The whole point of marketing it to increase your customers and sales. As business owners, It's easy to assume you need to have more products or services to sell more...or to reach a wide variety of customers. I get it, but in reality, offering too many services/products can do more harm than good.
Sheena Iyengar, Professor of Business at Columbia and Author of, "The Art of Choosing" explains that too many choices paralyze us. She conducted a study in which set out 6 or 24 jars of jams. When consumers had 24 jams to taste test 60% of them stopped to try the jam, but only about about 3% of them purchased. When only 6 jars of jams were set out only 40% of consumers stopped to taste test, BUT 30% of them purchased! Thats a HUGE increase...don't you think? It may be counter-intuitive, but it works. Less choices create more sales!
In my own photography business I used to give my clients galleries as many images as possible. I was always shocked when they would ask if I had more, and my sales would be lower. Eventually, I started editing no more than 25-30 images per hour session. The craziest thing happened. Clients bought more and were more satisfied with their gallery. Too many choices confuse us, maybe it makes us want to ask questions, which only gives us more information to think about. Then we just want to walk away.
Make it easy for your clients, give them less options. Make a decision easy for them.
Which brings me to the idea of the power of three. Many marketers and even small business owners will agree that 3 is a magic number. if you're in the service or non-tangible industry, give your clients 3 options...good, better, best. If you sell products, sell 3 types of products...good, better, best. I think if you start to look around at your favorite stores you'll see this equation more and more.
Take a look at Target. It's a super store, so there are lots of options, but they have their Target store brand of products, then they have a middle brand, but they also have their boutique brands now. Basically there is an option for all budgets.
Let's focus on your middle brand. This option or product will always be your most popular. Most clients will opt for the middle because they may perceive the other two options as too cheap or too glamorous. Oh, but that middle option will be budget friendly and economical. Right? Yep, for the consumer.
Now, if you're the business owner, the middle option/product should give you more bang for your investment. Your middle option should bring you an increased ROI (return on your investment). It's easy to assume that selling the top tier product or package is how you'll make your money, but if you're not selling that many, how is it benefiting you? Selling the top option is icing on the cake, but selling that middle option is your bread and butter.
I do this with my own portrait photography business...I have 3 packages my clients can choose from. I created them based on what I know my clients want, my time, and cost of goods. And yes...my middle package is purchased most frequently, and my cost is low, and my time invested is the same as the lower package. It's a win, win for me and my clients!
I hope this helps some of my fellow entrepreneurs out there! The key takeaway here is don't throw a bunch of products and services at your clients, just in the hopes they'll buy something. Let's be strategic about this! When I realized the power of three, my business changed.
Also, be sure to take advantage of my FREE 30 min strategy session for a customized plan to find your ideal clients and boost your sales.Â
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ONE LAST THING!
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