AI for marketing: finding the customers who actually need you

Are you sure you know who you’re talking to in your marketing?

Many businesses think they do. They might have a rough idea, – age range, location, industry. But broad guesses often lead to messages that don’t really land.

Your audience isn’t just “small businesses” or “working parents.” It’s more specific than that. And if you’re not clear on exactly who they are, your marketing could be missing the mark.

Why customer clarity is hard

As business owners and marketers, we’re good at explaining what we do. We know our services inside out. But understanding exactly who needs them – and why – is harder.

If your customer profile is vague, your marketing will be too. And vague marketing doesn’t convert.

How AI can help

This is where AI comes in. It’s not here to replace your expertise; it’s here to sharpen it. AI helps you build a detailed, data-backed Ideal Customer Persona (ICP), giving you the kind of insights that would take weeks to uncover manually.

AI can analyse:

• Patterns in your existing customer data that you might not have noticed

• Conversations on social media related to your industry

• Market research that would take hours (or days) to pull together

• Competitor strategies to highlight gaps and opportunities

This helps you understand:

1. Who your best customers actually are (not just who you assume they are)

2. What problems they’re struggling with

3. The exact words they use when talking about those problems

4. Where they go to find solutions

From data to smarter marketing

Once you have this information, your marketing becomes sharper and more effective.

Instead of: “We help businesses improve their operations. ”You can say: “We help independent retail owners in the North West reduce inventory costs by 15% while improving customer satisfaction.”

The first version is generic. The second speaks directly to someone with a specific problem -making them much more likely to pay attention.

Why this matters for small businesses

For small businesses and solopreneurs, this kind of focus is especially valuable. It means:

• Better use of your budget – You’re reaching the right people, not just anyone

• More word-of-mouth referrals – Because your messaging actually resonates

• Less time wasted on content – You’ll know exactly what your audience cares about

Making it work for you

AI makes it easier to build and use customer personas but you need to know how to do it properly.

That’s exactly what I’ll cover in my 2-hour workshop for STANTA: “AI-powered marketing strategies for solopreneurs and small businesses.”

You’ll learn:

• How to use AI tools to build accurate customer personas

• Simple but powerful ways to get better results from AI

• How to create professional visuals without design skills

• How to streamline content creation while keeping your unique voice

AI + marketing = better results

The best marketing has always been personal. It speaks to the right people about things they actually care about.

AI doesn’t change that - it just makes it easier, even if you don’t have a big budget.

Your ideal customers are out there. AI helps you find them, understand them, and connect with them in a way that makes sense.