package

What is a ‘Package’ . . . Really?

Unlike packaging for a tangible product — think ‘Book Cover’, the package for your intangible service is totally different.  It’s not some container into which you pour your service, it’s not an image you use to promote your service and it’s not a set of ten (10) cassettes in which your service can be sold.

So, what is it?  Good question.  Here’s a good example to show what I mean:

“The Pure Powder Skiing Escape”

If you’re a serious skier who’s tired of the crowded, packed powder runs of New England and you yearn to ski in the wide open spaces . . . one day you make a decision to visit your friendly old travel agent.  Once you’ve told her about your disappointment with the heavy crowds and the packed powder problems you’ve had skiing in New England, you hear, “I’ve got exactly what you want –– The Pure Powder Skiing Escape!  (feeling excited already?)

It’s seven days of deep powder, no crowds, no phones, no fax machines, no kids (your option) and no demands on you except to have a great time!  We’re talking Utah here — where the powder is deep, the crowds are gone and the people are great.

The Pure Powder Skiing Escape includes your airfare, hotel, and all lifts.  You can stay at any one of six lodges and ski any day at any of three top-rated ski areas.  Or, for an extra $450 you can have a 3 bedroom, fully furnished condo that’s just a 5 minute walk to the base lodge or the tri-area transportation bus station.

I can also include a meal plan that provides a hearty breakfast and dinner each day if you wish.  Sound good or would you like the option of exploring the local restaurants on your own?  (Yeah, I thought you would, too.)

To get around the area we include a mid-size rental car with free mileage; an upgrade to a full-size luxury car is just $85 more. If you like we can include some optional activities: ski lessons: group or private as well as horseback riding or snowmobiling day trips in the high country.  Not for you, huh?  (I understand . . . been there / done that.  I get it!)

Now you can leave any day Monday through Friday. And, we include without charge, door-to-door limo service and all ground transportation in Utah.  Naturally, we handle all baggage checks for you.  The basic price of The Pure Powder Skiing Escape is $3,200 or $4,000 per person if you fly first class.  You can charge it on your credit card — we accept American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discovery and Diners Club.  So now . . . the only question I’ve got for you is this:  “When do you want to go?”  

My friend, THIS is what I call a powerful package!

If you’re a serious skier who’s had it up to here with crowded trails and packed powder skiing, I’ll bet this ‘package’ of travel services is very, very compelling, right?  Could YOU do the same for your particular expertise?  If you’re not sure, we’ll examine why this package ‘works’ and how you can apply the same principles to achieve success in packaging your expertise, too.

To recap this PART 2 on Packaging Your Services:  

•  a ‘package’ provides what your Ideal Client wants

•  a ‘package’ includes everything needed to do that

•  a ‘package’ is the FIRST thing a client gets from you!

In PART 3, I’ll deconstruct the Pure Powder Skiing Escape — so you can do the same

Don’t want to wait?  Download the full Special Report . . . NOW!

package

If you’re providing a service and find you aren’t getting as many qualified prospects to become clients as you like, you may want to examine an often overlooked yet significant factor: the way you package your service.

Why You Need A ‘Package’ for Your Service

Let’s face it.  Selling an intangible service is not the same as selling a tangible product for a lot of reasons.  I won’t go belabor the details, but it is sufficiently different because when someone decides to become your client, they’re not (yet!) getting your service.  You see, technically they can’t!

With a tangible product like a hot dog from a vendor, you immediately know what you’re getting.  But, how can anyone know what they’re getting at the time they’re buying your service?  Afterall, they haven’t experienced your service yet, right?  And, they certainly haven’t enjoyed the benefits of your service, either.  So, what are they buying in that magical moment when they commit to become your client and avail themselves of your service?  It’s the implicit PROMISE . . . that they’ll (eventually) enjoy the benefits you offer them.

