Marketing is NOT an Afterthought

"We would love to hire you. Let's talk in a few months when we are ready to go to market," he said, confident that this was the best plan of action.

I paused, "Did you read the proposal? The research phase takes anywhere from 2-3 months and, as I state, it should be completed before you even think about building your application."

"We're just not ready for marketing yet. We have to test and hone the product, create the website, train the sales team, polish the messaging..." he started.

I stopped him, "That IS marketing."

...

This was an actual conversation from less than a year ago, but it wasn't new or surprising to me. It's something I've encountered many times over the years and I'm sure you have, too.

It seems that too many people - really smart people - are under the incorrect assumption that marketing is something you do after you have built a product or put together a service. People think that marketing is merely the advertising or PR or promotional activities you execute when you are ready to sell something.

In this week's video, I dispel that myth and show you that, not only does marketing get involved in the creation phase, but BEFORE that happens. Marketing is not selling. It's not promoting. It's not advertising. Those are all tactics that come out of a strategy, but are not marketing. In basic terms, marketing is finding a product/market fit so you aren't running around with a product, looking for a market.

As the Business Dictionary puts it:

(Marketing is t)he management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer.

I also talk about an excellent framework created by Giff Constable that will help you create better products and services built for a clear and solid market.

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