Interpreting Demand Signals
In fundraising....and in life.
Recently, I learned about a concept known as a "demand signal"—the sign that a product or service being developed is well-received, desired, and ready to be consumed. But in the marketplace of ideas, knowing whether anybody is listening - or even cares - isn’t always clear.
I know this all too well. I’ve built and launched a consulting firm, a 120,000-person nonprofit community, a job board, this blog, and even a small “Academy”. Most of these things I’ve done out of a desire to be productive and generally useful. But until now I’ve mostly ignored or overinterpreted the “demand signal”, and even clung to my own ideas like some sort of existential life raft—insisting that demand would just, well: materialize.
Spoiler: it didn’t.
So what do you do when the signals go quiet, or when the enthusiasm you hoped to see doesn’t simply appear? What do you do when a project or idea you poured your soul into lands like a flop, instead of taking off like a rocket?
That’s the question I’ve been confronting lately, and I’m likely not alone. So whether you're running a startup, managing a team, launching a volunteer project, or raising money for a cause you believe in, the presence—or absence—of a demand signal is one of the clearest forms of feedback you’ll ever get.
What is a Demand Signal (and Why It Matters)?
“Demand signal” is basically: “Do people care about what you’re doing, saying, or selling?” In business, these signals help companies prevent overproduction, reduce inventory waste, and stay responsive to market needs.
Translated into our nonprofit and social impact context, demand signals indicate that people care about your actions to make the world better. They're the engaged audience questions after a panel discussion, the surge in RSVPs, the way a donor lights up during a program or site visit.
They’re not always loud but usually clear—but only if we listen.
But the other side of this is the imaginary demand signal. The initiative that wasn’t quite right, but you plowed ahead anyway. You announced a new program or idea to your mailing list but only got crickets in return.
Most nonprofit folk have a chronic, steroidal optimism that we all carry inside us that says, “Of course, this is something people will want! I love this idea!”
But maybe they don’t. And ignoring the demand signal is like ignoring GPS directions. Sure you can do it, but you probably won’t end up in the right place.
And silence - those crickets I mentioned - that’s a massive demand signal.
And in my experience, I’ve taken that silence personally. It hurts. However, I am working on a personal mindset shift to reframe silence not as rejection but as information.
If nobody signs up for the online course, maybe it’s not compelling or necessary. Or perhaps there is too much content covering that area already. If nobody is reading the blog, maybe we’re talking to ourselves. (Helloooooooo?)
That said, silence doesn’t always mean "quit."
But it always means "assess."
So, how do you know whether to double down or pivot? Ask yourself a few questions:
Have I clearly articulated the problem I’m trying to solve?
Is my call to action direct, compelling, and tailored to the audience?
Am I using the proper channels to reach people?
Did I share the message enough times, and at the right times?
Am I confusing people with jargon, unclear benefits, or vague asks?
Sometimes the message is strong, but we’ve buried the lead. Other times, the format is off—we needed a video, not a blog post. We needed one killer quote, not 900 words. We needed to talk with people, not at them.
If the idea is sound and the audience is right, invest in better communication before giving up. Test different subject lines. Change the thumbnail. Talk to five people who should’ve responded and ask them why they didn’t.
But that silence might be telling you something that’s going to be hard to hear: What you’ve built isn’t needed. Or the audience you thought was there… just isn’t.
Here’s a gut-check exercise:
If someone else launched this idea today, would you engage with it?
If your best friend came to you with the same idea, what would you tell them?
Are you still excited about the idea, or just trying to make it work?
If you ask yourself that last question, and you land on “just trying to make it work”, that could be the clearest signal of all.
But it’s not a failure to let go. In fact, it’s profoundly liberating.
I’ve walked away from programs I believed in. I’ve shut down offerings I spent months creating. I’ve admitted that the silence was right, and I was wrong. Each time, I felt a bit more honest. Each time, I freed up energy for something new. And each time, I feel like I moved a little bit closer to what I was supposed to be doing all along.
Even if that “thing” isn’t crystal clear yet.
Final Thoughts: Keep Listening
To create anything new requires courage. But creating is easy. To sustain requires listening.
The absence of a demand signal doesn’t mean you’re worthless or invisible or your work doesn’t matter.
But it does mean that it might be time to take a pause. Reframe. Ask better questions. Then, communicate your idea more vociferously or clearly.
And if that doesn’t help generate a better “signal”, you can at least walk away knowing that the signal wasn’t there after all.
Because sometimes those crickets mean it’s time to quit. Other times, they mean try something different.
And wisdom is knowing the difference.