Misconception-- A Product Can Be So Good, It will Sell Itself
This small business mistake is part of a collection excerpted from Gary Schine's book 101 Small Business Mistakes
Misconception-- A Product Can Be So Good, It will Sell Itself
Perhaps at one time a superior product would sell well solely because it was superior. But in today's marketplace, nothing could be further from reality. Even the best products will fail without effective marketing and sales. Consumers today are bombarded by messages and pleas to purchase everything from soap to computers. The consumer is simply not in the habit of researching the merits of products that are not placed in front of him or her. To have your product even considered by the prospective buyer, it is up to you to get it in front of his nose, no matter how good your product is. Even if it is the best thing since Swiss cheese, people will never know unless you get the word out to them.
I see many clients who are in serious financial trouble because they assumed that their products would sell themselves. Some are indeed good products, but there was no plan for marketing that product.
For better or worse, product quality is only one part of the marketing mix. The rest of it involves price, promotion, and distribution. Even if your product is the best, that is only one-fourth of the marketing mix. If prices are equal, an inferior product with strong promotion and distribution will almost always prevail over a superior product with weak promotion and distribution. Buyers simply don't have the resources or inclination to weigh products against one another and base a buying decision solely on intrinsic merit.
Other Business Mistakes and Misconcetions
- Failure to Prepare a Business Plan
- Myth-- A New Business Must be Based upon Uniqueness
- Overspending
- Momentum
- Starting a Business for Reasons other than Market Demand
- Entering into Partnerships without Clearly Defined Roles
- Not Putting Partnership Agreements into Writing
- Organizing A Small Company as a Large Company
- Misconception-- A Product Can Be So Good, It will Sell Itself
- Not Understanding Your Product's Benefits
- Believing That Experts Have Magic Answers
- Not Pricing Based on Benefits to Buyer
Search This Site
Search this site on Google
