I assume that many of the people reading this are old enough to remember beta max video cassettes. The vastly superior video format that lost to VHS?
Also is the war between Apple and Google – iPhone vs Andriod?
When I last checked Apple was the inferior quality product according to most geeks. I don’t take status seeking hipster’s opinions about technology that seriously. What little I read about this Google is making serious inroads into Apple’s market share. So it may be a case of the better product winning.
However this is not always the case. The world is still buying the inferior victor of a great many product wars (Pepsi wins more often than not in blind taste tests but it is second in market share). The best product winning is a myth. It allows people to delude themselves into thinking that.
Business isn’t about the best product to market.
Arguably the greatest living copywriter Gary Bencivenga once said
‘I would take a gifted product over a gifted pen’
What Gary means is it is always easier to sell a good product over a bad one and that a good sales job doesn’t mean the product is any good. I agree with him. Good copy and a bad product is actually a road to ruin.
You need good products – it makes your life that much easier and they should be easier to sell than bad products. However the reason so many gurus take the contrary stance ‘your products don’t matter’ is to be memorable.
What they don’t tell you:
Long after the sale is made the product remains. When you are actually selling there is gap between expectations and reality. When people buy a piece of exercise equipment, they do it because they imagine they will be thinner, sexier, healthier.
What they are left with is a 10 ton elliptical running machine that occupies space that they don’t want to use (Boring, sweaty and hurty). We all know that we need to use the frigging thing to be thinner, sexier and healthier and even that doesn’t guarantee we will achieve it. (Weight loss isn’t easy – I’ve put on 50kg in the last 10 years. Don’t worry I look thinner than I did 10 years ago.)
Long after the sale is made the product remains. This can also work wonders for you. I still look at my first car and think it’s a good car. It makes me biased towards buying the similar car again. It’s a Ford lasted me 10 years so far. Still going strong.
Yes, supplying products means you have a chance of a repeat purchase in the future. Supply them a product they hate and they won’t come back. That’s for certain. However you need to be marketing for repeat purchase to make the most of that good will generated by selling them the good product in the first place.