis right:

1. Attest: we had to! With our quick, easy-to-use market research platform you can find those hyper-relevant consumers and ask them those burning questions about their buying behaviour.
2. Social Mention: to keep an eye on consumer trends, we highly recommend using social mention. This is a social listening tool that will give you first-hand data on what’s being said about your market across different platforms, without you having to monitor them manually. 
3. Heartbeat.ai: if you know that people are talking about your market, it’s also important to know what they’re saying. Just because a lot of people are talking about Blockbuster, doesn’t mean DVD rental is back in the picture. They’re just making memes. With heartbeat.ai, you can automatically analyse the tone of online conversations. 

Love these tools? So do we. If you’re looking for more of this, check out our entire article with 6 of our favourite tools for market research. 

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In this guide, we’ll dive into the world of pricing research. We’ll explain why it’s so important, and how you do it effectively. 

What is pricing research? 

Pricing research aims to determine the optimal price point for your products, and lays out how changes in price will affect businesses or entire markets over time. With this information, businesses can make well-informed decisions about their pricing strategies, based on profit, revenue, market share and demand.

Pricing studies don’t just aim to find the highest possible price you can justifiably charge for your products or services. Finding the right pricing strategy could also involve working with lower price points, which will have a positive long-term effect on your position in a market. 

A pricing study aims to find the ideal price for a product and business, not the highest one you can get away with.

Why market research pricing for the optimal price point is important

Why should you always keep your eyes on the price? Arguably, price is more important in the early stages of a business, or when there’s a lot of changes happening in the market. 

Nevertheless, even established businesses should regularly revisit their price points and see how price is influencing profitability, to make sure they’re not leaving money on the table. Here are four reasons you should be conducting price market research:

It shows you the market’s demand, willingness to purchase and willingness to pay

A critical part of the market research process is finding out if there’s even a demand for your product. But when transferred to the real world, a desire to buy a certain product isn’t enough—people should really be willing to put their hard-earned bucks on the table in exchange for the product—not just dream about owning it. 

But how important is price for consumers, really?

While a great brand, great relationship building and other factors are super important ways to build up loyal customer bases, they don’t eliminate the damage done by the wrong price points. 

Let’s put it this way: can you really imagine a consumer looking at the price tag for your product, shaking their head, and then coming back the next day to buy the product anyway. No, neither can we. 

Even if they do, a brand can think about whether this is the kind of relationship they want to build with their customers—one where they might put consumers in trouble for convincing them to buy something they can’t really afford. 

Getting the highest possible ROI 

Maximising your margins? It feels safe to just try and cut costs, and often risky to raise or change your prices. But it could pay off, you just need to do the research to find out if it will.

There will probably come a point where the only way you’ll scale your profitability is by raising your price points, or making changes to your pricing plans—and market research will show you what to fine-tune to maximise revenue and profits while maintaining (and ideally boosting) customer satisfaction. A pricing survey template can also assist with this.

Match the value of your brand and product

It’s important to realise that a product’s price and its value aren’t the same thing. Businesses exist to provide value to customers; price just communicates part of it before purchase.

The price people pay for the product should be justified by everything else around it: and the factor you have most impact on is your brand. This is why random price changes often don’t have the desired effect, even when lowering prices. Harvard Business Review describes how customers perceive a price is just as important as the price itself. 

Here’s a highly relatable example for you: if Ferrari lowers its prices, will people deem their cars as high-quality as before? Not likely. Linking your price points to the value you actually provide is just as important and vital to your brand. 

It helps you choose the appropriate pricing strategy

There are a lot of price strategies to pick from and experiment with, but those experiments should preferably be based on your own market research. Here are some of the most used strategies to help you navigate your pricing.

Cost-plus pricing

This one is pretty straightforward: you simply calculate your costs and add your desired mark-up. This works best for products with an easy cost structure.

Competitive pricing

If you’re entering a new market, you can choose to set a price based on what the competition is charging. This often happens in markets that are already quite saturated, where there’s little wiggle room in price, but you can ‘steal’ customers with better products or branding. 

Value-based pricing

Why do customers pay so much more for Apple products? It’s because the perceived value of those products is a lot higher. If you calculate your perceived value into your price, you can often charge more (or less, so be careful here—your market research might reveal a low perceived value from consumers, which will give you even more to think about). 

