Steal my go-to market research methods for high-converting brands

Are you booking clients consistently but still finding yourself stuck with ones who aren’t quite the right fit?

Maybe they’re high maintenance, or they need something that’s outside your expertise, and it’s eating up more of your time and energy than it should.

If that’s resonating, there’s a good chance you’re skipping a crucial step in your branding and messaging: real market research.

And no, I don’t just mean pulling together basic demographics.

I mean actually digging into the nuanced stuff. The words your people are using. The way they describe what they want. The things they’re Googling at 11 pm.

When you get this right, it’s like flipping on a light switch.

Suddenly, your content, your offers, your website, it all clicks. You’ll start hearing things like:

“Oh my gosh, I was on your website and it felt like you were reading my mind.”

That’s when you know your brand is doing the heavy lifting, and it all starts with market research.

Why Market Research Matters More Than You Think

One of the biggest branding mistakes I see, are business owners making a ton of assumptions.

We’re so deep in our own work that we forget how our people are thinking, talking, and searching for solutions. We assume they understand what we mean, or we describe our offers in ways that don’t speak to their actual needs.

Sometimes you launch something and it flops, not because it was a bad idea, but because you used the wrong language to explain it. And sometimes something you throw out there casually takes off, because it hit a nerve you didn’t even know existed.

Bottom line: it’s really hard to read the label from inside the bottle.

That’s where good market research comes in.

My 4 Go-To Market Research Methods

Here are the market research methods I use regularly in my business (and help my clients use too):

1. Voice of Customer Mining

This is all about gathering real words from real people. The goal is to understand how your audience is actually talking about their problems and goals. Not how you would describe them.

Here’s where to look:

• Testimonials (yours or from others in your industry)

• Amazon book reviews related to your niche

• DMs and emails from past or current clients

• Sales call transcripts (I record mine and use AI to pull out the transcript)

  
  

Once you have those, start highlighting key phrases. Keep a spreadsheet of recurring words and pain points. You’ll start to notice patterns, and those patterns will inform your copy, content, and brand messaging in a powerful way.

2. Client Interviews or Surveys

Pick a past client and ask them to hop on a 15-minute call. Ask them things like:

• “What were you Googling before you found me?”

• “What almost kept you from working with me?”

• “What made you finally say yes?”

  
  

These kinds of questions open the door to really juicy, specific insight into how they were thinking and what mattered most in their decision-making process.

3. Use AI as a Brainstorming Tool

AI is a great sidekick for market research, especially when you use thoughtful prompts. I like to layer my prompts: starting with demographic info, then moving into psychographics, objections, and what makes my business different from others in the space.

You can use it to brainstorm messaging angles, identify gaps in your content, or even come up with new offer ideas. (I actually have a list of my favorite AI prompts, click here if you want to grab that.)

It’s not a magic solution, but it is a fantastic way to think in new ways and spark ideas you might not have considered.

4. Search Trends (Google, Pinterest, Answer the Public)

You can learn so much from search engines. Try typing a few words related to your niche into:

• Google (see what autocomplete suggests)

• Pinterest (see what’s trending)

• Answer the Public (a goldmine for seeing how people phrase their questions)

  
  

These tools give you a peek into how your audience frames their problems and what language they’re using to find solutions.

Final Thoughts

Market research isn’t always glamorous, but it’s so worth it. It saves you time, helps you attract better-fit clients, and ultimately makes your brand and website more effective.

To recap, here are the four methods I recommend:

1. Voice of customer mining – dig through testimonials, DMs, and call transcripts

2. Client interviews/surveys – get on a call and ask deeper questions

3. AI tools – use smart prompts to brainstorm and gain clarity

4. Search trends – use tools like Google, Pinterest, and Answer the Public to see what people are actually searching

   
   

If you’re thinking about rebranding, please don’t skip this. Rebranding without real market research is like building a house without checking the blueprint. You might get something pretty, but it won’t necessarily work.

Want a shortcut to get started? Grab my free list of AI prompts to help you do more effective market research. It’s linked below!

And if this was helpful, check out more resources on branding, websites, and marketing that actually moves the needle on my Youtube channel.