The Reputation Audit

Score each question 1–5. 1 = no, not started · 5 = yes, fully in place and running on its own. Question 4 works differently — two dropdowns, benchmarked to your category.

1. 1.Do you have a one-page Brand Keel locked on paper that the website, salesperson, and front desk all repeat?

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2. 2.Could a stranger Google your business and tell what you stand for in under thirty seconds?

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3. 3.Does your Wedge sentence finish “We are the only ___ that ___” — without lying?

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4. AI assist · The AI Industry Benchmark Test

   Before you score Question 4, ground your numbers. Paste this into any AI assistant, filling in the brackets:

   What is the typical Google review count for a successful, well-regarded [your industry] business in [your city or market]? Specifically — what is average, what is strong, and what is category-leading? Cite sources where you can.

   Copy prompt

   Check the answer against three things:

   • • Did it give a specific range?
   • • Did it differentiate average vs. strong vs. category-leading?
   • • Did it cite at least one verifiable source?

   This test grounds Question 4's volume score — if the AI's benchmarks disagree with the matrix below, trust the sourced number, note the gap, and retest next quarter.

5. 4.Your Google reviews — star average and review volume, scored against your category’s benchmarks.

   Two halves, 2.5 points each — stars and volume. Volume bands shown for: Most categories.

   (a) Google star average · 2.5 ptsSelect your star average…Under 3.0 → 0 pts3.0–3.4 → 0.5 pts3.5–3.9 → 1 pts4.0–4.4 → 1.5 pts4.5–4.7 → 2 pts4.7+ → 2.5 pts

   (b) Review volume · 2.5 ptsSelect your review count…Under 25 reviews → 0 pts25–49 reviews → 0.5 pts50–99 reviews → 1 pts100–199 reviews → 1.5 pts200–499 reviews → 2 pts500+ reviews → 2.5 pts

   ⏱ Recency flag (not scored) — Target: at least one new review every two weeks.

6. 5.Do you have a defined ask-process that triggers a review request after every transaction — once, in your Voice, at the right moment, not from every channel at the same time?

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7. 6.Do you respond to every review — positive and negative — within 48 hours, in your brand’s Voice, and actively work to convert negatives into resolution stories the public can read?

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8. 7.Does your Visual Identity match the Voice your salesperson uses on the phone?

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9. 8.Have you earned third-party media coverage in the last 24 months?

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10. 9.Do you have at least three named case studies with specific numbers attached?

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11. 10.If something goes wrong publicly tomorrow, do you have a Crisis Response plan written down?

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12. AI assist · The AI Brand Test

    This test scores Question 11 for you. Paste this into any AI assistant, filling in the brackets:

    Tell me about [your business name] in [your city] in one sentence. What do they do? Who do they serve? What makes them different from competitors?

    Copy prompt

    Then check the answer against three things:

    1. Did the AI mention what you actually do?YesNo

    2. Did it correctly identify your buyer or your specialty?YesNo

    3. Did it surface your Wedge?YesNo

    Scoring: 3/3 = 5 pts · 2/3 = 3 · 1/3 = 1 · 0/3 or "I don't have enough information" = 0.

    Answer all three checks to score Q11

    If the AI summarizes you as a generic version of your category, your keel needs work.

13. 11.Could an AI shopping agent reading your public surfaces give a buyer a one-sentence accurate description of who you are?

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14. 12.Do customers buy from you partly because they want to be associated with what you stand for?

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"AI doesn't read your homepage. It reads your reviews. Dredge accordingly."