Founder vs. Marketer: Why Do Great Projects Fail Because of Marketing?
The Difference Between a Business Owner and a Marketer… Why Do Good Projects Fail Due to Marketing?
Many small businesses start with almost the exact same scenario:
Great enthusiasm, acceptable capital, a good product, and the confidence that success is only a matter of time.
One month passes… then three… then six months…
And the famous phrase begins:
“The business is good, but the market is slow.”
The truth that many business owners don’t like to hear is:
The market is rarely slow… but the business is what fails to show up in the market.
Here we reach one of the most significant problems of entrepreneurship in the Arab world:
Confusing business management with marketing.
The business owner often thinks that product quality alone is enough to achieve success, while modern reality dictates something completely different:
A good project does not succeed solely because of its quality… but because of its ability to reach and persuade the customer.
First: How Does the Business Owner Think?
The business owner is practical by nature, often caring more about what’s happening inside the business than outside of it.
Their mind is constantly occupied with questions like:
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How do I improve product quality?
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How do I choose better materials?
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How do I save costs?
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How do I develop the service?
This thinking is crucial; in fact, it is the foundation of any successful business.
But the problem begins when they assume the customer sees all this effort.
The customer does not see what happens inside the business.
The customer only sees what reaches them.
To be clearer:
You see the quality… but they see the image, the ad, the copy, and the impression.
Therefore, a business owner might work 12 hours a day inside the establishment, yet not a single customer comes… not because the business is bad, but simply because the customer doesn’t know it exists.
Second: How Does the Marketer Think?
The marketer doesn’t start with the product… they start with the customer.
Instead of asking:
“How do I make the product better?”
They ask:
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Who is the ideal customer?
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What is their problem?
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What are they looking for?
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Why should they choose me specifically?
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What prevents them from buying?
The marketer understands a very important truth:
People do not buy products… They buy results and emotions.
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The customer doesn’t buy a phone just because it’s a phone… but because they want communication, status, or convenience.
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They don’t buy a perfume because of its ingredients… but because of the feeling it gives them.
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They don’t buy an educational course because of its hours… but because they want a better opportunity, higher income, or a new skill.
Therefore, marketing is not about selling a thing…
Marketing is translating the product into a value the customer can feel.
Third: Why Do Good Projects Fail Despite Their Quality?
This is one of the most widespread phenomena:
An excellent project fails… and an average project succeeds.
The reason is usually not quality, but visibility.
The market doesn’t always reward the best…
It rewards the most present in the customer’s mind.
Imagine the following example:
A restaurant serves great food but:
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Has no professional photos
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Has no active social media page
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Runs no ads
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Has no clear identity
In the same area, a restaurant of average quality but:
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Has a clear brand
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Posts daily
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Has reviews
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Advertises constantly
Which one will fill up first?
Usually the second one.
Not because its food is better… but because it exists in the customer’s awareness.
The customer cannot buy something they do not know.
Fourth: Marketing is Not Just Advertising
The biggest misunderstanding in the business world is that marketing means paid advertising.
Advertising is a part of marketing… not the entirety of marketing.
Marketing is a complete ecosystem that begins long before the sale and includes:
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Understanding the customer
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Defining the market
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Choosing the right price
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Building the brand identity
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Establishing trust
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The purchasing experience
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After-sales service
Advertising only introduces people to you…
But what makes them buy is trust.
This is why many ads fail; because the business didn’t prepare itself beforehand.
Fifth: The Relationship Between Management and Marketing
For a business to succeed, it needs two core elements:
Management + Marketing
Management organizes internal work:
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Inventory
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Costs
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Employees
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Quality
Marketing manages external work:
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Customers
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Reputation
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Demand
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Sales
If marketing is absent $\rightarrow$ customers won’t come.
If management is absent $\rightarrow$ the business cannot serve them.
Many Arab businesses are strong managerially but weak in marketing, which is why they remain small for years despite their potential.
Sixth: The Customer Journey… The Real Secret to Selling
The customer doesn’t buy immediately.
They go through psychological stages before purchasing, called the customer journey:
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Awareness – knows you exist
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Interest – follows you
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Trust – is convinced by you
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Purchase – tries your product/service
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Loyalty – returns again
The problem is that many business owners jump straight to the sales stage.
They immediately tell the customer:
“Buy now.”
While the customer is still in the awareness stage.
Successful marketing doesn’t pressure the customer…
Rather, it guides them gradually until they decide to buy on their own.
Seventh: Why Does Success Today Depend on Marketing More Than Before?
In the past, the number of competitors was limited.
Having a shop on a main street was enough to bring in customers.
Today, everything has changed.
The customer has:
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A smartphone
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The Internet
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Dozens of options
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The ability to compare within minutes
Competition is no longer just with the shops near you…
But with everyone who appears on the customer’s phone screen.
Therefore, marketing is no longer a luxury…
It is a necessity for survival.
Eighth: What Should the Business Owner Do?
The goal is not for the business owner to become a professional marketer.
But the goal is to understand the basics of marketing and apply them:
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Define your ideal customer
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Build a clear identity
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Publish useful content
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Care about the customer experience
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Follow up with customers after the purchase
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Maintain a constant digital presence
A business that nobody talks about… disappears.