Price skimming

This is quite rare, but not unheard of: with price skimming, you start with a higher price and lower it as the consumer landscape changes. This works with technologies in markets that rapidly evolve. iPhones lower in price over time, as other models enter the market. Game consoles like PlayStations and Xboxes are usually introduced for a high price, but become cheaper once the hype goes down

Penetration pricing

For a limited time only! Who hasn’t read it before? With penetration pricing, businesses try to get a lot of consumers hooked on their products in the initial stages by asking lower price points. Once demand starts growing, they increase prices to a sustainable level—setting a low price to enter a competitive market and raising it later

Common pricing research methods

Time to dive into the actual price research methodologies! There are several ways you can conduct research into different price points—on its own, or as part of a larger marketing research. We’ve listed 7 popular methods with their benefits and disadvantages. 

BPTO (Brand-price tradeoff)

If you want to measure price elasticity, the brand-price tradeoff method is your best bet. It takes into account brand value factors to determine how high your prices can go. 

How it works:

Consumers are presented with a group of products, all of which are priced at their lowest level. Every consumer picks a product they’d buy. In the next round, that product’s price is increased—the prices of all unpicked products remain the same. The consumer selects again. This process is repeated until the ‘maximum price’ is reached, which is usually whenever a consumer picks a different product than the first pick. 

Benefit: puts your brand in a context that allows consumers to analyze you alongside your competitors.

Downside: consumers generally quickly understand what the study is looking for, which can influence their decision-making process.

Monadic price testing

If you want to measure price sensitivity, go for monadic testing. There are several variations, such as sequential monadic design, paired-comparison design and protomonadic design. 

How it works:

Respondents are presented with a complete set of products, much like in a store. Price is presented. They are asked to choose the product that best fits what they need.

Benefit: monadic testing eliminates bias, because everyone only sees one combination of product-price.

Downside: it’s a static research method that does not consider how price changes of competitors could influence decisions.

Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter

The Van Westendorp price sensitivity meter is a type of direct pricing research method. You don’t get one ideal price out of it, but rather a range of ‘acceptable’ prices.

How it works:

Consumers are presented with a product and the following questions, all about the same product:

• At what price would you begin to think the product is too expensive to consider?
• At what price would you begin to think the product is so inexpensive that you would question the quality and not consider it?
• At what price would you begin to think the product is getting expensive, but you still might consider it?
• At what price would you think the product is a bargain – a great buy for the money?

Benefit: it’s a simple research method that leaves you with a range of acceptable costs to the consumer, rather than one price point.

Downside: respondents give their answers without seeing and experiencing the product in its full on-the-shelf context, which can lead to slightly unreliable results.

Conjoint analysis

Conjoint analysis is considered to be one of the most reliable ways to determine pricing and uses discrete choice analysis. It looks not only at changes in price, but also at product features to get not only an idea of how much people are willing to pay, but also why.

How it works:

Conjoint analysis works with discrete choice modelling. Respondents are presented a group of products and are asked to either select or rank the products. This is repeated several times, with each round presenting varying product attributes, including price. 

Benefit: looks at more factors than just price, and also calculates the value of specific product features.

Downside: it doesn’t measure changes advertising or competitors could make in the decision-making process.

Regression Analysis and Pricing Research

With regression analysis, you use historical data to estimate what effect changes in price will have on sales. 

How it works:

There are several ways to do this: You can look at the effect of seasons, campaigns and promotions, events in the market such as competitors entering. This can help you make strategic decisions ahead of time, based on real-life events. 

Benefit: when enough data is available, the research is reliable.

Downside: not suitable for relatively new product categories.

STEP Pricing Research

STEP pricing research is a field research method that can help you determine pricing for your products.

How it Works

Consumers from your target group are divided into groups. Each group will be exposed to the same test, except they will be shown different prices for the presented products—or brand. Then respondents are asked to put stickers on the product offerings to indicate what products they are most likely to purchase. The share of stickers given to a brand is calculated for each respondent group.

Benefit: this method works with all kinds of products

Downside: a very large sample group is needed 

In-Market Price Tests

Last but not least, there’s In-Market research, where you literally go into the market to see how price affects buying decisions. It has become a lot easier with the surge of technology like POS scanners and big data.

How it works:

Consumer behavior in actual stores is monitored. Prices can be changed or presented differently to see how it affects purchase decisions.

Benefit: you get real data that isn’t influenced by any bias and has all the necessary elements

Downside: it cannot be used for all kinds of products, is costly and time-consuming

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You could use international market research to get a clear picture of the risks and business opportunities that lie ahead in countries you plan to export or expand to. It can include competitive analysis, research into how to resonate with consumers in different countries, as well as drilling down into legal, cultural, political and logistical aspects.

Why conduct international market research?

There can be huge differences between each different foreign marketplace that you might not have thought of or realized as an outsider looking in. For any international business, it’s important that you get quality primary data in all the countries you operate in, to make sure you’re not tone-deaf, and are able to optimize your products, processes, and promotion for each specific market.

