Importance of marketing

Everyone knows the importance of marketing in business. But most people don’t get how important it is. First-generation entrepreneurs don’t get it all. Even if they have an MBA from a top-tier b-school (like me). I learned about the importance of marketing after 2 failed startups. I learned that business is mostly just marketing. A business without marketing is just a hobby.

The basic function of marketing is spreading awareness about a product/service. This is also the most basic function of a business. Many entrepreneurs (especially the well-educated ones) don’t get this. They think a great product will sell itself. But it doesn’t work like that. People don’t adopt new products easily. They don’t trust anything new because they are risk-averse. It doesn’t matter how good the product is. The lack of trust comes from a lack of familiarity. Marketing solves this problem. Advertising is the simple solution to this problem. Advertising creates familiarity which in turn creates trust. But since marketing is not an intellectual activity, well-educated entrepreneurs don’t like it. They focus only on the product. A product that no one will know or use.