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In 2024 and 2025, more than 260 Hungarian small and medium-sized business owners (solopreneurs, company leaders, and startup founders) completed the Speed Branding Audit, a free online self-assessment test. The two independent samples from the two years paint an almost identical picture. Businesses typically build the visible part of their brand – the name and the logo – but the strategic foundations of conscious brand building – a written communication strategy, market research, planning, and measurement – are missing for the majority. The brand “shows,” but it doesn’t necessarily speak consistently and with focus.
The most telling numbers from the two years (263 respondents)
The Speed Branding Audit is built on PwG Communication’s own framework, which describes a STRONG brand through three characteristics: purposeful (that is, focused), authentic (that is, consistent), and resilient (that is, sustainably effective). For every question, respondents could choose one of three answers: yes (in place), so-so (partly), no (missing). In 2024, 121 business owners completed it, split into two groups by market experience (those just starting out and the experienced ones (years on the market)); in 2025, 142 did, now across four segments (solopreneurs and company leader, launching recently and experienced). Since the two years were not completed by the same business owners, the almost identical results are no coincidence: the patterns repeat.
Conscious brand building starts with knowing the market and the competitors – and this is where the first big gap appears. Based on the combined data from the two years, only 15% of business owners had a written market research summary with competitor analysis, while 46% did none at all. The knowledge is often there in people’s heads, but because it isn’t documented, it’s hard to turn into an informed decision.
With target group and buyer persona descriptions the situation is somewhat better: roughly a third of respondents have a detailed target audience description, and about a quarter have a clear definition of how they position their brand. For the majority this is in a “more or less there” state – which in practice means an uncertain communication direction.
Color key for the tables: green = high / strong, amber = medium, red = low / missing. Strategic foundations – 2024 vs. 2025 vs. the two years combined:
| Area | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written market research + competitor analysis | 14.9% | 15.5% | 15.2% |
| Target group / buyer persona defined | 30.6% | 35.2% | 33.1% |
| Positioning defined | 24.8% | 26.8% | 25.9% |
| Leader’s personal brand aligned with company brand | – | 13.8% | 13.8% |
This is where the gap is most striking. Across the two years combined, only 13% have a written communication strategy – even just a short-term one – and only 11% said their communication is genuinely aligned with their business strategy. Planning and measurement are even weaker: 73% have no annual or quarterly plan, 68% have no monthly re-planning, and 57% don’t measure in any way whether their communication is working. Without a well-considered marketing strategy, communication inevitably becomes haphazard.
Communication strategy and planning – 2024 / 2025 / combined:
| Area | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written communication strategy | 13.2% | 12.7% | 12.9% |
| Communication aligned with business strategy | 8.3% | 12.7% | 10.6% |
| Broken down into sub-strategies (content, ads, email) | 7.1% | 10.4% | 8.9% |
| Annual/quarterly communication plan | 8.3% | 10.6% | 9.5% |
| Communication targets defined | 13.2% | 16.2% | 14.8% |
| Monthly (re)planning | 13.2% | 12% | 12.5% |
| Monthly performance measurement | 23.1% | 20.4% | 21.7% |
The segmented 2025 data confirm that this gap affects every type of business. A written communication strategy is held by 13% of solopreneurs launching recently, only 7% of experienced solopreneurs, and 20% of experienced company leaders – so strategic planning is a minority even in the most mature segment.
Communication strategy and planning by segment (2025, the “Yes” = in-place share):
| Area (Yes %) | New solo | New leader | Exp. solo | Exp. leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written communication strategy | 12.9% | 11.1% | 7.1% | 20% |
| Aligned with business strategy | 9.4% | 11.1% | 14.3% | 25% |
| Annual/quarterly plan | 7.1% | 33.3% | 3.6% | 25% |
| Communication targets | 17.6% | 22.2% | 10.7% | 15% |
| Monthly (re)planning | 11.8% | 22.2% | 7.1% | 15% |
| Performance measurement (monthly) | 20% | 22.2% | 14.3% | 30% |
What the brand has to say shows a mixed picture. Mission and vision are in place for well over half of respondents (51%), while the value proposition and the “why” (purpose) are there for only about 37–42%. The concrete, sales-supporting key messages (problem-solution-customer benefit statements, differentiating and credibility points) – are clearly defined for only 19%. The verbal layer of brand identity is therefore far less developed than the visual one.