By the way, before we go any further, let me clarify two things.  First, I’m assuming that you have adequately defined the benefits of your service so that qualified prospects can identify what’s in it for them if they buy it.  Second, I’m assuming that you have already sold yourself to your prospect by intentionally developing a relationship with your prospect through the things you’ve said and done with your prospect starting from the moment you first met.

So, if you are acceptable to your prospect and your service’s benefits are truly attractive, but your otherwise qualified prospects aren’t buying . . . it might just be the way you’re packaging your services.

To recap this PART 1 on Packaging Your Services:  

•  prospects can’t experience the benefits of your service until some time passes

•  a ‘package’ is how you make your intangible service . . . tangible

In PART 2, I’ll reveal how to construct intangible service ‘package’ — so you can do the same!

Don’t want to wait?  Download the full Special Report . . . NOW!

“If you’re not standing out, maybe you’re just not that outstanding!”.  Perhaps a tad harsh with a hint of truth (sounds like a good wine!).  But the fact remains that differentiation is a key skill to develop for your business or practice.

It’s Not Personal, It’s Biological!
The author, A. K. Pradeep writes in his book, The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind that when there’s a plethora of similarities, our brain goes into what he calls “Repetition Blindess”.  This is a condition of perception where, when faced with a number of similar objects or concepts, the brain ‘freezes’ or ‘goes blind’ and is rendered useless at being able to distinguish one item from the others.

Pradeep adds, “We are biologically programmed to seek out differences”.  Why?  The purpose is purely adaptive.  We need to identify things in our environment that have the potential to harm us.  So we scan and scan our environment to identify anything that appears ‘out of place’.  So our brain renders anything similar in appearance as non-registerable and seeks to find the ‘exception’, not the ‘rule’.

Marketing Implication:  Stop Being a Copycat!
Saying what your competition is saying is not only unimaginative, it’s ineffective.  Why?  Because ‘copycat’ marketing — saying what your competition is saying — makes you appear similar to them and that, as we just said, makes you invisible!

Marketing Implication:  Honor Your Prospects’ Need for Differences
The way to capture attention of your prospective client is to ‘go against the grain’ . . . to ‘stand out’ from the crowd in what and how you say it. Remember that your prospects’ brains are craving for what is not like all the other messages out there.

Rather than putting out the ‘same old, same old’ . . . consider these ‘outstanding / stand out’ variations as noted copywriter, Tom Trush suggests:

Tutorials — popular way to attract interest.  “How To” never goes out of fashion!

Lists — short, sweet and fun to eat (oh, that’s baby carrots!)  but you get the point, yes?

Interviews — with thought / industry leaders — they’re very popular for a reason!!

Statistics — charts and graphs render complex ideas quickly and easily!

Insider Views — show what ‘most’ can’t or don’t get to see and you’ll be very popular

Q & A — reveal your expertise and satisfy the need to compare ourselves with others

KEY POINT:
Don’t be a copycat!  Saying what others are saying in their marketing is like getting wet in a dark wool suit — you may feel all warm and fuzzy but no one (that you care about i.e. prospects) are likely to pick up on it. 

In today’s crazy, hurry-up-and-make-it-happen kind of world, the desire for immediate (or, short-term vs. longer-term) gratificationis a force to recognize and reckon with . . . if you want to help prospects become clients and clients become repeat clients!

procrastination visual

See www.despair.com for more like this!

Our friends at www.despair.com are always ready to provide a moment of mirthful visual sobriety — and humor — sharing truths about how we humans are truly ‘built’ and ‘operate’.

As the poster spoofs, “. . . laziness always pays off NOW”.  Relative to ‘hard work’ and ‘delayed gratification’, getting more immediate reward will usually win out.

“Please, Don’t Make Me Wait!”
In your marketing, you might want to apply this notion by making it easy for your reader, listener or viewer to ‘get’ what they want from you . . . quickly and easily.

