#3 of 15: Avoid Using Advertising and Sales as Quick Fixes for Weak, Undifferentiated Products
15 uncomfortable questions CEOs, Founders, CFOs, CMOs, and CROs Need to Ask Before Spending a dime on growth, sales and advertising
One crucial mistake many companies make is relying on sales and advertising to compensate for weak products.
It’s essential to understand that advertising and sales serve as amplification tools. If your product isn’t performing well on a smaller scale, simply increasing the sales force and advertising budget will not address the underlying problem.
The key to success lies in having a product that genuinely addresses the struggles faced by your target audience.
Let’s take a moment for self-assessment and look at some areas to watch out for:
- Are you experiencing low sales or high customer churn despite significant advertising spending?
2. Do your salespeople struggle to meet targets and convert leads into customers?
3. Are you observing low conversion rates and minimal impact on sales despite solid media metrics?
4. Have you considered whether your product genuinely solves the problems your target audience faces?
5. Can the customer clearly quantify the benefit, or can you demonstrate a before and after?
If any of these questions resonate with your business, it’s crucial to reevaluate your product strategy and address any weaknesses before relying solely on advertising and sales.
To develop a differentiated product, businesses should thoroughly analyze the entire customer journey, spanning pre-purchase, consumption, post-purchase, and disposal stages.
Identify the gaps that your competitors are overlooking and build products that effectively address those struggling moments.
Another common knee-jerk reaction during sales downturns is hiring more salespeople without fully understanding the bottlenecks in the sales funnel.
Deploying them into the market without a well-defined selling process only exacerbates the problem.
On the other hand, when you have a great product with glowing customer reviews, the effectiveness of your sales force and the impact of advertising both increase dramatically.
Stay tuned for more insightful questions and practical tips that will help you optimize your business strategies!
The next post will be about five factors that drive sales