Here’s a fantastic example of how international market research pays off. 

We’ve seen first-hand how companies like Klarna have benefited from doing thorough research and copy testing before expanding to new markets. Their qualitative research in Belgium uncovered a crucial piece of information: Belgian consumers didn’t like the name of the product they intended to launch there.  

Klarna turned to Attest to do a quantitative study, and created a survey to test different product names and to see what would convert best. In the end, a suitable name popped up out of the data and Klarna went ahead with a successful launch,

That’s just one way international market research can benefit your business. But of course, there’s more, so keep on reading.

Minimize risks when entering overseas markets

As with any type of market research, one of the main objectives is minimizing risk. 

You wouldn’t walk into a porcelain shop wearing a blindfold; you’d study the room, and move accordingly. 

Use market research to minimize the risk of entering a market that is already saturated, or where there’s no demand, or where you wouldn’t make a profit at the price point you’re offering… The world is your oyster. 

Get to know customers across different cultures

The world is getting more and more connected. There’s a surge of ‘digital nomads’ and people who say they are ‘citizens of the world’ when you ask them where they’re from. But, there are still plenty of cultural differences you should be aware of when it comes to selling products or services.

Studying consumer behavior in foreign markets is crucial for international market research. You could wonder about questions like:

• Who shops online more, Italians or Germans? And what does this mean for our localized online stores?
• Do car buyers in the US conduct their research differently than UK car buyers?
• Is getting your groceries delivered as big a thing in Spain as it is in Norway?

Don’t just assume there’ll be enough overlap between countries. You could be surprised by the difference in results. For instance, a passionate Italian grandmother might approach buying pasta very differently from a student in Budapest—so adjust your pricing, global market research, international marketing, distribution channels and more accordingly.

Identify business opportunities and market potential

Which countries still don’t have a product as awesome as yours? In which target markets are people currently buying large quantities of the product you’re selling—so much that the current producers can’t keep up? What emerging markets should you enter right now?

International market research helps you spot new business opportunities. You find out how large potential markets are, who your competitors are and how you could steal market share from them.

Don’t just look forward: look back too to see how the market has developed. What market trends have passed, and how did people react to them? What are the usual growth rates for businesses like yours?

Identifying the fastest growing markets and familiarizing yourself with the players in those will help you figure out your own competitive advantages, so you can enter new markets with confidence, being able to lead—not just follow. 

Not sure where to start? Say hello to our market analysis template! With this we offer you a clear idea of the type of questions you can ask. Use it as a starting point and tailor it to your needs to really get to know your market.

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Optimize spending and margins

It’s very likely that you have to tweak your usual strategies a little, depending on the market. In other countries there will be different distribution channels, production options and costs for selling. Getting insight into this before entering is crucial.

Look into which channels are available and gather information on suppliers, manufacturers and other partners you need. Having this info ready before launch will mean you can fuel your export plan with valuable strategic insights, ensuring you maximize your profit, and can deliver your products on time.

Make sure you’re compliant

We can’t stress enough how important it is that you get all the legal insights ready before entering a new market. Every country has different rules and standards, and not being compliant could be an expensive mistake. 

Find out what the required certifications and standards are, and what tests your products have to endure. Check if products or packaging need to be altered for specific markets with specific rules. 

Primary vs secondary international market research

Your international market research should be a mix of primary and secondary data, mixed to compliment each other to give you a thorough understanding of a new market.

Each research method comes with its own benefits, but combining the two gives you the best of both worlds. 

Secondary market research

Secondary market research is great to lay the groundwork in the market research process: you can use data and quantitative research that you can find online to get a good understanding of the market. Think market data and trade data, and specific trade statistics for a country or a product. 

The benefit of using secondary market research for this part is that it’s relatively quick, and cost-efficient. However, it can only be used for part of your research objectives, because the information is generic, not specified to your product and might not be up-to-date.

Primary market research

In comes primary market research. This is often done using online surveys, or by talking to experts in the foreign market you’re looking into. This is great to study your target customers from up close, or learn about the current market conditions from local experts. You can also use primary research to talk to local suppliers, for more successful export planning.

What to consider before starting the global market research process

Every form of market research should be done with care—international or not. After all, you’re going to be basing important business decisions on the outcomes of your research, so best be careful, right? Right. Here are some extra words of advice, to not let your adventure abroad be an expensive waste of time.

