"Don't do marketing." "Just make a good product and people will find it."

I think this is the downfall of many great products. The current startup world has an idealistic belief that better products always win and if you build something people want, they'll find it, when in fact, this has never been true. The "best" politicians consistently lose to those better at marketing and branding. The "best" ideas in organizations often fall to those trumpeted with more style or by those with more clout. Many great startups shut down because they couldn't find a repeatable, low-cost way to acquire customers (and SEO is exactly this).

More here: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/i-disagree-with-fred-marketing-is...

And here: http://hackersandfounders.tv/RDmt/rand-fishkin-inbound-marke...