Marketing is what you do...

...when your product sucks.

All money is made in sales.

What's the difference between marketing and sales, anyway?

A lot of people in crappy sales jobs call themselves "marketers," and a lot of people employed in marketing pride themselves on high unit sales when those sales had little to do with their efforts. The difference between sales and marketing could not be more stark.

Marketing is to sales as writing is to acting. Marketing is theoretical. Marketing is about finding out what the market demands (market research), crafting a message that addresses those wants and needs, and finding the most effective way to deliver the message. Sales is getting up on the stage or in front of the camera and making the deal.

Let's say you came up with a revolutionary new formula for soap. Your marketers would craft your image. They would find the right brand name for your soap. They would have a hand in package design. They would figure out what story to tell about the soap. Your sales team would go out to retailers and tell that story, getting the soap on shelves and in front of consumers (the market). If marketers do their job, consumers will buy the product, but your money is made when the sales team sells it into stores. Selling compels action. Marketing molds thinking.

Far too many companies spend far too much money on marketing. If you were developing a new kind of soap, you would be well advised to put most of your money into product development and sales. Why? Because if your soap sucks, your consumers won't buy it twice, and if your sales campaign sucks, consumers won't even buy it once because retailers won't carry it. The prettiest packaging and the coolest commercials will only sell out your first run. They won't keep your factory humming. What will keep you in business is offering a good product and maintaining mutually profitable relationships with your distributors.

This is not to say that you should not spend any money on marketing. Your marketers will develop your brand image and identify your consumers. That is an important piece of your success, but it's a small piece. You could call your soap PoopKleen, with the tagline the revolutionary way to cleanse your buns!, and enough people will buy it -- out of sheer curiosity -- in the launch to get the ball rolling. At the end of the day, if PoopKleen is a superior product, it will be a hit. If it stinks, nobody will buy it twice and nobody will recommend it to their friends. It will die on the vine.

Focus on delivering the best product, and the marketing will take care of itself.