Because then we can keep using it as a major competitive advantage.
Let me be clear: I don’t actually think that Fred Wilson is saying “don’t invest in marketing;” I think he means don’t invest in expensive activities like hiring a marketing executive or spending on advertising. I agree with that- save that stuff for when you’re truly scaling. But saying “don’t invest in marketing” is kind of like saying “don’t invest in features.” Furthermore, it builds a culture and strategy that marketing isn’t a part of, and it’s far more difficult to know when and how to add that later.
Marketing is already a feature of your product, whether you’re aware of it or not.
Especially in B2B. Because your product is only half the product. How many times have you seen inferior products get more market penetration because they had sales ‘feet on the ground’ or good air cover? Back in 2008, we at Dapper didn’t invest much in marketing and were competing with another dynamic ad solution that absolutely crushed us in the marketplace (at the time), yet they didn’t have half the product magic that we did.
People bought from this competitor because they were there, in people’s faces, selling themselves. Part of the buy decision was made on the quality of their product. But I’d argue much of that decision was made on intangibles: Do I like this person? Do I like this company? Do I like their vision?
Marketing is the feature that influences how buyers perceive your product.
So…you’re saying you’re not going to invest in the feature that determines a great portion of how buyers perceive your product? Great. I hope you’re competing with me. Because I always invest in how my product is positioned and the larger movement it’s a part of. It’s never too early to do that, and it may even cost you some money. But you’ll be investing in building a community that will ultimately serve as your customer base if your product is worth anything.
An example of how to properly build marketing into your product from day one:
Got an superwidget encryption technology platform? Perhaps it’s still not ready for prime time? Fine. Go start a crusade about making superwidgets more secure. Start a blog about it. Get a respected thought leader to do a fireside chat at a bar and invite 100 people who are interested in this concept. Bam: you just got 100 qualified leads for when your product is ready, you’ve established your company as a thought leader, and maybe you even learned something from talking to these attendees that will positively impact your product-market fit. And, you’re far more likely to get press interested in an overall movement than your dinky little product announcement anyway. Cost: about $5,000.
It’s harder than you think to just add marketing later
Again, it’s a culture and strategy thing. This is why tech companies often undervalue marketing and turn to it only when they see other competitors doing it and have no choice but to follow. When you don’t build marketing as a product feature from the start, it’s difficult to define its role later, and you find yourself doing the same old things that B2B marketing teams traditionally are mired in: sell sheets, PowerPoint, press releases about new features nobody cares about, and sponsorships of the same expensive conferences your competition forces you to sponsor just to keep parity. You also find it difficult to convince senior management that marketing is a worthwhile investment at all, because the way you’re doing it, it’s not.
Summary:
- Build marketing as a feature of your B2B product. Don’t leave it for later.
- It’s never too early to begin influencing your market – community building should be part of your strategy from day one.
- Adding marketing later is far harder than building it simultaneously with the product.
