The Marketing Mistake of Solving a Problem Nobody Has

A surprising amount of marketing fails not because it is bad, but because it is unwelcome: it solves a problem nobody actually has. When your content answers a question your audience never asked, it does not just get ignored, it becomes an irritation. The fix is to know what your audience genuinely wants to see, and to show them that, in the moment they want it.

The indoor bus timetable problem

Imagine walking into an office kitchen and finding an electronic bus timetable bolted to the wall. Useful information, in completely the wrong place. Nobody has ever been stranded at the office, unable to get home because they could not find the bus times. It solves a problem that does not exist.

So instead of being helpful, it is just annoying and in the way. That is exactly what a lot of marketing does. It pushes information at people who did not want it, in a context where it helps no one, and the result is not neutral. It actively irritates.

Why unwelcome marketing backfires

Content that solves a non-existent problem does more than waste the space. It trains your audience to tune you out, because you have shown them that what you post is not for them. Every irrelevant, unwelcome message chips away at their willingness to pay attention to the next one.

The brands that get this right treat their audience's attention as something to be earned, not assumed. They ask what this specific audience actually wants to see, and what would genuinely be useful or enjoyable to them right now, and they lead with that instead.

Give them what they actually want

Avoiding the trap comes down to knowing your audience properly: their real problems, their interests, and what they would actually welcome seeing in a given moment. Get that right and you fill the space with something they are glad to find, rather than something they resent.

Before you publish, ask a simple question: is this solving a problem my audience actually has, or one I have invented for them? If it is the former, and it lands where and when they want it, it works. If it is the latter, no amount of polish will save it. Useful, welcome and well-timed beats loud and irrelevant every time.

Meet Brian

Working out what your audience actually wants to see, and giving it to them in a way they welcome, is exactly what Brian is for. He is our AI-powered comedy marketing machine, built around what your audience genuinely cares about.

Take Brian for a spin and stop answering questions nobody asked.