Unlocking Your Audience: 15 questions to strengthen your brand and marketing strategy
Understanding our clients’ greatest pain points can shape how we do our work and how we talk about it.
As business owners, we spend a good portion of our time on marketing and sharing our work. We create content. We show up on social media. We attend events. We refine our websites. We launch new offers.
As we enter 2026, many of us are also experiencing a period of great disruption. The emergence of AI and the ongoing cuts to federal funding are having trickle-down effects, forcing many business owners and solopreneurs to rethink what solutions they provide, how they position their work, and what markets they serve.
These are big questions that could overwhelm the largest organizations. As smaller organizations, we can be nimble, but we need to be even more intentional with our finite time and resources.
Whether you’re building a brand, launching a new product, or reevaluating who you serve, tapping into your potential audiences and unearthing their intrinsic needs and pain points is your key to understanding the potential for your work. And we’re here to show you how.
Why audience research is the foundation of your brand
Understanding your audience is one of the most important elements of building a business. It can provide essential clues about what’s happening in the overall marketplace and where gaps need to be filled. It provides powerful insights into the pain points and basic needs that require your expertise. And, it can help you rethink — or think more strategically — about how you spend your time and valuable marketing dollars.
You are the answer to your clients’ problems. Your brand and messaging need to reflect that you know and understand those specific challenges — and that the solutions you provide are responsive to their needs.
As part of nearly every process we undergo with clients, we ask them to detail their audience – job title, roles and responsibilities, industries, communication channels, etc. – and we’ve found that it’s often hard for them to do it on their own. Whether it’s a mindset or a knowledge gap, we often need a third party to help us uncover what we know (and what we don’t) and to map it out.
Once you have a good sense of your potential markets and who you want to reach within those markets, it’s time to start digging deeper. Without really knowing and understanding your audience, you’ll make assumptions that can only get you so far.
While a full strategic plan can create a clear roadmap forward, interviewing members of your existing and potential audience can provide a shortcut to building a strong brand and marketing foundation.
When is audience research most helpful?
Audience research plays an especially important role in times of change, but to be honest, it’s key at every stage of your business.
1. Before you launch
If you’re building a brand, launching a product, or refining your services, audience clarity is critical.
We believe that your unique brand positioning reflects your expertise, what you value, and how your audience values your work. It has to be equally grounded in a deep understanding of your audience and how your work uniquely supports their needs and challenges.
Without that insight, your marketing and brand position is guesswork.
2. As your business grows
As we’ve witnessed during this time of disruption, things (and particularly technology) are evolving and changing quickly. AI, for example, has shifted many aspects of our day-to-day lives, including how people consume content and information.
The longer we’re in business, the easier it can be to make assumptions, but we can each benefit by having an ongoing – even annual or semi-annual – practice of understanding our marketplace and the needs of those in it.
3. When you’re considering a change
Again, many of us are in a place where we need to reposition our work or make a market shift to stay profitable.
If you’re considering expanding or changing who you work with – or testing your work in a new field – interviews with members of that community can again help you understand not only what opportunities exist but also who the decision-makers are.
The more niche you can get, the easier it is to define your work and refine how and where you market your services.
Three ways to conduct audience research
Audience research can benefit businesses of any size – and you don’t need a massive budget to do it.
1. Surveys
Large companies often hire research firms or run ongoing customer satisfaction surveys. But small and mid-sized organizations can take the pulse of their community through free and accessible tools, including:
Google Forms
SurveyMonkey
Typeform
Survey Audience: Existing Clients and Customers
Unless you’re paying a research firm to reach and engage a new audience, use a survey after an engagement or on an annual or semi-annual basis to monitor the needs and goals of your existing community, as well as how they value your work.
Tip: Consider offering a reward or incentive to increase your survey’s response rate.
2. One-on-One Interviews
Individual stakeholder interviews are one of the most powerful ways to gather qualitative insights, especially into potential markets or audiences. These listening sessions allow you to ask open-ended questions and dive deep.
