Md. Ashikur Rahman
Lead – Brand, Communication & Marketing, Bangladesh Finance PLC
For marketers, the real measure of success is not how many people see a brand, but how effectively it turns attention into demand.
Imagine two brands competing in the same market. Both run advertising campaigns, both spend heavily on social media, and both reach millions of people. One generates impressive engagement but struggles to increase sales. The other receives less online attention but continues to attract customers and grow its market share.
Which brand is doing better?
For a marketer looking at campaign reports, the answer might seem obvious. But the real picture is more complicated. Reach, impressions, clicks and engagement tell us how people respond to marketing activities. They do not necessarily tell us whether a brand is becoming stronger.
This raises an important question for the marketing industry: what is the ultimate key performance indicator (KPI) of a brand?
The problem with measuring what is easy to count
Marketing has become increasingly data-driven. Almost every digital interaction can be measured, from the number of people who see an advertisement to the time they spend watching a video. These numbers help marketers make decisions, but they can also distract them from the bigger picture.
A post with 100,000 views may look successful on a campaign report. Yet, if people cannot remember the brand behind the post, what has the campaign really achieved?
The same applies to sales. A discount campaign can increase revenue in the short term without creating any lasting preference for the brand. Once the discount ends, customers may simply move to a competitor offering a better deal.
This does not make reach, engagement or sales unimportant. Each serves a purpose. The problem begins when marketers treat one of these measures as a complete account of brand performance.
Is brand preference the answer?
Brand preference is a strong indicator of brand health. It tells us whether consumers are more inclined to choose one brand over another when making a purchase decision.
However, preference alone cannot be the ultimate KPI for every business. People may say they prefer a brand but buy a competitor because of price, availability or convenience. In some categories, customers may not have a strong preference at all.
Research published in the Journal of Marketing examined 290 brands across 25 packaged-goods categories using ten years of sales and brand-perception data. The researchers found that several dimensions of consumer-based brand equity were positively associated with sales-based brand equity. The findings suggest that what consumers think about a brand matters, but its commercial value must also be assessed through market performance.
For marketers, the lesson is clear: measuring consumer perceptions and measuring business results should not be separate exercises.
The importance of being remembered
Consider a simple example. When someone thinks about buying a smartphone, ordering food or choosing a bank, a number of brands may come to mind. Brands that are absent from that initial consideration are less likely to be chosen.
This is why mental availability deserves greater attention in brand measurement. It refers to how easily a brand comes to mind in situations when consumers might need the product or service.
The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science also highlights physical availability: how easy it is for people to find and buy a brand. Being well known is of limited value if the product is unavailable, difficult to access or offered in a way that does not meet customer needs.
Its research on brand growth identifies mental and physical availability as important factors in helping brands compete. For marketers, this means assessing not only whether people recognise a brand, but also whether they think of it at the right moment and can act on that awareness.
This perspective changes how campaign success should be evaluated. An advertisement does not have to generate an immediate sale to contribute to future growth. It may help people remember a brand, connect it with a particular need or recognise it more quickly when they are ready to buy. Those effects need to be measured over time rather than judged solely by immediate clicks and conversions.
Trust matters, too
Recognition alone is not enough. People may know a brand without trusting it, and they may trust a brand without purchasing it regularly.
Trust becomes especially important when consumers have many alternatives. Product quality, service, consistency and the experience of existing customers can all influence whether a brand earns a place in future purchase decisions.
A 2021 Nielsen study covering 56 countries found that 88% of respondents trusted recommendations from people they knew more than other forms of advertising. The finding highlights the influence of personal recommendations and the importance of earning customer confidence.
For marketers, this is a reminder that a brand is shaped by more than its advertising. What customers experience after buying a product can be just as important as what they see before making a purchase.
So, what should marketers measure?
Rather than searching for one number that explains everything, marketers should build a measurement framework that connects brand health with commercial performance.
Three groups of indicators can help.
First, measure brand health. Track awareness, recall, consideration, preference and trust. These indicators show whether the brand is gaining recognition and becoming relevant to its target audience.
Second, measure customer behavior. Look at customer acquisition, repeat purchases, retention, referrals and conversion rates. These measures help establish whether brand perceptions are translating into action.
Third, measure business outcomes. Monitor revenue growth, market share, profitability and pricing power. These indicators show whether the brand is contributing to the business in meaningful ways.
The relative importance of each measure will vary by industry. A consumer goods company may focus on penetration and market share, while a subscription business may pay closer attention to retention and customer lifetime value. A financial services brand may also need to track trust and consideration because customers are making decisions involving money and long-term commitments.
The objective is not to collect more data. It is to identify the measures that explain whether the brand is moving in the right direction.
Marketers should also distinguish between short-term campaign performance and long-term brand development. Both matters, but they operate on different timelines. A campaign can generate immediate sales while a sustained program of consistent communication builds familiarity and consideration over months or years.
The ultimate KPI is a business question, not just a number
Perhaps the most useful question for a marketer is this: if advertising and promotional support were reduced, would customers still remember, consider and choose the brand?
The answer will not be the same for every business. Nor should it be expected to depend on brand preference alone. Price, distribution, product quality and competition all influence purchasing decisions.
Still, the question gets to the heart of brand building. A strong brand should make it easier for a business to attract customers, compete for their attention and turn demand into revenue. Its value should become visible not only in what people say about it, but also in how they behave and how the business performs.
For that reason, brand preference is a useful measure of progress, while mental and physical availability help explain the brand’s ability to compete. Sales, market share and profitability then show whether those strengths are producing commercial results.
The ultimate KPI of a brand, therefore, is its ability to turn a place in people’s minds into a lasting place in their buying decisions. For marketers, isn’t that a more meaningful measure of success than simply counting how many people saw an advertisement?
