Campfire Chronicles Vol. 4 - Blue Ocean or Dead Sea? How Market Research Saves Your Brand
You ever see a founder pour tens of thousands into ads, content, and branding only to realize no one gives a single damn about their product?
Yeah. That’s the marketing equivalent of floating face-down in the Dead Sea while yelling, “But my idea is so unique!”
Here’s the thing — you can be wildly original, authentic, and even brilliant… but if you’ve built something for an audience that doesn’t exist (or doesn’t know they need you), you’re not swimming in a blue ocean. You’re bobbing in a salty puddle of denial.
The hard truth is you can’t sell a problem no one feels.
Listen, ya’ll, if you have to spend months educating your audience that they have a problem, maybe they don’t actually have one.
And if they don’t have one, what you’re doing isn’t “disruptive innovation.” It’s psychological warfare — and from a marketer’s perspective (and a human one), that’s ethically ick.
Sad to say, I’ve been that marketer — trying to “make people problem-aware.” Spoiler: it’s a losing game. There’s just too much noise. Too much dopamine-chasing doomscrolling. The attention economy doesn’t reward education; it rewards recognition.
You win when your audience sees your post, your ad, your landing page and says, “Wait… that’s me.”
That only happens if you actually know who you’re talking to — what they value, where they hang out, and what problems they already admit they have. So do some market research, my people.
How to Figure That Out Before You Blow Your Marketing Budget
Here are a few no-BS, non-$20K-focus-group ways to get real, actionable audience data:
Use SparkToro (Seriously, it’s witchcraft).
Ok, I’m giving away a bit of the STWS magic here, but this is one tool I won’t do without (I’m totally not sponsored, but yo Rand, if you’re listening, hook ya girl up!)
It tells you what your audience actually does — who they follow, what podcasts they listen to, what they search for. It’s audience behavioral data, not vibes.
Lurk with intention.
I cannot stress this bit enough…especially if you’ve invested in #1. Use that info and go lurk for a bit. Spend an hour a week hanging out in Facebook groups, Reddit threads, or comment sections where your people are already talking. Take notes. Don’t sell. Listen.Run “micro-tests.”
Instead of launching a full campaign, test one hook, one ad, or one post and watch how people react. I use LinkedIn posts as a no-cost version of this. If no one bites, you’ve just saved yourself thousands.Interview your past or potential clients.
Ask them what they thought they were buying when they hired you. You’ll find their real motivators are rarely the ones you market.
Bonus Hot Take: The LinkedIn Ghost Town Problem
We’ve been doing a ton of audience research for thought leaders lately, and here’s what’s wild — a shocking number of stakeholders have ghostwriters and aren’t actually active on LinkedIn.
Which means… you might be trying to talk to an audience that doesn’t even see you.
That’s where SparkToro’s data gets fun — it shows you where else your people hang out and how they actually consume content. (Spoiler: they might be watching YouTube shorts, not reading your 1,000-word think piece.)
If you’re struggling to get engagement on social, here’s a quick fix:
Start commenting like a human, not a headline. For the love of all things holy, please be yourself on social media.
Share opinions, not press releases. If every comment becomes a “hey, that’s a great thing you just said…wanna buy my widget?” you’ve lost before you started.
Tag fewer people. Talk to more of them. Have some real conversations.
Enter: Business Owner Therapy
Here’s the part no one likes to talk about:
You can’t understand your audience until you understand yourself.
A lot of us jump straight into building brands around what we sell — products, frameworks, offers — without ever pausing to ask:
Why does this matter to me?
What problem am I obsessed with solving?
Who do I really want to help, and why?
If you don’t know that, every marketing effort becomes a performance — and not the good kind. (Says the former actor over here 🙋♀️.)
Real market research starts with emotional research. It’s founder therapy with better data. When you’re grounded in your own “why,” you can get way more creative with your “how” and “what.”
I’ve said it before and will scream it ‘til the cows come home–clarity isn’t the enemy of creativity, it’s the fuel.
TL;DR
Don’t spend big money trying to convince people they have a problem.
Spend small money (and some honest introspection) figuring out who already knows they do — and why you’re the one who gives a damn about solving it.
That’s how you find your blue ocean.
Otherwise, you’re just out here marinating in the Dead Sea.
What do you think?
Is “business owner therapy” a thing? Should we make it one?
Hit reply and tell me your take — or share how you’ve done audience research that actually worked.
Fast-Track Your Clarity
If you want the fast track to understanding who you are, what you offer, and who actually gives a damn — the Brand Launch Boot Camp is the way.
I’m not a licensed business therapist (yet 😉), but I am a certified business coach who’s damn good at helping founders see the forest through the trees — and build brands that actually connect.
Book Your Brand Launch Boot Camp
Three days. Full clarity. A marketing strategy that doesn’t leave you floating face-down in the Dead Sea.