1. Markets change: bear in mind that if you do international market research just once, you’ll online have a static picture of what the market was once like. Markets are dynamic, and international markets react to each other—so make sure you keep an eye on relevant trends and market conditions, and follow up on your research regularly.
2. Inside information is best: when it comes to international market research, make sure you speak to the right people. A survey group that looks exactly like your target market, but ‘just’ has different nationalities, is likely not a good representation of who you are trying to research.
3. Be willing to act on the results, not just analyze them: allow the data you’ve collected to influence your decision-making process. This will help you create more defined objectives for your research, and make your approach to the research a lot more practical. It can help to make important stakeholders part of the research process.

How to conduct international market research: 4 strategies

1. Talk to local experts in potential markets

Sometimes you can have a long hard look at the data, but still not get a good feeling of what is actually happening inside a market. In those cases, it can be incredibly helpful to talk to local experts to add some qualitative flavor to your research dish. These can be suppliers, manufacturers, economic experts, business journalists or anyone else who can make the data you see come to life.

2. Dive into secondary data from governments

While we don’t recommend using only secondary research as a source for your market intelligence, it sometimes simply is the only option, especially if your budget is limited. In that case, make sure you pick the right sources. 

We recommend you start with government trade data and economic statistics, which are usually up-to-date and the most accurate. Be wary of sources from websites that could have tainted the stats for financial gain, or for PR or SEO purposes.

3. Talk to consumers using online surveys

How can you possibly talk to all those potential buyers in your target markets, let alone track your brand, without booking expensive plane tickets there? We’ll let you in on a secret: use Attest.

If you’re sending online surveys, you want to have the peace of mind that it is being completed by people who are in your target group. We’ve made sure of that, by giving you access to an audience of 150+ million people in 59 countries. Using Attest, you can very specifically segment your audience for hyper relevant results.

4. Use focus groups for more data

If you want to test some ideas or supplement your primary research insights with more qualitative market research data, focus groups can be a great way to move forward. Make sure that before flying out there you make sure you’re talking to relevant people who fit your target group description to a T.

Access more consumers with overseas market research

Set yourself up for success, wherever you choose to go. If your business is ready to expand overseas and is crossing borders, make the most out of our international market research platform. And if you’re in the States, here’s how the top market research companies in the US stack up.

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We’re often talking about the importance of branding—for your business—but doing it right means also putting thought into your product branding. 

With the right approach, you can even successfully brand a standalone product, or make a single product the leading factor in your rebranding efforts. 

In this guide, we’ll cover all the product branding basics, and make it practical. We’ll also give you some real-life examples of successful product branding to draw inspiration from. 

What is product branding, and why is it important?

Think of your favorite product that you used this morning. Why is it your favorite? Why didn’t you buy its equivalent from another brand last time you were in the store? This is especially relevant for F&B brands.

Chances are, the price was similar. So was the smell, the ingredients, and other features. Then why did you automatically grab that one again, instead of taking a risk with the competitor?

Probably because that product, that brand, did a great job at product branding (or even brand extensions). It created a product that catches your eye, is easy to recognize, easy to connect with and ultimately builds customer loyalty.

That’s what all the world’s best products have in common: strong product branding, and loyal customers who like it enough to keep coming back.

Product branding is a crucial step to making your overall marketing strategy work. Think about this: you’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating a stellar strategy and brand. You’ve considered every detail—you know what tone of voice to convey, what colors work… 

But then when you create your product, you tone it down. For whatever reason: to fit in with the other products on the shelves, for instance; or to stay within budget.

But that could easily be one of the most expensive mistakes you’ll ever make, because it basically means your overall brand strategy goes to waste. 

Product branding is the branding that directly falls in the hands of your particular market, so it could be considered one of the most important factors in branding and marketing. 

Branded products always outperform products that play it safe—plus, people are willing to pay more for a product that comes with strong branding, that represents who they are and that they are willing to showcase in their home. 

Because let’s face it: does a Smeg fridge really cool your kombucha better than any other pastel-y fridge without the letters S, M, E and G on it? No. But heck, does it look cool.

Not convinced yet? Let’s look at the stats:

It takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand. Here’s why that means you should invest in product branding: people will probably not come to your website 5 to 7 times. You’ll need to showcase your brand where consumers are most likely to bump into it, and often that’s in stores—meaning your products will have to do the heavy lifting.

Presenting a performance brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. Need we say more? In case we do: don’t forget that a store also counts as a platform. Make sure your products are as catchy as your TikToks and as well-thought-out as your Instagram posts, is what we’re saying.

Consistently using one color palette on your logo, products, digital content, and promotional material can drive your brand recognition up by as much as 80%. So if you have a funky pink-yellow color palette going on in your website, make sure your products match that.