If you assume a prospective client or customer is visiting you website . . . for a reason . . . then make it as simple as possible for them to get what they want . . . be it information or a way to buy what you’re offering.

This requires some thoughtful attention to your navigation, your copy or content and, of course, your Calls-To-Action. These allow people to get something you want them to have –– and they’ll really want . . . kind of like this . . .

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In this 18 page report you’ll learn a simple, easy and effective way many companies are using to generate double-digit growth.  And, best of all . . . it’s 100% complimentary . . . our Holiday gift to you.  Enjoy!

Special Report Download

This post is provided courtesy of my distinguished colleague, Kurian Tharakan.  Kurian lives in Edmonton, Canada (Brrr!) and is one of the newer and brighter stars of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.  I am so impressed by his experience and insight that I asked him to share some of both in today’s post.  Check out his website before you go . . . Enjoy!   

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It may surprise you to know this, but most people simply do not spend every minute of every waking moment thinking about you and your amazingly wonderful product or service. It would be great if this weren’t true, but most people have other more mundane things on their minds: mortgage payments, the boss, the kids, career paths, vacation plans, in-laws, etc.

It is therefore imperative to understand that for maximized sales revenues you will have to “CUE” people to “REMEMBER” positioning and feature/benefit elements at the most critical time: THE BUYING MOMENT. Everything that happens before this only serves to “prime” the sale. THE BUYING MOMENT is the true test of your marketing campaign. As well, it will be an all-or-nothing response from the customer: either they buy or they don’t! Your advertising and promotion campaigns are meaningless if the customer cannot remember what your offer is supposed to be about at the buying moment. A classic example of this is the tale of Energizer vs. Duracell batteries.

Do you remember the cute little Energizer bunny? You know, the one beating the little drum in all those television commercials that keeps going, and going, and going, and, well, you know…going. The point is clear: Energizer batteries last a long time. However, in market research tests on memory recall, most people could not remember which brand of batteries the little bunny represented (in fact a lot of people thought it was Duracell). So at the till, where all marketing efforts are supposed to converge and produce results, the expensive promotion and advertising campaigns of Energizer weren’t being much help.

What was the solution? Aid the memory recall process. Energizer started placing a picture of its bunny on all of its battery packaging. This made it much easier for the customer to RECALL that this was the same battery advertised in all those commercials.

KEY POINT:
Always make it easy for your customer to say “yes” by not only providing critical information about the purchase decision at the right time, but also by assisting their memory recall process with memory cues.

Well, here we are . . . one day after Hurricane Sandy left our area (NY/NJ/CT) but only after leaving a trail of destruction and tragedy behind her.

During this difficult time, I have received several emails that sought to ride-the-coat-tails of this significant weather event.  Most were sad attempts to be cute but, in the end, were either horrifically boorish or downright cloddish and insensitive.

A high-visibility news event offers you an opportunity to leverage the heightened focus of existing media coverage to make your message relevant by relating your message to the ‘news’ factor of the event.

Unfortunately, when a news event is a disaster — natural or man-made — there’s a significant risk you’ll be seen as ‘crass and insensitive’ if you seek to relate your message to it.  One email I received today said, “Like hurricane Sandy, our sale prices will BLOW YOU AWAY!”

Obviously, there’s a fine line between relating your message to a major news event in a positive manner and ‘going too far’ with your message.  But it can be done.

Here’s another email I received today from American Express:

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, it’s very much about their interest in the well-being of myself and my family.

It’s sensitive to the potential difficulty this hurricane may have created for people living in my area.  It’s not selling.  It is a sincere reflection of regard . . . for my well-being.

It is the way you can safely piggy-back on a major news event that has the distinction of being a ‘disaster’.

KEY POINT:
Promoting yourself around a news event that is also a serious disaster is best done by focusing on your clients’ well-being and not your ‘Storm Special’ offer! 

I recently opened my local town flyer / paper and saw THIS:

This has to be the ultimate in self-centered marketing.

