Parts Brand Research for the Automotive Aftermarket

IMR’s brand research gives automotive parts manufacturers and suppliers a fact-based view of where their brand stands in the market: who knows it, who uses it, who prefers it, and who’s willing to recommend it. That foundation is what makes intelligent brand strategy possible.

Syndicated Brand Data — Available Now

IMR’s CCAMS and Repair Shop Parts Tracking studies already capture brand-level data across dozens of aftermarket parts categories. For clients who need a fast read on their brand’s current market position, this off-the-shelf data covers:

• Unaided and aided brand awareness
• Brand usage and consideration
• Brand preference and share
• Key brand attribute ratings
• Purchase intent and brand advocacy

If your brand is active in a tracked category, this data is available immediately.

Custom Brand Studies

IMR designs custom brand research to answer the specific questions your strategy depends on. Custom studies go deeper on competitive positioning, brand perception gaps, and the specific attributes driving — or blocking — purchase decisions in your category.

IMR approaches brand research as a combination of structured measurement and strategic interpretation. The goal isn’t just to report scores — it’s to identify where opportunity exists in a market that’s often crowded with competing brand messages.

The Brand Funnel — Measuring What Actually Matters

IMR evaluates brand performance across every stage of the purchase funnel, because a weakness at any stage limits the effectiveness of everything downstream.

The stages IMR measures:

• Awareness — Unaided and aided. A brand that isn’t known can’t be chosen.
• Consideration — Whether your brand makes the shortlist when a purchase decision is being made.
• Preference — Which brand a shop or consumer would choose if all options were available.
• Penetration — The percentage of your target market that actually buys your brand.
• Advocacy — The share of users who would actively recommend your brand to others.

A particularly useful efficiency metric: the ratio of advocates to total aware population. A high awareness score paired with low advocacy signals a brand perception problem. A high advocacy score paired with low awareness signals an investment opportunity.

Competitive Brand Intelligence

Measuring your own brand in isolation only tells half the story. IMR benchmarks your brand against competitors at each stage of the funnel — so you can see not just where you stand, but where competitors are vulnerable and where your marketing dollars will have the most impact.

This competitive view enables clients to:

• Identify funnel stages where competitors are underperforming and capitalize on those gaps
• Pinpoint where brand investment is most likely to move share
• Direct trade marketing and sales resources toward the segments and channels where conversion is most achievable
• Track competitive position over time as market dynamics shift

FAQ

What brand metrics does IMR track in its syndicated research? IMR’s syndicated studies track unaided and aided brand awareness, usage, consideration, preference, share, key attribute importance and satisfaction, purchase intent, and brand advocacy — at the category level for both consumer and installer channels.

What is a brand funnel in aftermarket research? A brand funnel measures the percentage of a target audience that progresses from awareness through consideration, preference, usage, and advocacy. It helps identify where a brand loses ground relative to competitors and where marketing investment will be most effective.

Does IMR offer custom brand research for aftermarket parts manufacturers? Yes. In addition to syndicated brand tracking data, IMR designs custom brand studies that measure competitive positioning, brand attribute performance, and purchase driver analysis specific to a client’s category and target audience.

How does IMR measure brand advocacy? IMR measures advocacy as the percentage of brand users who indicate they would recommend the brand to others. When indexed against total brand awareness, this ratio serves as a useful measure of overall brand health and efficiency.