"Sell Wide, Sell Deep"
- Dr. Kevin Nunley -
The number one way to market
your products and services to make more money!
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.
Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice
and copy writing for businesses and organizations. Read all
his money-saving marketing tips at http://DrNunley.com. Reach him at
kevin@drnunley.com or (801)253-4536.
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