It’s often through these interviews that you can get access to the words and phrases they may use to talk about their challenges or needs, or to even understand how they receive information or who they might look to as an influencer in their decision-making.
One-on-one interview audience: Potential customers or stakeholders, especially within new markets
If you’re conducting these interviews on your own, these informational interviews are great for potential prospective clients or members of your ideal target audience. They also offer an opportunity to establish relationships with individuals who may become potential leads.
One-on-one interviews are also great for existing client relationships, but if you’re looking to understand (honestly) how you’re valued, consider a third party like Emanate. We often conduct these interviews on behalf of a client to refine their brand and messaging frameworks because it’s easier for us to ask questions that allow for unbiased feedback.
Tip: Aim for at least 5–7 interviews to identify patterns and common language.
3. Focus Groups
Focus groups bring several members of a target audience together for a structured discussion. While larger organizations may outsource this, smaller businesses can host informal group listening sessions. This is particularly helpful when launching a new business, testing a new product, or refining messaging.
Focus group audience: Current clients or members of a potential target audience
In some cases, this may provide a quicker way to get the insights you need. If you know several members of your prospective audience group, invite them together and allow them to share with you, and with each other, their pain points, needs, and experiences. A gathering of current clients, however, might be able to serve as a sounding board for new products and offerings.
Keep in mind that it will be necessary to stay impartial and to have a list of questions to help direct the conversation, so you get the information you need.
Tip: Create a comfortable environment and keep the setting conversational, so participants feel safe sharing honest feedback.
15 audience research questions to unlock your marketing strategy
The following questions are designed to gain insights from members of your prospective target audience group on their greatest challenges and goals.
The best format for these interviews is generally one-on-one conversations that allow you to ask follow-up questions. If participants agree to it, it can be really helpful record the conversations to ensure you’re capturing key words or phrases they use to talk about their challenges and goals.
What are your top goals in your current role?
What impact do you want to have in this role?
What are the greatest challenges you’ve faced in reaching these goals?
What obstacles slow you down most frequently?
Are there areas where outside support or consulting would be helpful?
What have you tried before to solve these challenges?
What worked? What didn’t?
Looking at your industry, what major trends are you seeing?
How are changes (technology, AI, policy, etc.) affecting your work?
What aspects of your work keep you up at night?
What would “success” look like for you over the next year?
Where do you go for trusted information to help you in your job (newsletters, communities, peer groups)?
When searching for a vendor or consultant, where do you look first?
Who influences your buying decisions?
What are some of the most helpful types of information (newsletters, blogs, videos, or other types of content)?
Tip: If you’re scheduling several interviews, try to keep most of the questions the same so you’re able to accurately compare information and identify patterns.
Ways to use audience insights in your marketing
As we’ve discussed, audience research is key to both your brand and marketing strategy. This includes your content.
Whether you’re working on blog posts, ads, website content, or business development outreach, your messaging needs to start with problems and then solutions. If you lead with your solutions, you’ve lost the opportunity to build resonance and connection with your audience.
In addition, these interviews can help inform:
Content Generation – One way to start mapping content opportunities is to create resources that speak directly to their most commonly asked questions or knowledge gaps. These interviews can inform what people know but also what they don’t know, and where there’s an opportunity to provide education. That can translate into LinkedIn posts, podcast ideas, and blog posts.
Testimonials – If you (or a third-party) interview current clients, it’s an opportunity for you to capture how they value your work. You want clients to speak freely and honestly, but if there are elements of their interview that could serve as a testimonial, you can follow up to get their approval.
Ongoing client engagement – Audience research doesn’t need to be a one-time activity. Use the interviews as an opportunity to strengthen your relationships with clients and to ensure you’re staying relevant and on top of key shifts and changes.
Uncovering your authentic brand
As we’ve shared, getting to the heart of your authentic brand is understanding your audience + getting to the essence of your why. We’re here as your listening, research, and marketing partner to help you uncover the keys that will help your marketing feel meaningful for you and your audience. If you need support, we’re here for you — just reach out.
