Ok Lets get this done with it. Even the world's best marketer cannot market a bad product. Really!!
Especially if its to be sold on the interent using social media marketing, viral marketing and buzz marketing tactics. You know that you have to revamp your product when bloggers just about refuse to write about you. There is a reason why so many websites are launched every day and why most of them languish.
Of course, If you have tons of money to spend on TV, then the story is a little different. You can attract hoards of first timers onto your website or to try your product, but their loyalty is going to be a huge function of switching costs associated with dumping your product and jumping onto the next bandwagon.
When I say your product has to be great, it includes both the product and the promise. In other words known as the story or positioning of your product. Many startups do not understand that your positioning is paramount and the product features are actually a result of the positioning. If your positioning differentiates you, then its logical that your product is the result of the same differentiation.
To understand why the story is really important read ' Technology vs Story '
If you as a marketer don't believe a product or startup will make it, do everyone a favour and don't promise the sky. I wont promise to market a product until I believe it can really solve a need in a manner better than all other products out there.
Likewise if you are a startup and want to market your product / website, don't shrug the marketer's advise to rejig your product. There might be some value in what they suggest. Difficult to find perhaps, but trust me the good ones will not ' faff '. Finding the good ones is another task by itself
What a silly question is the first thought that comes to your mind. Maybe I can salvage myself by saying "Of course it does". This post actually discusses the strategy used by startups pre funding vs post funding. Are they different and should they be?
Poor => Make people talk
As a poor startup, one cannot afford to undertake large campaigns which will reach millions of consumers. Startups normally choose the next best alternative, trying to reach passionate users in the hope they will talk.
They even entice the key bloggers by giving away limited invites, build a story around the product & founders to eventually make the startup talk worthy.
When one blogger talks, you could potentially be reaching a 1000 readers. Its not just effective, it is more credible than anything you can do to communicate directly about your startup.
Social Media Marketing is tried in any form that helps spread the story far and wide.
Money => Acquire consumers?
Once money flows in, something changes in the mental makeup of a startup. They no longer focus on getting people to talk. Its now about adwords, promos, strategic tie ups, all of it ending in acquiring one profitable consumer.
Sometimes making your communication and product talk worthy takes a back seat and every spend on marketing is directed towards getting another buyer.
Not sure if that one consumer is more worthy of your attention than the 1000's of other bloggers who are waiting for an interesting story to talk about.
Who would you target, the one who buys or the one who talks. Don't say both, that just helps you justify what you are doing irrespective of the objective.
This was featured on Pluggd.in as a guest post. Thanks Ashish
Image Source: David Wong's Photostream
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