40% of consumers will post photos on social media of products that come with unique branded packaging. And that goes way beyond Starbucks cups. Jewelry brands ship their goodies in almost unnecessarily pretty product packaging—but it gets shared loads, giving the brands a huge boost on social media through countless unboxing videos.

How corporate branding differs from product branding

You could see product branding as an extension of corporate branding. They have to be in line with each other. Product branding is where you make your corporate brand more tangible, touchable and can go all out with it. 

Corporate branding basically lays the foundation for all the ways your brand will communicate with customers. Your product branding strategy dictates how it will specifically do that through your products.

You can take certain elements from your corporate branding and choose to highlight them in your product brand. 

Do make sure these are the elements that are truly representative for your brand identity, that they are easy to recognize and that they make sense so showcase the product.

How to create a successful product branding strategy

It’s hard enough to create a great product that meets all your customers’ needs—it’s even harder to also create a product brand around that. But don’t panic: we’re here to help. 

Successful brands all have their own checklist when creating a new product with its own product branding strategy, so make sure to make your own as well—but draw some inspiration from these tips below.

Have a strong vision in mind

Dare to stand out. Because isn’t that what a product branding strategy is for? There’s no point in creating a product branding strategy that will help you fit in. A well-formulated vision is an essential element for any recognizable brand. 

Draw inspiration from Coca-Cola. When they were in the process of creating that iconic bottle we’ve all held in our hands, this was the brief:

Create a bottle that, when smashed on the floor into little shards, will still be recognized as the Coca-Cola bottle, even if you just saw one shard on its own.

Yes, that’s incredibly ambitious. Some product designers might even call it ridiculous or impossible—Coca-Cola’s probably did, until they set to work. 

But look at where it brought Coca-Cola: 94% of the world’s population recognizes the brand. And a huge number of people buy and consume Coca-Cola products, knowing very well that it isn’t the healthiest addition to their diet. 

Pay attention to your messaging and tone of voice

Got any Lush products in your bathroom? Go get one real quick and resist smelling it—but read the label instead.

Lush is a great example of how you can let a brand personality and brand voice shine through in product branding. 

They’ve perfected a tone of voice and are showcasing it even—or especially—in the finest print on their product packaging. 

Their product branding is also another place where they reinforce the company’s values, by explaining not only what the product is made of, but by who and when—showing that they are serious about doing things differently. 

Other brands might focus on how the product makes you feel, or focus on the type of people they target in their advertising campaigns. 

Lush, on the other hand, uses its products to communicate its mission and vision, and connects with people through loud and clear copy.

Make it recognizable by making it shareable

An important element of making product branding easy to recognize, is by making sure it spreads like wildfire. The perfect example? The Starbucks cups. 

Hate ‘em or love ‘em, but Starbucks knew exactly what visual elements would help them create a product branding that people want to share.

We can’t think of a single brand that leveraged people’s need to share their lunch and drinks better than Starbucks did. 

It’s visually appealing enough with its iconic logo, pretty neutral—making it fit into any Instagram post—and it comes with an element of personalization: your name (even when it’s misspelt) and the little hearts and smileys the baristas draw on the cups. 

Cute and useless? We think not: it’s just another way they unleash valuable customer interactions. 

Consistency is key

IKEA is not suddenly going to release premium products, or products with weird prints that don’t fit into any type of interior. 

They’re the leaders of consistency in product branding, maintaining the low costs, affordability, quality and recognizable features in front of other visual elements. 

IKEA is a distinctive brand in how it sticks to its company values and with that, builds an immense amount of trust with its customers.

Know your target audience

Did you know that Converse is owned by Nike? That’s right: since 2003 Nike is the parent company of the brand that sells shoes to virtually any teenager—and adults who have a certain vibe of coolness around them, you feel me?

Both brands come with a strong brand identity, but they are vastly different. Converse was made to dance in the mud during a festival. Nike is for people who wake up at 5.30am to go for a run. 

Nike did their market research right and decided that if they wanted to acquire the business of the festival goers, they couldn’t simply make a new product line with new Nike shoes. Instead, they chose to give that specific target market its own brand and product’s identity. 

Give your product a personality and backstory

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good, red dress? Sure, there are countless options. But which one to get? The brand Laagam found a solution to that issue: make their dresses tell a story. 

And boy, did they find a story for their version of the little red dress: make it the one that Rachel Green wore, in Friends. Who wouldn’t want to dress like that? Immediately it becomes more than just another red dress: it represents an era and an icon, and you’ve just got to have it.

