Ever feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall when it comes to creating products or offers? You post something, you get crickets… or maybe a few polite likes from your Aunt Betty. But what actually makes your audience click that “BUY” button? Well, good news: you don’t need to become a mind reader. You just need a little strategy, a sprinkle of AI, and some good old-fashioned curiosity!
Let’s dive into 11 smart ways to figure out what your audience really wants to buy – using tools you already have, plus some AI magic that’ll make you feel like a marketing wizard.
1. Dive Into Your Social Media Insights – With AI Help
Social platforms are basically giant data machines, quietly tracking what your followers love. But those dashboards? Snooze-fest. This is where AI comes in handy! Copy your post captions and engagement numbers into ChatGPT or Claude and ask it to analyze trends.
Prompt to try: “Here are 20 recent social media posts with their captions, likes, shares, and comments. Please analyze this data to identify the top 3 content themes or post formats my audience engages with the most. Include explanations about why these posts may be resonating.”
2. Ask, Don’t Guess: Use AI to Analyze Survey Responses
Here’s a fun story: I once emailed my list with a quick, casual “Hey, what are you into these days?” and WOW. The floodgates opened! I found out they wanted content on topics I hadn’t even considered – perfect for creating new products or even affiliate offers.
You can do the same – and when you get those responses, feed them into an AI tool to quickly spot trends.
Prompt to try: “I collected 50 survey responses from my audience about what they want to learn and buy. Can you extract common themes, repeated problems, and product desires? Provide a list of 5 product or service ideas based on this analysis.”
3. Tap Into Google Analytics’ Audience Data (and Let AI Make Sense of It)
Google Analytics is like a nosy neighbor that sees everything – but speaks in charts and bounce rates. Not exactly dinner party conversation.
Paste segments of your GA reports into AI and ask for insights that make sense in human language.
Prompt to try: “Here's an excerpt from my Google Analytics audience report including demographics, interest categories, and site behavior. Can you summarize the key insights and suggest what kind of product or content this audience would be most likely to engage with or purchase?”
4. Use AI to Read Between the Lines in Your DMs and Comments
Your audience is telling you what they want – but sometimes they don’t even realize it.
Grab chunks of messages, comments, or testimonials and let AI pull out the emotional cues, repeated questions, or pain points.
Prompt to try: “These are 30 messages and comments from my audience across Instagram and Facebook. Can you identify the top 3 emotional pain points or needs that come up repeatedly? Based on these, what types of digital or physical products would help solve their problems?”
5. Turn Testimonials and Reviews into Product Clues with AI
Got testimonials? Don’t just slap them on a landing page and move on.
AI can help you break them down to find hidden gold: what did they LOVE? What result made them rave? That’s your secret sauce, friend.
Prompt to try: “Here are 15 customer testimonials about my last product launch. Please analyze them to determine the specific features, benefits, or emotional outcomes that customers valued most. Based on this, suggest 3 possible spinoff offers or upgrades I could create.”
6. Run a Simple Poll – Then Use AI to Spot Trends
Quick polls are low-effort, high-reward.
Ask your email list or Instagram followers a few fun questions (“What's your biggest biz struggle right now?”), then plug the results into AI.
Prompt to try: “Here are the results of a poll I ran with multiple choice and open-ended responses. Can you analyze the top challenges my audience is facing right now, and suggest what kind of product or workshop would be most helpful to them?”
7. Spy (Nicely!) on Competitors and See What’s Selling
No shame in a little friendly market research! Head to Etsy, Amazon, or even your competitors’ sales pages.
Collect product descriptions or reviews and let AI tell you what people are loving (or not).
Prompt to try: “I gathered product descriptions and top customer reviews from three competing businesses in my niche. Can you analyze this info to identify popular product features, customer desires, and any gaps in the market that I could fill with a new product or service?”
8. Train ChatGPT to Think Like Your Dream Customer
This one’s a game-changer. Give ChatGPT a persona – “Sally the overwhelmed solopreneur who loves planners and hates tech” – then start asking it questions like she would.
It’s like role-playing with your future best customer!
Prompt to try: “Act as a 40-year-old solopreneur named Sally who runs a handmade shop on Etsy, struggles with time management, and wants to grow her business without using complicated software. What kind of product, tool, or course would you be most excited to buy right now, and why?”
9. Let AI Help You Pick the Perfect Product or Offer Name
You might have the right product but the wrong packaging.
Use AI to test out naming ideas or even brainstorm ones based on your niche and vibe.
Prompt to try: “I’m creating a mini-course for overwhelmed creatives who want to batch social media content in 2 hours or less. Please generate 10 catchy and emotionally engaging product names. Include a mix of fun, professional, and quirky styles.”
10. Use Predictive AI Tools to Forecast Buying Behavior
Some advanced tools like Crayon, Pecan, or even built-in eCommerce AI features can predict trends based on your audience’s behavior.
You don’t need to be a data scientist – just ask the right questions and interpret the AI insights.
Prompt to try: “Based on my past customer purchase history, email open rates, and seasonal sales trends, what types of products or content is my audience most likely to buy or engage with next month? Provide 3 predictions and the reasoning behind each.”
11. Create a Buyer Persona Using ALL That Delicious Data
Bring it all together, baby! Take everything you’ve gathered – survey responses, analytics, testimonials, and more – and let AI help you craft a super-detailed buyer persona.
This will guide not just what you sell, but how you sell it.
Prompt to try: “Using this data set (survey responses, analytics, testimonials, and customer messages), please create a buyer persona that includes name, age, occupation, goals, pain points, preferred content format, buying objections, and product preferences.”
Figuring Out What Products Your Peeps Will Buy Wrapup
Here’s the thing… you don’t need to be a tech wizard to figure out what your audience will buy. With AI as your sidekick and a few smart strategies, you can go from guessing to KNOWING what they want (and will happily pay for!)
Use these prompts, dig into the data, and most importantly – keep connecting with your people!
Because once you know what they want? Selling becomes a whole lot easier!
Here are some more great articles that you might love:
- Use ChatGPT to Generate Blog Post Ideas In Seconds!
- 11 Ethical Ways Real Estate Agents Can Use AI for Social Media Marketing
- 9 Easy Money Saving Ways to Use AI For Your Small Biz Marketing