I mean, OK . . . every business wants ‘new customers’ . . . but Geez . . . couldn’t you give me, as a prospective client, a more personally compelling reason to work with you?  Like maybe something that would appeal to me?

Marketing 101:  WIIFM?
Obviously, this company is NOT a marketing company.  So maybe they should get a little latitude when it comes to crafting a compelling message that will attract the attention — and response — of prospects for the services and benefits it offers.  But then again . . . this is a glaring gaffe.

What They Might Have Done
Unfortunately, these local papers are often not known for having marketing talent on staff.  So I don’t think there was anyone involved from the business or the publication who knew much better.  But what would have been ‘better’?  Couple of thoughts:

AIDA
This is a ‘formula’ for successfully creating a compelling marketing message.

A = Attention . . . you have to ‘grab’ it or you’ll lose it before you have it — this is what the headline does (or, should do for you!)

I = Interest . . . you must keep your reader involved.  How?  Talk about what matters to them (and that’s rarely about you / your company!!)

D = Desire . . . you want to engage the emotions of your reader.  How?  Talk about what isn’t ‘right’ and what ‘much better’ looks like — as they define it.

A = Action . . . you want to invite a response from your reader.  How?  Make them an offer (they can’t refuse!) to take some ‘next step’ with you

OK . . . that’s rudimentary.  But what would that mean in the same space in this paper?  Let’s see . . . how about this:

Granted, it’s not bad for about 2 minutes of ‘creative’ time . . . but here’s why it’s different than the other ad and how it’s better:

A . . . Attention    This headline WILL make you stop and investigate –– “Will you make you neighbors CRY?”  is an attention grabber, for sure!

I . . . Interest    By talking about the reader’s lawn . . . and whether it’s going to make people cry with envy or laugh with disjoin. . . is reader-centric (for a change!)

D . . . Desire     Talking about what the reader really wants . . . and  desires (a great lawn!) . . . is certainly emotionally engaging!

A . . . ACTION   By offering both a ‘package’ (The “Make Your Neighbors Cry” package and an urgent (call by Oct 15) CALL-TO-ACTION (offer) this meets the test

OK, is this the BEST ad you could do?  Probably not.  But, compared to what the other competitors are offering, it’s does stand out and often, that’s enough to generate a winning ad and make some money as a result.

KEY POINT:
When creating promotional copy of any kind — an ad, a brochure, etc. ALWAYS think about what you’re saying from the point-of-view of your prospect.

Branding Lessons:  Moments of Truth
Last evening I attended a meeting where the topic of discussion was ‘branding’.
While many of us are, in varying degrees, familiar with the topic, the viewpoint of those present focused on: 1) the means of ‘sharing’ the brand or identify of a firm and 2) the basis of its reality.

You Don’t Tell People What Your Brand Is — They Tell You 
One of the points we discussed was that, what with social media being what it is, the power of branding your business is more in the hands of your customers and clients than yourself or your own marketing people.

Of course, we all want to have a ‘brand’ that elicits the feelings and generates the associations we’d like people to have of us. But the reality is that your firm’s brand is what the people who come into contact with your business believe about it.

True, or not.  Desirable, or not.  Perception is reality.  And whatever people believe is true about your business is what is ‘true’ and real about it.  For them. For example, you may believe your _______ don’t stink.  But if your prospects and clients think it stinks, then it does!

If You Can’t Control The Distribution, Control What’s Being Distributed!
OK.  So you know that the word-of-mouth process is not under your control, right?  But, what IS under your control is the kind of experience people have when they come into contact with your company.  This is a far more significant truth to embrace.  After all, if you create a ‘Wow’ Experience for your customers or clients or patients, they will talk about you.  And, what they say will help to establish a positive (and, competitive!) perception about your business.

KEY POINT:
Your brand differentiates your business from others to prospective clients.  While you may have little or no control over how people may share your brand with other people, you have 100% control over how they’ll experience your business / understand your brand.

