“No” is the answer…
…but that doesn’t stop some people from hoping!
Tom Fishburne quite rightly says…
“There is no marketing fairy dust. Yet. However, we marketers often get excited about the marketing fad du jour.”
Read the whole article at “marketing fairy dust”.
There’s a misconception that good direct response marketing and copywriting is a kind of “voodoo” art…
…that can magically conjure up massive sales for any product regardless of the quality of the product and the market.
Not true. I wish I did possess such awesome persuasive powers!
However, having a great (or at least a good) product is not some sort of optional extra…
…it’s ESSENTIAL!
It doesn’t matter how inspired the marketing or the copywriting…
…if the product doesn’t deliver then you’re not going to be successful long term.
In fact, good marketing might actually speed up the process of failure in those circumstances.
As an aside, one of the first things I do as a freelance copywriter when considering an assignment is to take a very long, hard look at the product and the market.
The reason is simple.
There are some projects that have little or no chance of success…
…and some products that I really do not wish to be associated with.
Back to the question of marketing…
“The most important marketing is indirect and long-term. It’s the hardest to measure, but the most meaningful when done well. This is the marketing that is baked into the entire organization. This is the marketing that makes meaningfully unique products and engaging consumer interactions.”
Or, in other words, find out what the customer wants and then deliver a product that does that better than the competition. The role of “marketing” in those circumstances is to connect with the people who want what you have in the most effective manner and facilitate the sale.