Question of the week - If my product or service is good enough to sell itself, why should I advertise?

Before we tackle that, here’s another question.

Do you own a utilities company? Or a gas station on a great dusty plain hundreds of miles from another gas station? Or a single water stand in the middle of a huge desert?

If you answered yes, congratulations!

These would be among the rare exceptions of products or services that do not require advertising. 

They literally sell themselves. Still, all it would take is a second gas station or water stand popping up nearby to spark a need for advertising.

That’s because utilities, a tank full of gas in the middle of nowhere, and water in a desert are all NEEDS. You need heat and electricity in your house, the ability to travel across that dusty plain to escape it, and hydration. Especially the last one, which is vital for survival.

Of course the whole wants vs. needs in advertising can sometimes depend on one’s perspective. Your fifteen year old nephew might be certain he NEEDS that video game. 

Whatever the case, unless you have a monopoly on a product or service and there’s absolutely zip/zilch/zero chance that the monopoly will be threatened in any way, then you have a need for advertising. Upon last check, that was pretty much ALL of us. So if you own the electric company, you’re excused. Everyone else should read on.

Look, you may think you have the best product or service on the planet.  

And maybe you do. 

But your flawless product isn’t going to sell itself while sitting on the shelf in your closet. By the same token, if you’re vegging out on the couch simply waiting for someone who needs your stellar service to come a knockin’, you’ll be feeling pretty lonely. Until the repo man comes to get your car.

It might sound dire. 

But every product or service needs advertising. In some form. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown marketing campaign. And you don’t have to take out a 15-second spot during the Super Bowl. Or even the Puppy Bowl. 

Start with a banner on your car, some business cards, a basic website, a brochure - something to get yourself out there. And then if the product or service is truly superior, word-of-mouth will boost your sales. Depending on what you’re selling, that’ll keep you going. For a while, at least. And then you’ll need to reevaluate.

The reality is, there will always be things that need less advertising than others. 

You’ll have a much easier time selling beer, cigarettes or

coffee, for example, than you will sprouted grain bed, aloe juice or orthopedic shoes. Even if those stylish orthopedics are one of those aforementioned NEEDS, there will be a slew of other orthopedic shoe brands in the running. Or the walking, as it were.

Even so, alcohol, tobacco and drugs (like caffeine) do not actually sell themselves because there are so many brands tied up in those empires. Think about this: 

Even Budweiser, Camel and Starbucks still advertise.

Yep.

So that’s the deal. 

Get your amazing product or service noticed through advertising. Keep on keepin’ on with it. And then plan to keep advertising it… to some degree. Because no matter how good you are, folks need reminding. 

And really, it’s not that hard to do it.