What is a Brand?

A generally accepted definition of the term “brand” is “the emotional relationship a product, company, organization or even person has with their customers, audiences, consumers, and larger community.”

This is a definition modified from several sources including Marketingspot.

In terms of the brand of a product, application or website, a brand elicits thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and responses from customers, or users.

Responses are based on many key elements such as the experience with the product or application itself, the company reputation, the company history, the logo, reputation, news articles, etc.

Brand as a Promise

One can also think of branding as a promise a company makes to its customers.

Every detail – from interactions with customer service or navigating the application or website, to communications after a completed transaction — serves to let the customer know if the company is keeping its brand promise.

When it comes to branding and user research, it makes business sense to make sure a product, website or application is easy, enjoyable and results in a satisfying experience.

That positive user experience reinforces the “brand promise” a company makes to its customers.

 Branding and User Research

A robust user research program helps validate the brand promise a company makes to customers.  User research provides the data needed to integrate human factors, user research, and communication to help satisfy customers and keep them coming back.

Understanding the user experience and applying the principles of user-centered design (UCD) are critical to branding success.

Recent Work

TecEd has teamed with clients for usability studies designed to explore brand impressions.  Two recent projects serve as standout examples of the wisdom of integrating branding and user research:

— Consumer Product Company Brand Impressions and Usability

A TecEd-led user research study for a consumer products company sought to understand users’ expectations for and overall impressions of the company’s website’s user experience: Was the website easy and pleasant to use? Was it attractive? Did it support users’ wants and needs? And in terms of branding, did the site enhance or detract from the company’s brand?

The study was designed to discover if participants found content, user interface, information architecture and site organization consistent with key brand concepts.

Research showed that participants preferred one graphic design treatment to another, since it reinforced brand concepts such as professionalism, trustworthiness and reliability. Findings also helped the consumer products company understand types of content, site structure and information architecture that aligned with the core brand impression.

— Educational Institution Brand Impressions and User Research

A nationally recognized learning institution recently embarked upon a new website redesign project, led by the organization’s branding group.  TecEd partnered with the organization for usability testing and evaluation.

The branding group was tasked with delivering a more compelling and contemporary look and feel to the website, integrating the design to support a new branding initiative.

A key part of the project was to poll constituents on the appeal of the new look and feel, both before and after performing key tasks on the website. The research gave the branding group valuable insight into how the newly designed site could be optimized to reinforce a new branding direction.

Further Insight 

For a further exploration into branding and the user experience, check out these extensive UX Magazine articles.

You can also view our user research testing services for a full look at the tools available to integrate branding and user research.

Feel free to contact TecEd to discuss branding and user research related to your product, application or website.