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There is a very real interaction between your products and how they are marketed, and this relationship determines how successful your business is. There are four scenarios companies can experience when looked through a product/marketing lens. Being aware of which group you fall under will help you understand what you need to do to increase your chances of success: |
1.Good product, good marketing: This is a coveted status, reserved for leaders in their industry. Companies like Apple, McDonald’s, Amazon, and Coca-Cola live here. Not only do they offer great products and services, but they market what they sell so well that they have developed a loyal customer base. Even when they make a mistake from time to time, customers tend to forgive them. This is a profitable situation to be in and provided you continue to offer good products and market well, your business can only grow. If you are lucky enough to fall in this group, do what you can to stay there.
2.Bad product, good marketing: What happens when you promise customers something, only to consistently under-deliver? You get angry customers. When you over-sell something, you raise expectations. And when they aren’t met, that’s when customers can be disappointed and start to feel cheated. You may (or may not) make money in the short run, but this is no long term strategy.
3.Bad product, bad marketing: If you are in this category and haven’t gone out of business yet, you will do very soon. This status is doomed, a sinking ship. Get out while you can.
4.Good product, Bad marketing: This is the category that about two thirds of companies fall under. In this group you will have no issues on delivering what you promise. Your customers are happy, but the problem is you don’t have enough of them. In this situation, what you’re selling is a best kept secret. This is where so many companies leave millions of dollars on the table every year and simply walk away. This category is characterized by wasted potential and missed opportunity.
If you don’t blow your own horn, there is no music. If you don’t communicate to prospects and tell them about how you can help them, they will never buy from you because they won’t know about you. Anyone in this category has the power to change this.
If you sell a good product or service, you owe it to your family, your colleagues, and yourself to tell the world about how great it is and how it can improve people’s lives and businesses.
♦ Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on [email protected]