Customers don’t buy products or services. They buy solutions to their problems.
You make really good stuff and you offer some of the best products or services.
For you, your products and services are quality – the best in town.
You’re so proud that you confidently believe your products or services alone will bring in lots of sales, make customers happy – and keep them coming back.
Well, there’s a small problem with that.
Customers don’t actually buy products or services. Rather, they buy solutions to their specific problems or hassles.
That means, people don’t only care about the benefits or what your products or services alone can do for them.
They also want your product or service in a way that makes it easier for them to access and use it.
It isn’t only quality that customers look out for when they need or want to buy something. They especially look out for things that add more value to the product or service.
Things that turn the product or service into an experience; and make it easier and affordable for them to solve their hassles.
for instance….
Let’s say you have a movie date next Friday night.
But right now, you’re too busy to go buy tickets at any of your local movie cinemas and definitely don’t have the time to look and ask around about new movies.
Now, would you choose the movie cinema that offers you:
- a website with a portable list of movies that are currently showing (value).
- reviews and ratings on each movie listed (value).
- online tickets and payment (time-saving value).
- a 5% off coupon for your next purchase (value).
- 10 online tickets get you a coupon for a free dinner for two at a nice local restaurant (value).
Or, would you prefer the cinema that only tells you what movies it’s showing with posters and only sells tickets at the gate?
Well, I’m no gambler. But I’ll still bet 98 times out of 100 that you’d choose the cinema that offers you more value.
An Offer vs. Product or Service
Now, in order to take care of all your customers’ hassles, you’ll need what we call an offer.
Something like what the first cinema is selling.
An offer is simply what you get when you add more value to your products or services – making your products or services more unique, attractive, easy and a better choice.
Anyways, the following are 5 reasons why an offer is better than just your products and services.
1. mix and match
Values don’t oppose each other.
That means, unlike your products or services, you could easily experiment and create any offer that you like – at any time you want.
You could put together different forms of value to create all kinds of offers.
For instance, your salon could offer a one-time service (value) and combine it with a monthly subscription for hair products and services (value).
At the same time, it could also sell limited vouchers on special offers (value) and give out coupons for certain purchases (value).
All the while, using reservations to book appointments and save time for your customers (value).
In fact, the possibilities are endless, as long as you know your niche market and understand their hassles.
2. more unique but better
Selling offers allow you to be unique and also be in a league of your own.
You could easily avoid competition with everyone even when you sell the same products or services as everyone else.
How?
Because offers simply elevates products or services. And it doesn’t only makes them better, it also makes them unique.
Unique but better; and difficult for any customer to resist and for any business to easily compete against you – if your offers are good.
Offers even have the potential to turn a normal commodity like rice, meat, or food and drinks into something unique and different.
It has the ability to make any product or service multi-dimensional and give it the power to compete on different levels.
3. not easy to copy
Offers rely on your creativity and what your business does best. It relies on things that are unique to your business.
For that reason, it would be quite difficult for every other business to easily match your offer.
For anyone to be able to copy your offer, they’d need to more creative and have better resources than your business.
Which is something that not all your competitors could easily do.
4. strong brand
Offers give you the opportunity to stay true to your vision and brand; according to:
- how you want your small business to do things.
- and how you want everyone to see your business.
It allows you the freedom to create whatever unique and exciting offer that you want; and satisfy your customers how you want.
And by so doing, you consistently make your small business stand out and easier for people to understand what your business is all about – and why it exists.
5. more adaptable
With all the ever-changing trends in the market, offers make it easier to adapt and keep up.
Yeah, services are easier to change.
But for products? Nope.
Not every product could easily be adjusted to keep up with every situation.
For instance, a service provider like a mechanic or tailor may find it easier to adjust one or two things in their services to keep up – but not for most small retailers.
But with an offer, you can easily offer something new with any ‘old’ products – whether you need to keep up or not.
Wrapping it up
Of course, you should always have a quality products or services for your customers.
But quality alone won’t sell if it’s not offered in a way that fully takes care of your customers’ hassles.
Because, the better your offer or solution, the more customers are willing to pay for it.
So, what’s your offer?
Small To Sprout 