Survey template

Brand perception survey

What you say about your brand and what the market actually thinks rarely match. This template measures the gap — the first word that comes to mind, what you're known for, and who people would recommend you to — so positioning is grounded in perception, not aspiration.

Best for: Founders and marketers benchmarking positioning and tracking brand over time.

The questions

1. What's the first word that comes to mind when you think of us?

   Short text

   Top-of-mind association before any prompting — the rawest perception signal.

2. In one sentence, what would you say we do?

   Long text

   Reveals whether your positioning actually landed or got garbled.

3. What do you think we're best known for?

   Long text

4. Who would you recommend us to, and why?

   Long text

   Their answer describes your real ICP better than your own deck does.

5. How do you feel about the brand overall?

   Opinion scale

   1-5 sentiment — pair with the verbatims so you know what's driving it.

6. Which of these words describe us?

   Multi select

   Offer a curated list (e.g. reliable, expensive, innovative, complex) to benchmark specific attributes over time.

7. How did you first hear about us?

   Short text

   Connects perception to channel — different sources form different impressions.

How to run it well

• Read the first-word answers as a frequency cloud; the most common word is your real positioning, whether you chose it or not.
• Compare the 'what we do' sentences against your own one-liner — the distance between them is your messaging problem made visible.
• Survey both customers and non-customers; the perception gap between them tells you whether the problem is the product or the awareness.
• Re-run the same attribute list quarterly so you can see a perception shift move, instead of guessing whether a campaign changed anything.

FAQ

Should I survey non-customers too?

Yes — non-customer perception is where most positioning problems hide. Customers already get it; the people you're failing to convert reveal what your messaging isn't communicating.

How do I turn open-ended brand answers into something measurable?

Pair the open questions with a fixed attribute list you can track over time. The verbatims tell you the story; the multi-select gives you a benchmark to watch move quarter over quarter.

How often should I track brand perception?

Quarterly is enough to see movement without chasing noise. Run an extra wave before and after a major rebrand or campaign so you can attribute the shift.

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