How to create demand when nobody’s looking for your product
Most startups think about “capturing demand.”
Run Google ads. Bid on the right keywords. Throw money at retargeting.
But here’s the thing: what if nobody is searching for your product? No keywords. No intent. Just silence.
That doesn’t mean the market doesn’t exist. It means you have to create it.
And some of the fastest-growing brands today are doing exactly that.
Step 1: Expose a hidden proble
Great businesses often start by uncovering a problem people don’t even realize they have.
Take showers. Nobody was googling “filtered shower head.”
But when consumers were shown what was really inside their tap water. Chlorine, heavy metals, bacteria. Suddenly it wasn’t “just water” anymore. It was a health risk.
That moment of awareness flips a switch: what was invisible becomes urgent.
The insight: people don’t act on invisible problems. Your job is to shine a spotlight.
Step 2: Make the problem personal
Facts and stats don’t create urgency. Personal impact does.
That’s why smart companies create personalized diagnostics — like a free water report.
“Type in your zip code, and we’ll send you a full breakdown of your water quality.”
Now it’s no longer abstract. It’s your water. And suddenly, you care.
Step 3: Position differently
Crowded categories kill startups. Competing head-to-head with giants is a losing game.
The smart move? Change the frame.
The filtered shower head could have been positioned as a plumbing product. Competing against Kohler and Moen in the Home Depot aisle.
Instead, it was positioned as a beauty product. Clean water for clean skin.
That one shift moved it from a boring utility purchase to a self-care ritual.
From a price-driven market to a value-driven one.
Step 4: The funnel in three steps
This is the playbook that works across industries:
- Lead magnet – Give away something diagnostic: a test, a report, a personalized score.
- Create pain – Show people what they’re missing, wasting, or risking. Make it real.
- Offer the fix – Introduce your product as the easy solution.
The brilliance is in the order. You don’t start by pitching. You start by educating, then provoking, then solving.
Step 5: Why this works
When nobody is hunting for your product, traditional marketing falls flat. You can’t capture intent if it doesn’t exist.
Instead, you spark intent.
You do it by:
- Revealing a hidden problem.
- Making it feel urgent and personal.
- Offering the one-click solution.
That’s how a small brand turned “filtered shower heads” into a $28M business in two years. And it’s how you can win even in categories that seem boring or crowded.
Think about what you really are selling
Most founders obsess over differentiation. But the bigger opportunity might be reframing the game entirely.
Don’t sell a shower head. Sell beauty.
Don’t sell an app. Sell control.
Don’t sell prevention. Sell peace of mind.
If people aren’t searching for what you sell. Don’t panic.
It just means you’re early. And that’s where the upside is.
