Service Marketers; Hows Your Packaging?

Service Marketers; Hows Your Packaging?

 by: Jay Lipe

When a shopper picks up a product in a store, whats the first thing they notice? The packaging, right? The same holds true for someone buying a service.

Yet instead of a folded carton with colorful graphics, you are the packaging for your service business. Intangible points of contact, including your clothes, your briefcase, maybe even your breath, all burn a lasting image in your buyers mind.

Here are some of the more common packaging elements all service marketers should pay attention to:

Your clothes

All your technical expertise wont mean diddly if you wear a tie dye t-shirt and striped bell bottoms to your first client meeting. Always dress better than you need to, says Sue Morem, author of How to Gain the Professional Edge; Achieve the Personal and Professional Image You Want. Even when dealing with a casual company, remember you are not a part of that company; youre an outsider. If youre not sure what to wear, find a personal shopping consultant.

Briefcase

Ive seen people use briefcases that looked like they carried the first batch of Pony Express mail. Resist the temptation to use that briefcase Uncle Joe bought you at Wal-Mart and instead invest good money in one at a reputable luggage store.

Briefcases are one of the few personal effects almost every business person carries into a meeting and this simple item speaks volumes about your image.

Your notebook

When you pull out some paper to take notes, do you pull out a sturdy, professional looking notebook or just a pad of paper? This item, which sits on the table throughout the meeting, may go unnoticed by many of your buyers. But then again, it may not.

Etiquette

Saying please and thank you. A firm handshake. Looking someone in the eye when talking to them. Etiquette is the equivalent of the ribbon and bow on a package, says Morem. Good etiquette lets others know you are in control and finishes off your image. For a good primer on professional etiquette, consult her book.

Proposal covers

Up until five years ago, I routinely faxed my proposals to prospects. Then, one of these prospects said to me Jay, I have two proposals here. One is handsomely bound and the other is faxed. Which do you think I should go with? Point taken. When final packaging your proposals, estimates or RFPs, use the highest quality binding system you can afford.

Envelopes

Do you still hand-address your envelopes? A lot of business people I know do and I sure wouldnt penalize them for it. But if your competitors are ink jetting their envelopes, your image will suffer ever so slightly.

Email address

What image does your email convey? If your email address is studmuffin@yahoo.com or hottie@hotmail.com, you might take a step back and ask yourself, what image does this convey? If youre after a professional image for your service business, and you have an email address that doesnt synch up with this image, you might want to consider upgrading it.

Domain name

These days, with the costs of taking your business online dropping precipitously, your business really should have its own domain name. Im not knocking AOL or Yahoo. But if you want to project the image of an established business that operates in a professional manner, having your own domain name is a giant leap. For more information about availability of certain domain names, visit InterNIC at www.internic.com.

Email fonts and colors

Ive received some very professional looking emails. Ive also received some emails that were laughably amateur. Increasingly these days, buyers and sellers make initial contact through email, and casual fonts or background colors that bury the body text penalize you right from the start. Consider your email address and template as wrappers for your business and treat them accordingly.

Voicemail greeting

Talk about a moment of truth for your business. The vast majority of business calls (including calls from your prospects) reach voicemail, thus underscoring the need for a professional, well-crafted greeting. Dont have your daughter recite her new poem or feature a rap version of Old Lang Syne. Keep it simpleand professional.

Punctuality

At the root of being on time is respect; respect for someone elses time. So, be on time for all appointments. If you do run late, call and let someone know. If youre running a meeting, end on time or announce that the meeting may go longer and give anyone an opportunity to bow out.

If you think any of these packaging elements arent worth investing in, then youve missed my point. Each one of these is a defining contact point between your service business and your market, and forms an important element of your packaging. Pay attention to your packaging; your buyer will.

Jay Lipe, CEO of EmergeMarketing.com and the author of The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson Press), is a small business marketing expert who helps companies grow faster. He can be reached at lipe@emergemarketing.com or (612) 824-4833. Kristin@emergemarketing.com

Packaging Success

If success and achievement came in a package or a bottle, what would it look like? Would it be wrapped in satin and tied with a 14-carat ribbon? Would the bottle that contained achievement be as deep as a ruby or as clear as an emerald?

Picture yourself as having the task of packaging these two aspects of life so that everyone would stop and pick them off a shelf. Are you up to this type of task or would the very opportunity of facing success and achievement make you feel inadequate and unable to perform this feat?

Well, there it is - right there before you every single day!

