I totally that a product focus is a key to greatness, with a big caveat.
EVERYONE sets out to build a kickass product that are so freaking good that it flies off the shelves. Most fail, and merely build a GOOD product. Good products need sales, marketing, messaging, packaging, bizdev, etc.
And... FWIW, Apple spends a TON of money on marketing (but telemarketing, as you say, would be a bad way to market). They advertise everywhere, spend a ton on packaging, do biz dev deals all over the place, and all of the expensive Apple Stores are really just a distribution/marketing tool, no?
Andreessen told a great story about how they literally couldn't sell their business offering until the phrase "intranet" started making the rounds... Same product, different packaging/messaging, sales skyrocket.
How you talk about your product and how you position is (oftentimes) just as important as how good it is... Especially if it's just merely good.
EVERYONE sets out to build a kickass product that are so freaking good that it flies off the shelves. Most fail, and merely build a GOOD product. Good products need sales, marketing, messaging, packaging, bizdev, etc.
And... FWIW, Apple spends a TON of money on marketing (but telemarketing, as you say, would be a bad way to market). They advertise everywhere, spend a ton on packaging, do biz dev deals all over the place, and all of the expensive Apple Stores are really just a distribution/marketing tool, no?
Andreessen told a great story about how they literally couldn't sell their business offering until the phrase "intranet" started making the rounds... Same product, different packaging/messaging, sales skyrocket.
How you talk about your product and how you position is (oftentimes) just as important as how good it is... Especially if it's just merely good.