During initial launches of a product, it might be more prudent to invest on product usability before big marketing and PR activities.
It is even more advisable if the initial audience for the product is large. Everybody checks out your product, and it's not good yet. These people will be permanently convinced of inadequacies, even if you improve it drastically later.”
Many cash-rich companies, whether Microsoft or VC-backed startups, run the risk of launching to a bigger audience than they really should have, getting millions of people to be thoroughly unimpressed by version 1.0 and never bothering to come back again to see if 2.0 might have gotten it right.
Lesson: Release early, release often, but only to selected audience. Invest in marketing and PR activities, only when there is minimum critical mass of usability. Select customers and users who will stand beside, unless you seriously mess up!
The effect is explained as Marimba Phenomenon.