Core brand elements – message and identity (2024 / 2025 / combined):
| Area | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conscious brand name | 76% | 73.2% | 74.5% |
| Brand values defined | 33.1% | 33.8% | 33.5% |
| "Why" / purpose articulated | 44.6% | 40.1% | 42.2% |
| Mission and vision articulated | 47.9% | 53.5% | 51% |
| Value proposition articulated | 38% | 35.9% | 36.9% |
| Key messages articulated | 18.2% | 19% | 18.6% |
| Slogan | – | 42.3% | 42.3% |
| Brand story articulated | 35.7% | 29.6% | 31% |
| Communication style / tone of voice defined | 27.3% | 20.4% | 23.6% |
This is one of the survey’s most important lessons, and it appears identically in both years. The visible elements of the brand are largely in place: 75% have a conscious brand name, 67% have a logo. By contrast, the strategic, “below the surface” layers – strategy, messaging, planning, measurement – consistently hover around 10–20%. Many invest in what’s immediately visible, while what determines the brand’s long-term success is what isn’t visible. Brand building doesn’t end at the logo – in fact, that’s where it begins.
Visual identity and consistency (2024 / 2025 / combined):
| Area | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo | 70.2% | 64.8% | 67.3% |
| Brand/visual style guide | 37.2% | 28.2% | 32.3% |
| Consistent use of colors/visual identity | 43% | 39.4% | 41.1% |
| Consistent use of key messages | 24.8% | 31.7% | 28.5% |
Many assume that brand maturity comes on its own with the years. The more detailed 2025 segmentation disproves this: on several metrics, experienced solopreneurs do not outperform newcomers. Only 7% of the more experienced solopreneurs have a written communication strategy (versus 13% among those just starting out), and likewise only 7% have written market research (compared with 15% of beginners). And it’s not only about solo entrepreneurs: even among experienced company leaders, only 20% have a written communication strategy and 25% have written market research. Conscious brand building is therefore a matter of decision and practice, not an automatic byproduct of the years spent.
Breakdown by experience (2025), the “Yes” (in-place) share by segment:
| Area (Yes %) | New solo | New leader | Exp. solo | Exp. leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conscious brand name | 71.8% | 77.8% | 71.4% | 80% |
| Logo | 60% | 66.7% | 64.3% | 85% |
| Written market research | 15.3% | 22.2% | 7.1% | 25% |
| Written communication strategy | 12.9% | 11.1% | 7.1% | 20% |
| Performance measurement (monthly) | 20% | 22.2% | 14.3% | 30% |
The 2025 breakdown separately reveals the situation of experienced company leaders who work with a team. Among them the brand elements are typically in place – the brand name for 80%, the logo for 85% – but the challenge is internal operations. The aligned sharing of marketing-PR and business strategy with the team doesn’t happen for half of them, and the clarification of processes and roles is missing for 40–45%. And without this, the brand struggles to stay consistent.
Team and processes (2024 / 2025 / combined; respondents who work with a team / advanced):
| Area | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sending a brief to an external/contracted partner | 19% | 19.4% | 19.2% |
| Onboarding new joiners on the brand | 36.4% | 15% | 26.2% |
| Regularly sharing the strategy with the team | 17.6% | 10% | 13.5% |
| Roles and responsibilities clarified | 25% | 35% | 30.6% |
| Processes clarified | 37.5% | 25% | 30.6% |
If we look specifically at experienced company leaders who work with a team (2025), the gaps in internal operations become concrete: half of them don’t share the strategy with their team, and processes and roles are undefined for 40–45%.
Team and processes – experienced company leaders (2025, N=20):
| Area | Yes | So-So | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sending a brief to the contractor | 20% | 35% | 45% |
| Onboarding new joiners on the brand | 15% | 55% | 30% |
| Sharing the strategy with the team | 10% | 40% | 50% |
| Roles and responsibilities clarified | 35% | 25% | 40% |
| Processes clarified | 25% | 30% | 45% |
The good news is that the gaps are exactly the areas where you can move forward.
Below I share a few practical directions for brand building for small businesses – BUT first, run your own speed branding audit! (At this stage the test is available only in Hungarian, English version is in progress.)
Curious where your personal or company brand stands, and how you could progress in conscious brand building?
Take the free, 10-minute test that shows you which areas are worth leveling up for conscious brand building. And in the 40+ minutes of video material you receive after the audit, concrete advice awaits as well.
If you’d like to read a few practical directions for conscious brand building even before the audit’s tip videos, here you are a few very briefly:
Two years, more than 260 business owners, the same lesson: Hungarian businesses build the surface of their brand, while the strategic foundations underneath – communication strategy, planning, measurement, and consistency – are missing for the majority. Since the same picture appears across two independent samples, this isn’t a temporary state but a systemic opportunity for improvement.
Even so, I’m continuing the survey: in 2026 Speed Branding Audit available again, so that I can share the steps needed to build a strong brand as widely as possible, and so that I can share statistics and patterns based on an ever larger sample.
A strong brand
Those who invest in this don’t just stand out from the crowd in the short term, they also remain present on the market for the long run – with committed customers, partners, and colleagues.
Take the free 10-minute test (at this stage available only in Hungarian) that shows you which areas are worth leveling up for conscious brand building. And in the 40+ minutes of video material you receive after the audit, concrete advice awaits as well.
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