GTM Glossary · Motions & Plays
Demand Generation
Creating awareness and intent in a market that is not yet looking for your category.
[01]What It Means
Demand generation builds the belief that a problem is worth solving; demand capture converts people already searching. Content, events, founder visibility, and community work create demand; paid search and comparison pages capture it.
[02]Why It Matters
In a new European market, most of the addressable audience is not searching yet. Spending only on capture in that situation buys a small existing pool at high cost and leaves the larger opportunity untouched.
[03]Where It Goes Wrong
Judging demand generation by last-click attribution, which structurally undervalues it.Producing content with no distribution plan into the target market.Cutting it first in a downturn, then wondering why capture volumes fall two quarters later.
[04]Related Terms