The (Absolute) Power of Product and Its Impact on Your Marketing

Marketing is a must-have for businesses of any kind and any size. In fact, all businesses are using marketing to some degree whether they know it or not.

I grew up in a family-owned business—a do-nut shop. My dad often bragged that he “never had to advertise—which was true in terms of actually paying money to run ads of some sort. But, while he didn’t advertise, he did market. He marketed through his strong product that generated high demand.

The Power of Word of Mouth

Beyond that, though, he benefited from the word-of-mouth marketing provided by satisfied customers who spread the word about his do-nuts and helped to build his business. He also marketed through a panel van he had painted with large, brightly colored do-nut characters. He had speakers installed on the top of the van and would drive through neighborhoods (which he called his “routes”) playing music and selling donuts from the back of the van.

The Power of Marketing

All of these things involved “marketing.” Marketing at its most basic level involves:

Having a high quality product or service
Having a price-point that appeals to the target audience
Making sure you’re making your produce/service available to your target audience at the right place
Making sure you’re promoting your product/service – whether that’s simply through word-of-mouth from satisfied customers or through paid advertising.

These elements are referred to as the “4 P’s” of marketing and they work: product, price, place, promotion.

If you have a high-quality product and the ability to make people aware of that product, and they try and like it, chances are they’ll spread the word. Then you may not need to spend money on advertising. But, you’re still marketing. There’s a difference.

The Most Important Marketing Element: Product

While the “4 P’s” do work together to generate sales and revenue, there’s one element that stands out above the rest as a “must have”—a high quality product. If you don’t have a high quality product:

Even a very low price won’t continue to generate sales once people try, and don’t like your product.
No matter how widely, and readily, available your product is, if no-one wants it, it really doesn’t matter.
And, regardless of how much effort you put into promotion, you’re not going to be able to continue to sell a product or service that doesn’t appeal to consumers.

A one-time sale, sure. But they won’t be coming back for more—and they won’t be spreading positive word-of-mouth.

If your business is like my dad’s and your products seem to sell themselves, you may not need to invest in paid promotion. But, if you’re lamenting a lack of sales, it may be time to take a deep, and honest, look at how your product or service is being perceived by your customers, because no amount of promotion will lead to better sales.

About Us

Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We work with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content. Whether on- or offline, or both, we’ll help you achieve desired results.

(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)

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Recommended Reading:

21st Century Secrets to Effective PR

Managing Remote Staff

Direct Mail in the Digital Age

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Strategic Planning

The Everything Guide to Customer Engagement

Best Practices in Influencer Marketing

Tags: 4 Ps of Marketing, Advertising, Marketing, marketing strategy, negative word of mouth, positive word-of-mouth, promotion, word of mouth

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