Whether your brand is a component for a boat, an Italian leather handbag or a yogurt, you can never underestimate the power of quality in a purchase decision. But quality alone is not enough. How you promote it is what drives sales.

Let’s look at Chobani Yogurt. Introduced to America in 2007, sales were slim; the product was purchased mostly by Greek Americans who were familiar with the thick creamy texture they enjoyed back home.

The price was very high compared to traditional yogurt, but the unique texture and flavor that wasn’t found in American supermarkets, combined with the exceptional health benefits of high protein and low fat were perfect for our diet driven culture. It wasn’t long before consumers started to succumb to the allure of Greek yogurt, and word spread like wildfire.

Word-of-mouth is often the result when you have a great product. Customers sharing their good experiences with your brand is often the best kind of marketing you could ask for. A recommendation from someone you know creates a greater incentive to try the product, and once the quality of a product is validated, the cycle continues. Chobani is now one of the best-selling foods in American grocery stores, with at least $500 million in sales this year.

After seeing Chobani’s success, big players in the yogurt category have made moves to gain market share in the Greek category. These include Yoplait Greek, Stonyfield’s Oikos, and most recently, Dannon, who has invested almost $90 million into a new yogurt plant in Ohio, where they will likely focus on the launch of Dannon Greek.

But for now, Chobani is still the leading Greek Yogurt brand and accounts for 8.7% of all yogurt brands sold (second only to Yoplait Light). 

Here’s an interesting question: what on earth happened to Fage? They’ve lost so much marketshare to Chobani in such a short period of time. I have even seen them losing space on the shelves of my grocery store. The quality is just as good (if not better). And they’ve had some pretty strong advertising, too:

But it seems like this brand of “ridiculously thick yogurt” either doesn’t have the right message or the right mix of social and traditional media. They simply haven’t harnessed word-of-mouth quite like Chobani does. And in this day and age, that can mean the difference between being ridiculously thick or ridiculously profitable.