Celtis Marketing & Advertising · Diagnostic Tool
APCITE Brand
Assessment
Overall Score
—/30
■ Brand Assessment · Module 1 of 2

Think like a potential customer — not an insider. For each question, set aside what you know about your brand and ask: what would someone who has never worked here honestly think or feel? This assessment measures your brand's ability to move a stranger toward becoming a loyal customer.

Rate each statement from the perspective of a potential customer encountering your brand for the first time. Score 1 if most potential customers would strongly disagree, 5 if they would strongly agree. Honest answers reveal where your brand is losing people before they ever engage.
Scale —
1
Strongly disagree
2
Disagree
3
Neutral
4
Agree
5
Strongly agree
A
Stage 1 · Awareness
Potential customers know our brand exists.
—
/ 15
A potential customer in our target community knows our brand name without being prompted.
Think about the specific people you most want to reach. If you stopped one on the street today, would they recognize your brand name?
Potential customers encounter our brand in the places they frequent.
Are you showing up on their phone, in their community, in their language — or only in channels that are easy for you to use?
A potential customer who sees our brand for the first time immediately understands what we offer.
Brand awareness isn't just name recognition — it's clarity of identity. Could a stranger describe your brand's promise after a single encounter?
P
Stage 2 · Perception
Potential customers form a positive impression of our brand.
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/ 15
A potential customer who knows our brand but has never used us would describe it positively.
Brand perception is built before anyone becomes a customer. What does your reputation feel like from the outside? Ask someone who has never engaged with you.
Potential customers feel that our brand was created for people like them — not for a generic audience.
Does your brand identity feel personally relevant, or does it feel like it was designed for everyone in general and no one in particular? Would your target community feel seen?
What potential customers say about our brand in conversation — online or in person — would make us proud.
Word of mouth is the most honest measure of brand perception. What are potential customers telling each other about you when no one from your organization is listening?
C
Stage 3 · Consideration
Our brand makes potential customers' shortlist.
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/ 15
When a potential customer weighs their options, our brand comes to mind as a serious contender.
Being known is not the same as being considered. When someone is actively deciding, is your brand genuinely in the running — or just vaguely familiar?
Our brand directly addresses the doubts or hesitations a potential customer is most likely to have.
Every brand faces objections — credibility, relevance, value, trust. Does your brand identity and messaging confront those doubts, or does it leave potential customers to resolve them alone?
Potential customers can see people like themselves already using and endorsing our brand.
Social proof at the brand level is powerful. Do potential customers see real people from their own community using and supporting your brand — or does your brand feel like an unverified claim?
I
Stage 4 · Inquiry
Potential customers find what they need when they look deeper.
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/ 15
A potential customer researching our brand for the first time gets a clear, confident picture of who we are and what we offer within minutes.
When someone is drawn in by your brand and goes looking for more, what do they find? Is the brand story consistent, compelling, and easy to navigate — or scattered and unclear?
Our brand comes across consistently whether a potential customer finds us on their phone, on social media, or through a search engine.
Brand inconsistency erodes trust fast. Does your brand look, sound, and feel the same everywhere a potential customer might encounter it — or does it feel like different organizations depending on the channel?
A potential customer who has questions about our brand can find answers — or reach a real person — without frustration.
The moment a curious potential customer hits a dead end is the moment the brand loses them. Is there an easy way to get information or a clear next step when researching our brand — or does your brand leave people stranded mid-journey?
T
Stage 5 · Trial
First contact with our brand leaves potential customers wanting more.
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/ 15
A potential customer's first real interaction with our brand is easy, welcoming, and free of unexpected friction.
Think about the literal first touchpoint — visiting a location, making a call, submitting a form, attending an event. Does the brand experience match the brand promise, or does it feel like a different organization than the one they discovered?
After their first interaction, a potential customer feels that our brand delivered on what it promised.
The gap between brand expectation and first-contact reality is where potential customers become lost customers. Does the actual experience confirm the brand story — or contradict it?
Our brand remains connected with potential customers after their first interaction — we don't go silent at the most critical moment.
The period immediately after first contact is when a potential customer decides whether to go further. Does your brand continue engaging with customers after initial contact — or does it disappear?
E
Stage 6 · Experience
Our brand turns potential customers into loyal advocates.
—
/ 15
Once potential customers begin experiencing the brand, they feel it lives up to its identity at every interaction.
Brand integrity means the promise holds across the full relationship — not just at the point of acquisition. Do customers feel they made the right choice every time they engage, or does the brand fade into the background once they've signed on?
When something goes wrong, our brand responds in a way that strengthens rather than damages trust.
How a brand handles failure is the truest test of its identity. Do potential customers see evidence that you own your mistakes and make them right — or does your brand go quiet when things go sideways?
Customers recommend our brand to other potential customers in their lives — without being asked to.
Unprompted advocacy is the highest mark a brand can earn. It means the entire APCITE journey — from first awareness to loyal use — is working as a system. Are your customers actively recruiting the next generation of potential customers on your behalf?
Complete all 18 questions to generate your brand score.
· Your APCITE Brand Diagnostic Results ·
Brand Score
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out of 90 possible points
Brand Rating
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⚠ Brand Gap
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This is where your brand is losing potential customers.
What This Means For Your Brand · Recommended Focus
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→ Contact Celtis at celtis.com to build your brand program.
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