Where the trees fall

If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

A classic philosophical thought experiment.

I've learned this week, that in business at least, the answer is no.

A good product (tree) will not reach customers (make sounds) if it is not marketed well (in a forest with no one around).

And it is worth stating the obvious, because I was guilty of forgetting it myself: even the best product is worthless if potential customers don't know it exists.

Many practical implications from learning this

• treat your marketer(s) well. they are the bridge from the forest to the people
• marketing is an essential part of the product strategy, not something to leave to the tail end. You never know who has the urgent and intense pain your product solves, until you go around talking about it
• [for the introverts] become a little more shameless. Specifically about promoting the product
• but...make sure you can deliver. I suppose this depends on your personal/company's appetite for reputational risk*. Simply put, would you want to be in a position where you've over-marketed your product? As in, you've done such a good job of marketing the product, that demand exceeds supply. Leading to many dissatisfied customers, who you could not serve. I've learned this is a thing large corporations are mindful of, so its something to think about. Marketing efforts should be scaled to the level of demand you are prepared to fulfil.
• counter point to the above: good stakeholder management and an adaptive mindset can mitigate against the problem (marketing causing demand > supply). When it happens, just increase supply, maintain good and open ties with customers, and commit to fulfilling their requirements as soon as you can. I reckon its easier to do in some industries than others. No black and white rule.

* in some cases, it extends to legal risk if it involves breaching a contractual obligation to fulfil a customer's requirements.

I'm curious about how this affects product development. Timelines, specifically. Should we start marketing efforts way before the product is ready? When it is just a concept, even.

My current view is yes, but at the same time, there's something to be said about letting customers interact with the product or see it in action.

I note the irony of writing this on a blog that I don't regularly promote :)