I've been thinking about the sad state of affairs at General Motors and Chrysler.  While there have been many factors that contributed to their collapse, one thing is certain-their products no longer attracted a sufficient customer base.  This is a problem that no marketing or branding campaign can fix.  If the product isn't superb, customers won't buy it.  It's really that simple. 

All of us can learn a lesson here.  Whether your business offers a product or a service, it'd better be an excellent product or service that potential customers need.  If not, any dollars spent on a marketing campaign are a waste of resources.  Fix your product or service first, that's the best and first marketing campaign.  It's still true today that the best product/service sells itself. 

Take for instance, Google.  The company spends very little on marketing because its products are so good people WANT to buy.  I just purchased a G phone for my daughter's birthday.  You know the first thing that went through my head as I was making a purchase decision?  Google's a good company, they must make a good phone.  Perhaps, it's simplistic, but it's illustrative of how consumers think and make purchasing decisions.  Google sold itself and I bought her the phone.  By the way, she loves it!