A staggering 41% of marketers admit they don't do audience research nearly enough, and over half do it very infrequently. In this conversation, SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin breaks down why audience research has become marketing's orphaned responsibility and what it's costing companies in missed opportunities.

From Fortune 500s sitting on unused data to marketers relying on ChatGPT for audience insights, Rand reveals the systematic problems preventing teams from understanding their customers. He shares how his own company discovered their biggest growth opportunity by actually talking to users, and why the channels you can't easily measure might be your biggest competitive advantage.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why audience research consistently falls through the cracks
• The hidden dangers of using AI for customer insights
• How to identify the most underinvested marketing channels

Resources:

• Try Sparktoro for audience research: https://sparktoro.com/
• Request a free AI Audit: https://97thfloor.com/ai-audit/
• Connect with Rand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randfishkin
• Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/
• Looking for an agency that'll be worth the investment? 97th Floor creates custom, audience-first campaigns that drive pipeline and conversions. Get started here: https://97thfloor.com/lets-talk/.

About Rand Fishkin:
Rand Fishkin is the co-founder and CEO of audience research platform SparkToro and indie game developer Snackbar Studio. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through the Whiteboard Friday video series, his blog, and his book, Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World.

Rand was previously the cofounder of Moz, and Inbound.org, and a co-author on The Art of SEO. He’s keynoted over 100 events around the world on marketing, technology, and startup topics.

Timestamps:
00:08 - Problem with audience research adoption

03:24 - SEO analogy for audience research

10:20 - Who should own audience research

19:17 - AI's role in audience research

31:35 - Serendipitous insights from research

39:51 - Google, AI, and search trends

“I want to know who my potential customers are and what they do on the web so that I can target, reach them with the best possible messaging in the best places at the right time. That's marketing 101.” - Rand Fishkin