subject: Selling the Intangible [print this page] Selling the Intangible Selling the Intangible
...and to be fair 90% of the time the old favourite will win.
But what if you're a newbie trying to break through. Position yourself as the manufacturer and consider then how you break through to be the chosen one.... brand loyalty level isn't quite so high for fast moving consumer goods, so tactics involving price, promotion, packaging and all those selling aids can easily overcome loyalty when creatively implemented! The benefit with pitching your sale as a physical product is that the customer can see exactly what they are buying and the benefit at the point of purchase, which is the major preference make up of most of the population. Selling a less tangible product or indeed a service such asemail security presents much more of a challenge.
Expressing value
It's much harder to stand out and be considered when it is the value of the service you are attempting to connote. People still look to things like price and reputation when making comparisons with the latter often being the main clincher. The reason for this is that the perceived risk in purchasing any intangible or service is greatly reduced when the market leader is selected. This shouldn't be the case and it can be extremely frustrating when as a business owner you know your offering is as good or better than the over-priced market leader but you're being disregarded because someone else was out of the womb first and has established a base of mindless followers !!
So how do you fight through to the customers and make you're mark? Below are some tips suggested by team technology!
Expert tips
Intangibles are sold primarily on the basis of rapport/trust
The first task in the sales process is to establish some rapport with the potential client. Finding prospects using networking gives a head start in this respect, as you will have been introduced by someone you both know.
As much risk should be removed from the transaction as possible
You can do this by offering the product/service on a sale or return basis, or providing a free trial, or breaking the product/service down into small chunks so that the initial purchase is a low-risk taster'.
The product has to be "made tangible"
Produce documentation,testimonials, case studies, plans, statements of deliverables' or outcomes', etc., to give your intangible produce as much tangibility as you can achieve.
Winning the fight!
So when it comes to businesses such as supplyingemail and web security via the cloud, it's not about totally disregarding the typical product selling processes that confectionary companies use, it's about developing them into a workable framework for your business. With amanaged service it is much more difficult to portray the inherent value of your offering immediately. It requires the building of relationships and trust with potential clients, the chance for them to try out your service and estimate its value for them. Price can often act as an initial deterrent particularly if the service is complex in nature and its full functionality and value is not understood, hence the need for a longer process between browsing and purchasing in comparison to the chocolate bar example. However, just because your business is amanaged service this doesn't mean that traditional forms of promotion availed of by consumer goods are made totally redundant. As was aforementioned they just require a tweaking.
For most services yourwebsite will operate as your shop window, this is the packaging for your service if you like. When buyers are browsing between similar services online yourwebsite is what they'll be using for initial comparison, and ok, so the content is crucial in really selling the service and moving the sales process along but let's be honest, there is an over-ridding sway by superficiality that operates within us all on some level.So it's got to look good!!Initial perceptions of your company are often what last so make them positive ones, don't shoot yourself in the foot by keeping a great service hidden behind a poorly designed website, with reams of content that will have potential customers clicking over to a flashy competitor's site before even gauging what you've got to offer!
Most importantly, put yourself in your customer's position... what makes you want to buy? It's not as if your customers are an alien race, they're just like you so stop thinking with a business head and think as yourself.
