The number one way to market your
products and services to make more money!
by Dr. Kevin Nunley
Index
of Articles
Here's one of the most
durable marketing rules, one that's been around for years.
It's good advice for any business. If you want to sell
lots of products and services, if you want to expand your
business with loads of eager new customers--sell wide,
sell deep.
Let's look at this timeless
rule of good marketing. It's full of ideas and inspiration
that can fatten your pocketbook rather quickly. The best
ideas are ones that help you work smarter, not harder.
Here's how "sell wide, sell deep" works.
"Sell wide" means offering
lots of products or services that follow a basic theme
(for example: all things offered by a printer). "Sell
deep" means finding lots of good variations on a successful
product.
Let's say you have one
product or service that customer after customer is ready
to plunk down money to buy. You start thinking "If I had
ten products just like that one I'd get rich." If you've
got a glazed donut that is the hottest breakfast item
on your downtown lunch cart, why not expand on the idea?
Offer a glazed with frosting. Then offer those frosting
flavors in chocolate, maple, strawberry, maybe even cherry.
That's selling "deep."
Now offer different kinds
of donuts and related items like muffins and coffee. Give
your customers choices of old-fashioned donuts, cake donuts,
buttermilk, donuts with sprinkles, and donuts that commemorate
an upcoming holiday. That's selling "wide."
Many businesses find
a big increase in revenue when they introduce customers
to a low-priced product, then step them up to increasingly
more involved and expensive products or services. Customers
are ready to spend more for more advanced services as
they come to trust and rely on you.
If you aren't able to
provide extra products or services yourself, contract
with others to provide them for you. Many web site owners
swear by their "back page" items. You can easily offer
your customers lots of products and services supplied
by others at very little cost to your own company.
How To Find a Winner...Then
Go Wide and Deep.
All businesses start
out with some idea of what they want to sell. In the beginning
you develop a few promising products and services and
put them out there to gage the public's interest. Some
products work, others don't, and sometimes you get a request
out of left field that turns into your most important
profit source.
When I started my business,
I thought that handing out marketing advice would be my
bread and butter. Before long, someone asked me to write
a press release. It never occurred to me to be in the
press release business, but as soon as I put "writes press
releases" on my web site, I got dozens of orders. Presto,
a new profit source. I expanded it into lots of customized
variations. Press releases to be sent via email, releases
for regular mail, releases intended for major magazines
and newspapers, and releases intended for email newsletters.
The product line soon
went wide and deep, much to the delight of clients who
were looking for just the right service tailored to their
needs.
Listen closely to what
your customers and prospects are saying. When they talk
about a problem they have, think of it has a hint for
another product or service you can offer to solve that
problem. Those unexpected suggestions are your most important
opportunities.
Simple Research Gives
You A Head Start.
You don't have to wait
for customers and prospects to suggest new products and
services. Ask them in clever ways that get them thinking
for you. "How did that work for you? Was it as effective
as it could have been? What problems are you having that
we might be able to solve for you?" Customers can often
see things that people inside the business don't realize.
You've seen people conducting
surveys in the mall. That kind of research isn't very
good from a statistical standpoint. You can't get reliable
numbers and percentages from it. However, you CAN use
simple research to get ideas for new products and services.
Just like some restaurant chains, give customers a short
questionnaire to fill out. Have them leave their comments
for improvements or new services. Reward them if you can
with a discount or free offer.
Home-grown research,
from entry forms on your counter to spending time on the
phone with a prospect, can show you new ways to expand
your successful products and services. Sell wide, sell
deep to make more money.