The offer is a standing offer - you are the person chosen to do this monumental marketing strategy. If you look over your shoulder, there doesn't seem to be anyone else in line, but you feel this just can't be so. The thoughts race through your mind - if the world leaves this job to me, what if I mess it up or my ideas are just not right? You are given free reign in deciding how to market success and achievement. There is a time limit in increments of 24 hours and no apparent deadlines. Grab your best pencil, a piece of paper and start planning. Surely you jest, is right now forming on your lips.

No, there is no lighthearted note here. It is serious and it is vital. If you don't place the concept of success and achievement in the right package and bottle, it will lie dormant and collect dust on shelves across the world. If you ever thought it would not be so far-reaching, just touch the keys on any computer and you can reach individuals who have never stepped foot on the land you live in or do not understand a word you say for they do not speak your language.

The package containing success and achievement must resemble an ability to keep going albeit the odds, to glow in the small steps it takes to reach the top as well as the spotlight at the mountain peak, and it must resemble an open invitation to everyone else to add to your quest, give advice, and benefit from the results. Your striving for excellence, whether or not you actually touch it, is the glimmer and shimmer of the product. When you can treasure the petals of a flower as well as a jewel-studded pin, if you can have heartfelt respect for someone with age that has struggled and traveled on the road you now trek, as well as marvel at a small child taking their first steps, and when you cry as deeply at the hurt of another as you do your own pain, then the opulent packaging of success and achievement is coming into reality.

The old saying, "Does a falling tree make a sound if no one is there to listen?" is relevant to the question, "Are you successful if you are in a dark room, with no contact to any other individual, and you do not share your knowledge, expertise, and valuable advice learned from the hardest teacher of all - experience?

Success and achievement is a birth right. You have the same right to it as every other person in the entire universe. there is no manual, except the one you write and there are no directions, only the ones you take. The shell of the product lies in our hearts and souls and all the details are up to each one of us. We add the color, the amenities, and the packaging. The store of life is filled with shelves that contain dank, dusty bottles and gaudy, torn packages, but the customers flock to the bright, tempting, diamond-clear flasks and the artfully prepared containers. They hunger for the expertise, the imagination, creativity, counsel, and the experiences that these precious packages container. They must speak a universal language and be priced so that only the richest, poorest, and everyone in between can afford them.

You may place your success and achievement wherever you choose, as its entirely up to you.
ENJOY!
Arleen M. Kaptur 2002 August
Arleen M. Kaptur has written numerous articles, booklets, fiction/non-fiction books
http://www.Arleens-RusticLiving.com
http://www.arleensssite.com
http://www.webspawner.com/users/rusticliving

Quit Discounting and Start Packaging to Make More Money

We all know consumers are motivated by good offers and great deals. They want to feel like they are receiving a great value. Business owners are often inclined to discount their goods or services to appeal to their customers and prospects. Discounting by offering a dollar amount or a percentage off is certainly an easy and enticing way to stimulate sales and/or increase trial. But, there may better ways to accomplish the same tasks.

Instead of taking money off the sale it may behoove you to get a little creative and consider some unique deals for your customers.

Here are some ideas to get you going:
Buy One Get One Free
Gift with Purchase try offering a free gift with a purchase of a particular product or dollar amount.
Package your services or products together offering a savings over purchasing them individually.

There are several advantages to making offers such as these.
Your offer will have a higher perceived value, thus better response
You can often negotiate deals from suppliers, which may be more profitable for you than giving a percentage off.
In some cases, you may be able to make surplus/unused inventory work hard for you, while freeing up space in your stock room.

The goal is to create a deal which is too hard to pass up. Keep an eye on the infomercials. They are great at using bonus items, If you order now, youll not only receive In many cases, it is just calling one element of a set the bonus item. I recall watching an infomercial for a set of knives. They took one of the knives, which really would round out the set and called it the Bonus Knife, plus they added a set of steak knives, all if you ordered in the next 7 minutes. The case was very compelling as you really felt that you would have every knife you would ever need in this one set.

The goal is to build a high-perceived value to your prospect. Make them feel like the deal is just too good to pass up. Smart packaging offers vs. discounting will generate more sales and more profits.

Nicole Shields is the author of the 7 Step Marketing Plan manual, a complete system, including the Quick Start Kit, a digital file of forms and spreadsheets, which makes it easy for business owners and managers to write, implement and manage a profit-producing marketing plan. Sign up for a free, 7-part Marketing Lesson at www.7stepmarketingplan.com

Nicole Shields is the author of the 7 Step Marketing Plan manual, a complete system, including the Quick Start Kit, a digital file of forms and spreadsheets, which makes it easy for business owners and managers to write, implement and manage a profit-producing marketing plan.