Therefore, seek to create an experience with your business that makes people say, “Wow!”. 

I just read where Apple has become a largely iPhone company.

In 2012 Q1, the iPhone generated 58% of Apple’s revenue.  58%!!!

A mere 5 years ago, Apple didn’t even have the iPhone, much less the enviable position in the cell-phone marketplace it now commands.

So I guess the blog title isn’t quite correct, eh?  Some things DO change.  But wait . . .

What Made This Possible?  
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, in a related story, talked about why Apple would remain a ‘top choice’ even though some cell-phone carrier subsidies may be reduced in the future:
“. . . our focus is on making . . . a phone that delivers an off-the-charts user experience that customers want. At the end of the day, I think that carriers . . . want to provide what their customers want to buy.”

An ‘OFF THE CHARTS USER EXPERIENCE’
Ironically, while the MODE of Apple’s revenues has changed to reflect it’s huge success with the iPhone, the BASIS of what makes Apple so successful has NOT changed.

As Cook pointed out, Apple’s ‘secret sauce’ is to create such a compelling and exquisite experience for people who buy and use Apple products that, all things being equal, there’s really no basis for comparison with an Apple product.

There’s a lesson there . . . I hope you see it.  More importantly, I hope you APPLY it!

KEY POINT:
Understanding what your client wants . . . and providing it in an elegant and compelling manner . . . generates an experience that produces repeat sales, increasing revenues, more profit-ability and growing brand loyalty.   

Once again, I’ve found the secret of being highly competitive.  SERVICE!

Missed Opportunity #1:  The Bank
My wife recently received a notice from her bank that, because she has had no activity in her account (it’s a CD and we let it roll over), unless she presents herself to the bank, her funds will be turned over to the state of CT as ‘unclaimed funds’.  Joyce wasn’t too happy at the way the bank was handling this.  Evenso, she went to the bank to let them know she was ‘still active’ and to not turn her CD over to the State of CT.

The Bankers from Hell
While my wife is waiting to talk with the branch manager, she’s sitting next to where the teller windows are located.  One customer approached a teller to make a withdrawal.  Another teller — not the one working with him — sees what he’s withdrawing and says (out loud!), “Wow — that’s a lot of money!  Are you going to buy a house or what?  Or maybe you’re going to the casinos?  If so, I’ll go with you with that kind of cash”.

My wife was appalled.  The man was clearly uncomfortable.  And not one staff person said anything to the offensive teller.

It Gets Worse!
When my wife got to speak with a manager about her ‘unclaimed asset’ account, the manager couldn’t get someone from the bank’s home office to take her call to explain how to process the form my wife received — and the manager was not familiar with it (great training!).

The manager apologized to my wife saying, “I don’t know why they’re not picking up”.  (Yeah?  Well, I think I do!)

The Most Egregious Sin of All
What’s so sad about this situation is that this bank is currently running a TV commercial showing how they go to great lengths to ‘service’ their customers.

In one commercial, a branch manager actually opens up her branch early because one of her valued customers forgot her passport in a safe deposit box and needed it to go on a trip.  That’s why ‘marketing’ and ‘operations’ need to align or the customer will suffer and then so will the revenue-stream they generate for this bank!

Long story short, this bank’s inability to know what their staff is doing that creates a negative experience for their customers, or train them to perform in a professional manner and have managers who will not tolerate it when they perform badly . . . has cost it our business.  In America, we ‘vote’ with our pocketbooks and wallets.

With unprofessional / unacceptable behavior tolerated from their staff and the commercials being run on television I think this bank needs to take a long, hard look at their operations rather than which media they can use to push a message that is out-0f-touch with the reality they deliver in-person.

KEY POINT:
What your business DOES speaks so loudly it matters not what you SAY in your marketing materials.  Your behavior communicates more powerfully than anything else to your customers.  Don’t ever forget that!