Does marketing matter? Why or why not?

Absolutely 1000%.  I know some photographers that are absolutely artist the have to keep day jobs to pay the bills.  I know some mediocre photographers that are making well into the six figures.  The main difference is the ability to market themselves.  My marketing skills are terrible, so I still have a day job working in IT.  

 Yes, but it must reflect the company or product. Marketing can be a great way to set expectations, but that's (hopefully) only the first step in a great customer journey.

I would say we focus on customer satisfaction and then have our customers be the marketing when they are telling their friends about the work we did, and then it spreads by word of mouth

If the experience is positive, then marketing has been created. Word of mouth is the best marketing.

Marketing is just a way for a company to get information about their business out to customers.  The problem is that most marketing is just manipulation these days and something to avoid.  So we focus on providing simple information that is helpful and may encourage a customer to want to use our services.  We spend as little money as possible on marketing and instead focus on providing excellent service to our customers.

Yes, it does! Even small details, like how you present a website or write content and create messages really makes a difference. Getting it right is the hard part.

I definitely think marketing matters. I've been a small business owner for a while now, and it's definitely been a roller coaster ride. Without good marketing, getting your business the attention it deserves is hard. You have to be able to stand out from the crowd and let people know what you have to offer. With good marketing, you can reach more people and create a better image for your company. It can be the difference between success and failure.

Yes, it matters. If you don't spread the word about your company or product you might not be in business very long.

Marketing is essential if you are looking for growth in your business. Without marketing, you wouldn't be able to share your brand with others therefore you're only interacting with the same group(s) of people.

If your product is something that is used or bought very infrequent, then you need to use marketing to get people's attention to your product.