A Guide To Finding CD DVD Replication and Packaging

We have come a long way from the time when only professionals could replicate CDs and DVDs. With the advent of blank media and the technology to duplicate it or burn it, almost anyone can now make their own CD. The ability to place digital media on a disc has changed how we both use and view this type of media today. It has taken only a few years for CDs to take over the spot once exclusively held by cassettes. Video and music cassettes are becoming dinosaurs before our very eyes. In time, our children may even view them like we used to view vinyl records and 8-tracks!

But where do you find CD and DVD replication and packaging services? Any large city worth its salt will have these types of duplication services. It is also very easy to find companies on the Internet that do this kind of business, and in fact, specialize in it. The world of CD and DVD duplication is wide open with many options for businesses and individuals.

For companies that simply need many CDs or DVDs replicated, there is a thriving market for duplication towers that dont need a PC to be operated. They are the perfect choice for a business that needs to copy a lot of media without all the fuss and expense. Any good computer or large electronics store should have this type of hardware, and if not, should be able to point you in the right direction.

If you are in the music or video business and want to replicate your CD or DVD for sale to the public, some very good companies that oversee the entire process, from replication to artworks and graphics on the CD to creative packaging options are common. They specialize in helping those in the entertainment industry. They provide the technology needed for this service. Instead of burning the CD or DVD, they use a more permanent glass press method. They also have the creativeness to make the CD a custom design with mass appeal. They also help with the packaging so that it stands out from the rest.

Perhaps the advent of all these businesses that replicate and package CDs and DVDs mean that just about anyone can now produce their work and have it copied for friends and family or on a much larger scale. This is a great way for independent musicians and others to have an outlet for their work so that it will be heard and seen. It can have a professional look that will impress people to give it a listen or look-see. For people who are serious about their career in the entertainment business, this could not be better, and the good news is that you dont have to look far to find a company that will do the job right.


Bob Hett offers simple and concise information for those interested in cd and dvd duplication. Get the answers that you are seeking at www.cdduplicationcenter.info

Packaging Maketh the Person

The multi million pound cosmetics industry is acutely aware
of the value of packaging. You'll know this if you've ever
bought anything from those glamorous ladies whose counters
are always just inside the front door of Department stores.

However, from time to time we're presented with surveys
about the creams we rub on our bodies which take years off
our age and make our skin as soft as a baby's bottie. The
surveys tell us "Buy the cheap stuff or the own label one
from the supermarket, 'cause they're all the same."

But do we? Of course we don't. Human beings are driven by
emotions not logic and never more so when spending their
money. People buy with their eyes, we love packaging. The
marketing and merchandising experts have it down to a fine
art and know the colours and shapes that we're most likely
to buy. They then design their packaging accordingly and
make sure it grabs our attention.
The product in the packaging has to do what it says it'll
do, however if it looks like it can do the business, then
we're more likely to believe it can.

It's just the same with people. Whether we like it or not,
people are likely to make judgements about us by the way
we're packaged. They'll then decide whether they like us,
whether they'll give us a job or even just believe what we
say.
This seems to be so obvious. Yet I've seen professional
speakers with scuffed shoes, business leaders with outdated
suits and politicians wearing clothes that don't fit them or
suit their shape.

A few months ago I attended a function where an accountant
was invited to speak about his business. He told the
assembled audience how efficient his business was and about
their attention to detail. However his tie was undone and
his shirt looked like he was breaking it in for a smaller
friend. His suit, though probably expensive, wasn't the
right colour for him and merely drew attention to the fact
that its wearer liked his grub.
All of the things he was saying were totally contradicted by
how he was packaged.

Lawyers, accountants, plumbers or software engineers; it
doesn't matter what you do, other people are very liable to
make a judgement about your abilities by how you're
packaged. Your colleagues and your boss will all make
decisions about the quality of your work and your promotion
prospects by your dress and image.

There's the famous story about the 1960's pre-election
television debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard
Nixon. These debates were also heard on radio, which was
much more popular at the time. After the debates a poll was
taken of how TV and radio audiences had reacted to the two
participants. The radio audience voted for Nixon, however
the TV audience voted overwhelmingly for Kennedy. The TV
audience liked the look of Kennedy better than Nixon - they
liked the packaging.

