How we found our target audience (after a lot of wrong turns)

Hi there! Welcome to the next chapter of the LinkedIn Playbook.

This time, I’m sharing how we found our target audience in a brand-new market: what worked, what didn’t, and what finally moved the needle.

When we went international in January 2025, we already had 30+ automation projects behind us in the local market. We knew how to build. But global expansion came with a different game: new tools, new systems, and a completely new way of thinking.

The biggest challenge? Defining who we were building for. This post is all about how we tackled that - step by step.

Attempt # 1: Recycle the local audience (spoiler: it didn’t work)

We started by looking inward. With 30+ successful projects under our belt, it seemed logical to analyze our local clients and use that as a starting point for the international market. We built a big spreadsheet: industries, roles, company sizes, use cases - all of it.

But it flopped.

The global market was a different game entirely. Different pain points, tools, workflows - even different CRMs. Our tried-and-true local ICP just didn’t translate.

We spent weeks slicing the data every way we could… until we finally admitted: this path wasn’t going to work.

Attempt # 2: Study the competition (also a dead end)

Next, we looked outward. We mapped out ~100 companies in the global AI automation space and tried to reverse-engineer their strategy: who they target, what problems they solve, how they position themselves.

Sounds smart. Didn’t help. Why? Two reasons:

• We didn’t have one clear product. Just a bunch of solutions across use cases - hard to compare, harder to position.

• Most of these companies weren’t even real competitors. Some did voice bots, others focused on AI for finance or analytics - totally different verticals.

We spent another month chasing shadows. Still no clarity.

Attempt # 3: One LinkedIn post changed everything

From day one, we committed to two growth channels: outbound and content.

While we were still figuring things out, I kept posting on LinkedIn 3 - 4 times a week. The topics were broad: case studies, automation ideas, client wins. Nothing too targeted, but it kept us visible.

Then one post about using AI to analyze competitors went VIRAL:

• 700+ new followers

• 20+ intro calls

• Hundreds of comments and DMs

We scraped 700+ engaged profiles, analyzed roles, industries, and company sizes, and spotted patterns. For the first time, we saw who was actually paying attention and why.

That’s when the pieces started falling into place. We finally saw how to align our solutions with real market demand. Yes, we automated the whole analysis.

I’m sharing the blueprint - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pkrR4Gxb3_dhK0d9cNJHm_JSSP-FfFJu/view?usp=sharing

Our key takeaways

• Don’t assume your local audience will work internationally. Markets are fundamentally different.

• Start from zero. Competitor research won’t help without clear positioning. If you don’t know what exactly you’re selling, comparison is meaningless.

• Content can be your testing ground. The market will tell you what resonates, but only if you show up consistently. Go where the data is. When a post gains traction, don’t just celebrate. Analyze it. Leverage it.

If this sparked any thoughts or questions - let’s connect!
linkedin.com/in/regina-kuts

Talk soon!