Tom Loverro: "Startups Have Too Many Engineers"
“Because marketing is often thought of as less of a hard skill than say Python or PHP coding, many engineering-types assume it is 100% intuitive, fluffy (nonsense?) and can’t be thaaaat hard. However, if we analyze why most startups fail, rarely do we say “They didn’t have enough engineering.” (Think Veoh.) In my humble opinion, the single greatest cause of startup failure is not understanding the customer’s needs, EVEN THOUGH THE FOUNDERS THINK THEY DO. There, I said it.
Here are a few key lessons:
- Marketing is not easy
- Marketing is not about “selling”
- Marketing does NOT begin when it comes time to sell. Real marketing begins in understanding who the customers are, the needs of those customers, how any given solution will benefit those customers and how to best communicate to those customers. Good marketers are part and parcel of the product creation cycle from as early as possible.
Capiche? So the next time you’re thinking of hiring your next “AJAX, PERL, Ruby Nun-Chucking, Kung-Fu Master Shaolin Guru Attack Wizard”, stop and ask yourself “Would I be better off hiring a marketer who can help me understand whether I am building the right features?” If you feel like you need to hire a superhero for an engineer, maybe its because you’re too dependent on “features” as opposed to customer benefits. Remember, the best engineered products don’t win; the best customer experience/value does.”