5 Benefits of a great product branding strategy

We’ve already touched on some of the statistics that show you just how important a strong product branding is, but there are some things you can’t just express in numbers. Here are five more benefits of investing in a great product branding strategy. 

1. Product branding helps you connect with customers

Let’s go back to Converse. We’re sure that Nike could have designed a shoe that some Allstar wearers could’ve been convinced to buy. But we all know how attached we can become to that one pair of dirty Converse. Sticking to the product’s brand was the best way to connect with customers.

The same goes for Apple users. Their target audience is not as much attached to the product itself, but more to what it represents. They become advocates for the brand and the product, because everything is just right.

2. Build loyalty to boost repeat purchases

What comes from customers who feel connected to a certain product? Repeat purchases!

With the right, fun product branding, people will buy from you over and over. You’ll be top of mind every time they need new shoes, a phone, shower gel or a cup of coffee when they’re in a new city. People like buying from the same company if they know the product is reliable and has its own identity. 

If you’re curious to find out how your brand is doing on brand preference and winning the hearts of customers, check these seventeen brand preference survey questions that measure customer loyalty.

3. Product branding contributes to overall brand awareness

There’s no point in creating a stellar brand and having an extensive branding process, and having bland products in store. Supercharge your branding by extending it to your products, to every last detail.

Your product is part of your marketing materials, and will therefore power up your ​​brand awareness efforts. Want to know how you’re doing on that? Use our brand tracker to find out how your branding is contributing to the success of your business.

4. Be the first brand customers recognize thanks to strong product branding

This is a benefit on its own. A strong product brand will stand out, both visually and emotionally. And in a store people usually go for the products they recognize, because nobody has time to go through all the other ‘new’ options and evaluate them. So, make sure your product packaging catches their eye before anything else does.

5. Protect your parent company with a separate product brand

Another reason Nike and Converse didn’t just become ‘one’, is because both have a strong product brand and by having a diverse line for both, they remain protected. 

Giving a specific product line and target group its own bespoke brand helps you protect the parent business from potential flops and allows for plenty of experimentation.

If you’re looking to launch a particular product that speaks to a specific market you are not used to, consider creating a sub brand or even keep it completely separate. 

This way, if your new brand speaks to different segments, you can go all out without doing any real harm to the company’s reputation or messing up its unique identity.

Get the results you want from product branding

Want to know if you’ve got your product branding strategy figured out, or if there are opportunities for improvement? Launch a brand positioning survey with a special focus on product branding strategies, to find out how individual products are influencing your brand image.

Want some help getting started? Check out our listicle of brand positioning survey questions.

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Something to bear in mind whenever you’re doing market research is that it’s not necessarily a bad thing if the theory or hypothesis you originally had turns out to be wrong. 

The purpose of market research is to reveal the truth to you and your business, and even if that truth is a surprise or means that you have to change direction, at the very least you ended up more informed than you started. 

Here are some examples of companies who’ve used market research and seen great success (and better brand positioning) as a result. 

How Little Moons used market research to reach their ideal audience

Let’s take Little Moons, UK mochi ice cream brand who early in twenty twenty one became the subject of a viral TikTok sensation, with sales rocketing up by more than one thousand percent. The team wanted to find out whether this was going to be a long-term trend, or whether sales would slow once the trend had passed. 

Using market research, Little Moons discovered that their new customers from TikTok weren’t to be their source of long-term sales and growth. 

They refocused their PR strategy to tell the TikTok story, and ended up being featured in publications that were actually read by their target audience. 

Bloom & Wild’s Valentine’s Day gamble

Let’s take UK flower delivery brand Bloom & Wild. When looking for their next campaign, they decided to put it to the people. 

They asked consumers what they really thought about red roses for Valentine’s Day. 

Through their research they discovered that people think red roses are a cliche, and that they’d overwhelmingly prefer a more thoughtful gift. 

So they chose not to sell red roses for Valentine’s Day twenty twenty one, resulting in a sizeable fifty one percent increase in press coverage year on year. 

And what about some big global brands?

Oracle, the Global IT leader, has created insightful content for its audiences for years. But they realised they needed a better understanding of what people wanted from their content. 

Using market research they found a completely new approach to how they created research reports, resulting in a five times increase in new business opportunities and a seven times increase in the value of those opportunities.  

And for even more evidence that market research is a crucial part of any marketer’s job, let’s look at an example of what happens when a company skips that all-important market research.

In 2013 Facebook partnered with HTC to launch a smartphone, called First. 

Using Facebook’s interface as its home screen, the First hit the market with a muted response to say the least. 

Poor sales and massive product development costs could have been avoided if Facebook had only tested the idea with their target consumers first. 