We also tend to make decisions very quickly about people we
come into contact with. Psychologists have established that
we subconsciously make around eleven decisions about other
people within the first six seconds of meeting them.
Personnel managers have admitted in surveys to making a
decision about a job applicant within the first thirty
seconds of an interview, these decisions being made
primarily on how the people looked and carried themselves.

How we look will confirm or contradict what we say. Imagine
someone in a policeman's uniform at your door telling you
he's come to read the gas meter, I doubt if you'd believe
him. First impressions are also lasting impressions and
take a lot of changing.

Okay, so we can't all have the perfect looks or the perfect
body, what ever that is. It doesn't matter what shape you
are but it does matter how you package that shape, if you
want to make an impact on other people.

How you package yourself can also make a huge difference to
your self-confidence. Have you ever noticed how confident
and self-assured you feel when you dress in something you
feel good in? Particularly when someone genuinely
compliments you. How you dress can have a huge impact on how
you carry yourself and project to other people.

The problem is that many of us don't have a clue as to what
really suits us and compliments our shape. This is why so
many business people are turning to an image consultant to
improve their personal impact. This may seem like a costly
luxury however consider the cost of restricting your career
or possibly not winning a new account.

Dress down Friday is a particular challenge for men. The
temptation for many guys is to pull on an old pair of chinos
and a worn out polo shirt and hope for the best. The only
thing is you end up looking scruffy and certainly don't
impress anyone.

So what do you do? Well you could ask your nearest and
dearest to be honest with you and tell you what they really
think about what you wear. The thing is, you really need to
listen and take heed of what they say.
Buy some of the fashion magazines and keep up to date on the
latest fashion. It can also help to find a good clothes
store where the sales assistants will give unbiased advice.

It's also important to look after the details. Do your
spectacles suit your face? Are you in need of a more modern
haircut? What does that cheap plastic watch say about you?
Men need to be careful about novelty ties and fancy socks
with a business suit. Women need to take care with make-up,
colours and perfume.

You may have a lot more to offer than a jar of anti wrinkle
cream or a packet of cornflakes; however no one is going to
pick you off the shelf if they don't like your packaging.

to cold call!
Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales
without Selling" This book is packed with practical things
that you can do to get customers to come to you .
Click here now
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

A New Crop of Research Reveals Consumers Are Ready To Go Au Naturale in Fresh

(ARA) - A new study conducted by Grapentine Company, Inc., reveals that a large group of consumers are interested in purchasing fresh food in natural-based packaging. These consumers are prepared to back that up with their wallets, and will pay extra per item if it is contained in a package derived from nature.

The research revealed that a majority of consumers rank the concept of purchasing fresh food in natural-based packaging on par with two of grocery retails highest-selling product trends, fresh herbs and spices, and organic meats and produce. The new corn-based alternatives have been shown to perform as well as, or better than, traditional petroleum-based plastic packaging.

The study shows consumers want to take wholesome, fresh meals home to their families, but the food is only half of the equation, says Lisa Owen, commercial leader for NatureWorks(TM) PLA, which is at the forefront of this burgeoning industry. We believe consumers also want to take the food home in packaging that contributes to their familys wholesome food experience.

Made from corn, NatureWorks PLA is the first commercially viable biopolymer derived from an annually renewable resource to be used in large-scale, North American commercial grocery applications. Containers made from NatureWorks PLA are 100 percent natural-based and will degrade in industrial compost facilities.

The fact that this packaging can be composted is a welcome bonus, Owen adds. Consumers are happy to do their part for the environment, as well as provide a wholesome experience for their families.

Packaging from NatureWorks PLA is currently being used in several branches of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (Nasdaq: OATS) stores in Portland, Oregon, to contain deli products like fruits, salads, and cheeses.

Customer response to this new packaging has been terrific, says Kurt Luttecke, Natures/Wild Oats area director of operations. Not only are these new containers 100 percent natural-based, theyre as functional as the traditional plastic tubs the industry uses as far as strength, clarity and sealing in the flavor and aroma of our deli products. Wilkinson Manufacturing, Fort Calhoun, Neb., manufactures the containers sold in Wild Oats stores. For more information on Wilkinson Manufacturing, visit www.wilkmfg.com.

The technology to produce NatureWorks PLA essentially harvests carbon that has been removed from the air by corn plants during photosynthesis and stored in grain starches. This is achieved by breaking down the starches into natural plant sugars and, through a simple process of fermentation and separation, using the carbon and other elements in these natural sugars to make the plastic polylactide (PLA). NatureWorks PLA is 100 percent matter derived from corn.

For more information, visit www.cargilldow.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Courtesy of ARA Content