Let Your Product Be Like Water

“Mohamed and Ramadhan, come to my office,” said the Bank Branch Manager. We exchanged worried looks. We were new, still learning the systems, still trying to understand customers, and still cautious about making mistakes. A sudden call from the manager usually meant something had gone wrong.
As we walked into his office, our minds replayed every transaction we had handled that morning. But his instruction surprised us. “I want both of you to go out for marketing and sales. Take these brochures. Meet customers and explain the products.” We stepped out of the branch holding neatly printed brochures filled with features, benefits, and numbers.
We believed that if we explained clearly, customers would buy. After all, the product was good. Yet, by the end of the day, we realized something important. Customers were not buying the product; they were evaluating whether the product mattered to their lives.
That moment stayed with me, because it marked the beginning of a deeper understanding that aligns with modern marketing thinking. Great products are not sold; they are desired.
This idea is strongly supported by Philip Kotler, who explains in his work on marketing that success does not come from selling what you produce, but from understanding and satisfying customer needs better than anyone else.
Our brochures described the product well, but they did not connect with the customer’s real needs.
Years later, when I came across Clayton Christensen’s concept of Jobs to Be Done, it clarified what we had missed. Customers do not buy products; they hire them to solve problems.
That day, we were not asking what job our product was doing for the customer. We were simply pushing information without creating relevance. This is where the philosophy becomes clear. Let your product be like water. Water does not need persuasion. When someone is thirsty, the need is natural, immediate, and undeniable. The same applies to products that truly solve problems. They create a sense of necessity rather than a sense of choice.
This connects with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, where the strongest demand is always linked to fundamental human needs. The closer a product aligns with something essential, whether financial security, convenience, or emotional comfort, the easier it becomes to market.
However, many products fail not because they are weak, but because they are disconnected from customer perception.
Simon Sinek’s idea of starting with why explains this clearly. People do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it. Our brochures focused on what the product offered, but not why it mattered to the customer.
Marketing, therefore, should not begin after the product is created. It must begin during creation itself. When organizations adopt a market-oriented approach, they design products around real insights rather than assumptions.
Seth Godin further explains that marketing is not about forcing a sale but about creating trust and meaningful connection. The best products attract customers because they resonate deeply, not because they are aggressively promoted.
Sales also changes under this philosophy. Traditional selling focuses on convincing customers, but modern selling focuses on understanding them. Neil Rackham’s SPIN Selling highlights the importance of asking the right questions before offering solutions.
If we had applied that approach on our first day, we would have listened more and spoken less. When product development, marketing, and sales work together, something powerful happens.
The product solves a real problem, marketing communicates its value in a meaningful way, and sales builds trust rather than pressure. This creates demand naturally instead of forcing it artificially.
From a strategic perspective, this aligns with the idea of creating uncontested value, as discussed in Blue Ocean Strategy. Businesses do not succeed by competing harder; they succeed by creating something that customers genuinely seek.
Looking back at that day outside the branch, I realize that the lesson was never about brochures or selling techniques. It was about understanding people.
Customers are not waiting to be convinced; they are waiting to be understood. If your product creates a genuine sense of need, like thirst for water or hunger for food, then selling becomes secondary.
Marketing becomes about connection, and sales becomes about guidance. The real responsibility of product creators and developers is not just to build features, but to create something that customers feel they cannot ignore. When a product makes a customer feel that it is essential, the role of the salesperson becomes simple. They are no longer pushing; they are responding.
The strongest products are those that create their own demand. They do not depend on aggressive selling or temporary promotions. They become part of the customer’s life. When you reach that point, you no longer need to sell your product.
Your product speaks for itself, and your customers come looking for you.