These are just a couple of examples of how market research can make or break your business. Make sure your brand is one of the success stories.  

We have loads more consumer profiling examples like these, so head to the link in the description below to hear about seven epic fails that consumer testing can help you avoid.

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Your local family doctor or nearest hospital will most likely not give you a survey with your prescription on your way out, but there are certainly ways in which the healthcare industry can gather valuable information about its ‘target audience’. 

In this guide we’ll highlight why market research is so important for the healthcare sector, how you can use it to improve your health systems and how to conduct your research in a way that’ll give you actionable insights.

Understanding healthcare market research

Healthcare market research is done to learn how to improve health services for people, and how to get patients to pick your health care facility, service or product. In that sense, it’s less about selling, but more about providing the right information through the right channels, and having a really beneficial solution available to patients.

Why is healthcare marketing research so important? 

If you hear the words healthcare marketing research together, you might think that feels odd: healthcare isn’t typically something that needs to be marketed, it should be something people simply get when they need it. 

And that’s precisely why market research is so important for forward-thinking professionals in the healthcare industry. By finding out what people need and want from the healthcare industry, providers and brands will be able to give them services and products that are truly great. 

Below, we’ve listed some reasons why healthcare companies and patients benefit from market research.

Help people find the help they need

Even as patients, or especially as patients, people won’t simply ‘buy’ anything healthcare providers sell.

In other industries, it’s all about creating a demand or convincing people to choose your product or service. In healthcare, it should be about making sure that the people who need a certain service can easily find it. 

Think of it as inbound marketing, but with a shorter ‘sales funnel’. The healthcare industry is confusing enough as it is, and people want to see and know their options as quickly as possible. With healthcare marketing research, you can learn how to do that for them.

Patient satisfaction is crucial for improvements

For many patients, the barrier to go to see any healthcare professional, use a healthcare product or have some treatment can be very high. And this is totally understandable: they don’t know what to expect, and they’ve probably heard some horrific stories of others. 

Patient satisfaction should be taken very seriously by all healthcare companies. It’s not all about the treatment and whether that’s successful or not—even though that’s obviously the main objective. 

How easy was it for a patient to get help? How did they find the information they needed, and how clear was this? How were they treated?

By improving these ‘secondary’ factors, you won’t just improve the experience of patients, but also of the ones treating them. 

Improve business operations and services

What’s good for your patients and market, is also good for business. If you want to make informed decisions for your healthcare practice, don’t just perform internal investigations.

You can often give that knowledge a lot more context by talking to patients, suppliers and any other partners you work with. 

Improve healthcare—for everyone

A market analysis can also be used to simply start understanding your patients better. From specific research into women, minorities, teenagers, and senior citizens, for instance, will help you make your communications and the care you provide more inclusive, and therefore better. You can take away any possible barriers and start taking care of everyone equally well.

Examples of healthcare market research

There are countless research topics worth diving into for medical professionals. Which healthcare practices need improvement according to patients, what’s possible in the world of medical devices, and how can a medical organization improve from a marketing perspective?

We’ll give you some examples of types of market research and key markets you can look into.

Market research aimed at patients

What’s the most obvious part of the market for the healthcare industry? The patients of course! You can learn so much more from them than just satisfaction stats.

• Test your branding and messaging on a specific market segmentation. How are senior citizens reacting to your brand, in comparison to young families, for instance?
• When developing a new product or service, find out what patients think about it with a new product development survey. Test your ideas with the people who will be using it. 
• Build strong consumer profiles to better cater to your patients’ needs. With qualitative interviews, focus groups and surveys, you can learn what every customer needs.
• Improve patient experience: what people experience asides from their treatment has a significant impact on how they perceive your organization and if they’d recommend it to others.
• ‘Buying’ journey research: how do people find you? What are important touchpoints and where could you improve the way you give people information?

How to make health market research data actionable?

If you want your research efforts to be worthwhile, you need to start every piece of research by defining what you want to do with it. Because this goes beyond nice-to-know or looks-great-in-a-powerpoint: you conduct market research to learn what you can do better, and how. 

We’ll dive into the steps to conduct healthcare market research below, but before you get started you need to have two things: 

• A clear objective
• Influential decision-makers involved

By having a historically-proven market research goal that’s connected to a practical reaction, it’ll be easier to select high-quality respondents and get actionable insights. 

And by having someone on board who is influential enough to take the newfound insights to the boardroom and make actual changes, you’ll know that your research and investments will be put to great use.

How to do healthcare and medical market research in 8 steps

There’s no framework set in stone that dictates how you should exactly conduct healthcare market research, but there are some milestones that you shouldn’t miss, some boxes you should tick. 

