A while back I succumbed to my kid’s request and purchased some “store bought” cookies. I used to bake more often and hardly ever did packaged cookies land in my grocery cart. I chose Oreos as you really can’t go wrong with an “iced cold milk and an Oreo cookie, they forever go together….” you know the rest.
Later at home, when I went to eat a few (or five) cookies, I was happily surprised by the updated packaging. I don’t know if this is a recent thing, or if I am way behind the curve, but the Oreo package had a fold-back top that neatly opened and then sealed back up to close. No longer would there be exposed cookies left in the partially open package to go stale (alright, we all know they are eaten up too quickly for that to happen).
My point is, I didn’t think they could improve the Oreo – but they did!
This got me thinking…. We all have products and services that we sell. Are they good? Are they great? Or are they STELLAR? It is quite possible that there is always room for improvement. Creating a brand new product or service from scratch can take a lot of time, but improving on, or repackaging current offerings could very likely provide more bang for your buck – or Oreo!
New Versions, Upgrades and Improvements, oh my!
We see new “versions” of software, updated products, boxed sets, “re-released” and bundled product offers all the time. I’m not talking about marketing or advertising – how to sell your products, but how to create more variety and make them better.
How can you “Improve” upon your Current Products and Services?
Think about the products and services you offer and see if you could, with only a little effort, make some improvements and create more variety.
Bundle products together for a “combo” pack. Take a few of your current products and services and simply group them together (i.e. — attend a workshop and it comes with a book and CD also). For example, on Alexandria Brown’s Success Store page, she lists a variety of DVD boxed sets for her programs, but at the bottom of the page is the Ultimate Ali Success Package containing her entire “Success library”. She didn’t create another new product, just grouped some together at a discounted rate.
Create variations of the same type of service. Do you have “small, medium, large – or Super-Sized” services? For example, instead of offering only one type of coaching package that may not appeal to your whole market, you could vary packages such as… a one-time session, a 3-month plan, a 6-month commitment, etc…
Transform a product to another delivery medium. Do you have audio or video downloads that you sell? You can also create another version of the product by offering a hard copy on a CD or DVD (use www.Kunaki.com for great rates). You could also have a recording transcribed and turned into an e-book. And vice versa, take an e-book or special report and produce an audio product from it.
Create updated products or materials. A client of mine sells several on-demand training courses for Head Start programs. There were standards that changed for 2010 so new, updated videos were made. This created a need for the NEW program for Head Start Centers – even if subscribers had already purchased the old ones. The client now could offer an “upgrade” to the new program for prior purchasers at a discounted rate. Do you have services that need updating as technology or your client’s situation or goals change? Don’t miss out on this opportunity.
The key is to look at what you currently offer and improve upon or repackage to build your product and service library. Make sure you have multiple levels of price points that your market can purchase.
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