Product Demand Research

Overview

Use public social data to understand whether people actually complain about, ask for, buy, hack around, or recommend solutions in a product category. The output should help founders and marketers decide what to build, position, or test.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• validate a startup or product idea
• find pain points in a niche
• mine Reddit/TikTok/YouTube comments for product ideas
• find buyer language and objections
• understand alternatives people use today
• create messaging from demand evidence

Signals to Extract

• repeated complaints
• "I wish" / "is there a tool" / "how do I" phrases
• workarounds and spreadsheets/manual processes
• comparison and alternative mentions
• buying intent
• objections to existing solutions
• exact words people use for the problem

Workflow

1. Turn the idea into search queries and synonyms.
2. Search Reddit and relevant social platforms.
3. Pull comments/transcripts for promising posts/videos.
4. Cluster pains, triggers, alternatives, and desired outcomes.
5. Score demand by frequency, intensity, recency, and willingness-to-pay hints.
6. Produce messaging and product implications.

Output Format

# Product Demand Research: {idea/category}

## Verdict
- Demand signal: Strong/Medium/Weak
- Confidence: High/Medium/Low
- Why:

## Pain Points
| Pain | Evidence | Exact language | Source |
|---|---|---|---|

## Existing Alternatives / Workarounds
- ...

## Objections and Barriers
- ...

## Messaging Angles
- "..."

## Product Ideas / Tests
1. ...
2. ...

Common Pitfalls

• Do not claim market validation from a handful of comments.
• Do not ignore negative evidence or existing alternatives.
• Do not paraphrase away the best customer language.