We’ve put these in chronological order for you, although we do advise you to do your due diligence and see if you are still meeting previous standards when going through these steps. Here’s what you should do for successful market research in the healthcare sector.

Step 0: Have a goal

You know this one’s important because it’s step zero – it’s a no-brainer. 

We’ll repeat it because it’s such an important one. Make sure you don’t start your research based on a whim. Define your goal—what are you hoping to achieve with your market research? Include what you will be looking into, why, and think ahead on what might need changing based on the results you’ll find.  

Step 1: Bring decision-makers on board

Make sure everyone knows what the research is about, what the goal is, and have them prepare for making it all come true. There are a lot of stakeholders in any healthcare market research, so it’s important to have them all involved. Don’t just show up with the results at the end of the ride—make sure they tag along from day one.

Step 2: Select the audience

Now, this, of course, depends on the goal of your research. But we would like to remind you of the value you could bring on board by including extra related, target groups.

For instance, if you are investigating waiting times and patient satisfaction, it can help to not just survey patients—ask nurses who know what’s happening on the floor, so you can give more context to your data. 

Here are some examples of important audiences for health care market research.

• Patients and other people using health services. These could also be healthy people, like patients’ families, or people using health services that aren’t related to disease.
• Primary care practitioners, such as general practitioners, specialists, nurses, and pharmacists.
• Secondary care practitioners like consultants, caregivers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and more
• Healthcare administrators, from board members to purchases and government officials.

Step 3: Take care of privacy

The way you handle data and take care of the privacy of your respondents is always important, but in this type of research, it’s all the more crucial. 

Make sure that any market research tools you use are compliant with the regulations that matter to you, and that everyone using them knows how to keep data and privacy in check. Also, communicate clearly to your respondents how you will be handling data.

Step 4: Choose the right research methods

If you conduct healthcare market research, you have several sources to choose from. Of course, primary sources will be more relevant than secondary ones (because you’ll end up with the data you originally needed, not second-hand data that was gathered for someone else’s use). But it doesn’t hurt to get your foundation right—especially in the early stages of your healthcare market research. 

If you talk directly to patients or providers, you’re doing primary market research. This can range from qualitative research like focus groups to more quantitative research like online surveys, to in-depth interviews. If you dive into existing reports and studies, you’re doing secondary market research. It’s always best to combine those, to give more context to the data you’re gathering. 

Step 5: Pick a platform

You’ll want to pick a platform and tool that has it all. That will make it easier to work with, and ensures that you have a grip on where all your data is being stored.

Using a platform like Attest gives you all that, and then some: we help you set up an airtight survey and make sure you can use the platform in the best way possible. As for privacy concerns, you can give the right people exclusive access so all data is safe—perfect for research, especially in healthcare settings. 

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Step 6: Review the results

Time to look at the results! It’s key that you interpret these the right way—which all starts with asking the right questions. Get all stakeholders on board when reviewing the data, so you don’t miss any important angles. 

Step 7: Start implementing, stat!

This is the stage in which the magic happens. Translate your qualitative and quantitative market research services to action points. Make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Step 8: Measure more than once

If you have your SMART goals in place and start implementing, it’s crucial that you also follow up. For instance, if you’re looking to improve patient satisfaction, make sure to measure again after a while to see if you’re on the right track.

Tips for an effective healthcare market research survey

Like with any other survey, a healthcare market survey shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for respondents, and there are some rules to keep in mind to make it a success. As healthcare is a specific category however, we’ve included some last top tips to make sure you make the most of it.

Use the right platform 

The platform you use for your market research is where it all comes together: privacy, survey results, patients, and researchers. It’s where you’ll read the results from, so it needs to be crystal clear. Take your time to choose one that’s right for you.

Keep your questions simple

Your respondents should not be the ones doing the hard work. Make sure your survey is easy to understand and easy to fill in. The right platform—something like Attest—will also help you with this.

Keep it short

If you’ve established a clear objective and topic for your research, and picked an audience with care, you can skip a lot of questions that are just fluff. If you find yourself asking for a lot of details about a demographic, ask yourself if you’ve defined your audience well enough.

Recruiting respondents

Are you struggling to find respondents for your survey? Make sure you are asking in the right way, and communicate clearly why you are doing this. People love being part of the solution, they just want to know upfront why they are sharing their experiences. 

Be clear about privacy

We can’t stress it enough: healthcare market research requires strict adherence to data protection standards. Check and then double check if the systems you’re looking to use live up to your standards. Also make sure that you can communicate clearly to respondents how their data is being used and stored.

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