Ask Slashdot: What's Your Company's Marketing-to-Engineering Ratio?

An anonymous reader writes "I just learned that the company I work for annually budgets ~$17,000 for non-labor engineering expenses, but budgets ~$250,000 for non-labor marketing and sales expenses. Am I just being cynical when I say that my company spends almost 15 times as much trying to convince the outside world that we make a good product, than it spends on actually making a good product? What's the marketing-to-engineering ratio at your company?"

Comments

Marketing is more important than engineering

[deanklear]

There are very few products that serve needs, so manufacturing the desire for conspicuous consumption is more important than making sure the product works reliably.

Re:non labour?

[Dins]

Posting to undo a bad mod. Move along...nothing to see here...

commodity products = huge marketing $$$

[alen]

cars, breakfast cereal, video games are all about the same no matter the brand you buy. that's why the amount spent marketing them dwarfs the engineering budgets. iphones and samsung galaxies are pretty close.

basically any product where the competition makes the same thing that is not very different from yours, you have to spend a lot on marketing. investing in engineering in this case is usually a waste of resources since most of your potential customers won't care

Just like new consultants

[chipschap]

The discussion is related to the phenomenon experienced by new consultants. After a successful technical career, someone launches his or her own consulting business and very soon comes to realize that 90% of the job is marketing. You might be the best tech person around but without contracts / engagements, you starve.

Re:Modern Business

[GLMDesigns]

You guys don't understand business. A company doesn't make money if it doesn't sell. Everything is secondary to selling. If people don't want your product - having a better product that they don't know about doesn't necessarily help. HR is important but it doesn't bring in money. We (the IT staff) are important but we don't bring in the money - the marketing and sales staff do.

A customer knowing that your company exists is important. A customer thinking about your company when they are making a purchase is important. Hence having staff that can find and land customers is important.

Sales & Marketing isn't superfluous it is the heart of business.