Validate Demand

Does anyone actually want this, or are you building for an audience of one?

Listen for psychological triggers that instigate decision chains. What people say they want and what they actually do are different data sets.

Awareness Levels

Where your customer sits determines what you say to them.

Level	They Know	Your Job
Unaware	Nothing about the problem	Show the problem exists
Problem Aware	The pain, not the solution	Name it better than they can
Solution Aware	Solutions exist, not yours	Differentiate
Product Aware	Your product, not convinced	Remove the hidden objection
Most Aware	Everything, ready to act	Reduce friction to zero

Intent Signals

Intent	Behaviour	Content Strategy
Low	Browsing, not seeking	Lead with why — make the problem vivid
Medium	Comparing, could act	Why + how — show the path
High	Ready today	How to start + what to expect

The Validation Stack

Before committing resources, validate in this order:

Test	Method	Kill If...
Problem exists	Interviews, observation	Nobody describes the pain unprompted
People pay	Landing page, pre-orders, deposits	Attention without wallets
You can deliver	Prototype, pilot, manual version	You can sell but can't build
Unit economics work	Cost vs revenue per customer	Revenue doesn't cover cost at 10x

Context

• Jobs To Be Done — The framework
• JTBD Interviews — Extract real demand signals
• Advertising Industry — Awareness levels mapped to SME and enterprise buyers
• Business Ideas — Stage gates for ventures
• Business Development — From validation to plan
• Persuasion — Rhetoric that moves people