Sometimes you just need someone to ask the right questions.
You can't see your own business the way your customers or your competitors do. That's why the best strategic decisions are usually made through conversation, not isolation.
This is a mini, self-guided version of the workshop I run with founders before we talk about websites, messaging or marketing.
You'll answer 7 questions. Some you'll answer immediately. Others may make you pause. The questions that make you pause are usually the ones worth paying attention to.
This isn't a test and there isn't a right answer or a score to beat. The aim is simply to leave with more clarity than you started with.
Where shall I send your results?
Pop your details in and I'll email you a copy of your answers at the end, along with two tools to take the thinking further.
Takes about 10 minutes. No spam, and you can unsubscribe any time.
Your debrief
You've just worked through 7 of the most important questions behind every strong brand. This wasn't designed to test your business or give you a definitive answer. It was designed to help you think differently.
The colours below don't tell you whether your brand is "good" or "bad" (only your clients can do that). They reflect how confidently you answered today. Some decisions may already feel well made. Others may need more thought, conversation or evidence.
What the colours mean
Your decision summary
4 exercises I'd recommend next
These are four exercises I use regularly with clients. Whether your answers were mostly green or mostly red, they're worth doing. The best businesses keep asking these questions long after they think they've got the answers.
1. Listen to your customers
Speak to three recent clients and ask: "When you recommend us, what do you actually say?" Don't lead them. Don't explain. Just listen.
2. Find your best clients
Write down your last ten clients. Circle the three you'd happily work with again tomorrow. What do they genuinely have in common?
3. Review your competitors
Visit five competitor websites. Write down every promise they make. Now compare them with yours. If you're all saying the same thing, customers are probably hearing the same thing too.
4. Challenge every claim
Print your homepage. Highlight every promise you've made. Next to each one write: "What evidence supports this?" Anything without evidence deserves another look.
Everything's on its way to your inbox.
Two of those exercises work far better with the right questions as a starting point, so I've sent you mine.
The client interview questions. The exact questions to put to your clients so you get honest, useful answers instead of polite ones.
The competitor review checklist. My checklist for reviewing competitors properly, so you spot what matters instead of drowning in marketing speak.
A copy of your answers is in there too, so you've still got them once you close this tab.
Want to talk it through?
You've just spent 10 minutes on your own with these questions. Some of them will have landed straight away. Others are probably still sitting there. Those are the ones worth a conversation.
Brand Power Hour
Ideal if you need to think something through.
Perhaps one question kept coming up as you worked through this workshop. Or maybe you realised you've been putting off an important decision. The Brand Power Hour gives you 60 minutes to step away from the day-to-day and work through that challenge together. We'll challenge assumptions, pressure-test your thinking and help you leave with greater clarity and a clear next step.
Best for: founders with one strategic question they want to explore with an experienced sounding board.
Book a Brand Power Hour →If you'd like to get a feel for how I work, and why I left big-brand agency life to do this, have a wander through my story. When the timing's right, you know where to find me.