When to Start Marketing

Back in March 2012 I read a blog by Seth Grodin, it was simply titled "When Should We Add Marketing".   In this article he brings up a very interesting point.   In the past we would create a product or open a new store front and maybe a few days or even a week before opening we would begin an advertising campaign to promote what we made or sold.

Today, in the era of connectivity, the marketing is the product, the service and the conversations generated that makes the connection.  In other words, when people connect with your product or service they begin to tell others.  Successful companies know that marketing is not advertising, the notion of throwing a ton of money into flyers or newsprint ( Mad Men )  is dead.  Marketing today is about telling a story about your product or service, that story should be true and should resonate with people.  It's not about making a better cup of coffee, but how your coffee is better and why people should buy your coffee.

With the changing media and the changing world, marketing should be the first thing we do, not the last.  Build connections, a tribe or a following about your product or service from the start.  Every successful internet marketer has earned attention, built trust  and then when they opened their doors they turned it into a profit.

If you're entering a competitive field and you intend to grow, the best plan is to create a presence in the new market about your product and or service from the start and then the end gets a lot easier.