Rating: +0
This product is regarded skeptically across the board with good reason. Many other companies have sold with little regard to truth. Snake Oil is a common term associated with these types of products. (I'm trying not to taint the answers with the actual genre)
Now, assuming that you have a choice between the best with little or no support and mediocre with good support, which do you choose and why?
Greg,
This is an easy one. Forgetting, for a moment, that the devil is in the details, the answer is "B".
In the CRM and ERP world there are many examples, the most famous one is probably Siebel; they started off as a “very mediocre” "software product" but had great back office marketing and a strong corporate HQ, and that's what propelled a product that was far from the best into a leadership position.
The same example can be found in many other software categories.
Then you have the still very common; 'you can't go wrong with True Blue IBM', mentality of many Sr. Exec’s when many products are superior.
And keep in mind, that in many instances the buyer will [correctly] opt for something that "gets the job done" with a strong viable company vs. something that "gets the job done" on steroids, and serves breakfast and does the dishes to boot, with a company that is not very strong or viable.
The bottom-line is that the "best" product rarely wins, at least not with consistency, good products have to be part of an "engine" that includes, sales, business development, marketing, engineering, services, support, and don't forget an executive team; and they all need to be firing in unison to make the engine go.
Good Luck,
Peter
February 2009