I love to buy products that come in pretty packages. My favorites are cosmetics and stationery, but I can be a sucker for anything that’s wrapped up nicely because the packaging can make whatever is inside seem very exciting. It’s easy to create a pretty package when giving a gift or even when have a physical product to sell a real, but it’s much harder to package your service offerings in a way that makes them appealing. A great service offering clearly states what you do and showcases your skills in aptitudes in a way that shows your value so that makes customers engage your services and you make money. I’ve met many entrepreneurs who have great ideas, but struggle with packaging their own services. I wanted to share with you a few ideas that may be help you create your first service offering.
Build packages around customer pain points.
Your business has to solve a problem, so it makes sense to package services accordingly to the solution you provide. Determine the top issues your customers have and create packages that help alleviate those issues. For instance, if you are a fitness coach, you may know that your customers struggle with making time to exercise, so perhaps your service package offers VIP customers flexible workout times or home visits. Your flexible scheduling and in-home service offerings addresses the pain point of time.
Think of service tiers
When you go to a car wash, there are probably several tiers or services you can get for car care: basic, for a quick wash and vacuum; a mid-tier package that may include the basics and a tire care; and a luxury package that might include a car wash, interior shampoo, tire care and wax. Consider using this model to develop your service packages. Tiered packages give you a way to reach customers with a variety of budgets, timeline or needs.
Create a roadmap
Even if you haven’t figured out the details of all the services you want to offer, you can plan now for future offerings with a roadmap. A roadmap is just a way of outlining where you are now and what you want to develop in the future. For instance, you may know that you want to offer three packages. Instead of trying to create all of them at one time, you can begin with one and create a timeline for the development and roll out of the other two packages. It may be easiest to create what you think will be the most popular package first (maybe a mid-level package), and then add your low tier and high tier packages later.
Package services like physical products
Retailers everywhere know customers love ease and convenience, so they package goods accordingly. Ever bought a salad in a bag that included greens, vegetables, croutons and salad dressing? You probably made that purchase because it saved you time and thought, even though the individual ingredients were readily available at the store. There are countless examples of this – from value meals to gift sets to frozen dinners. Offering services that logically complement each other make it easy for customers to select those services that make sense for them.
Physical products often come in pretty packages. You can package your service offerings similarly. Your website, business cards, social media and promotional offerings speak volumes about your services. Specifically, when you create your service offerings, you should use photos, images, and descriptive content that really convey what you offer and why a potential client should choose you. Remember, what you are selling is your expertise because that’s what makes you special. Every detail around your packaged service should speak to your unique expertise.
Determine deliveries and process
Decide how you will work with clients, what they get and how you’ll deliver. Will you have an initial phone or Skype consultation? What is your timeline from inception to completion? What does the client receive at the end? For instance, an interior designer might offer a room design package that takes two weeks from concept to completion. Her process might look something like this:
1. Initial consultation
2. Two design sketches delivered to client
3. Revisions based on customer feedback
4. Final room redesign sketches
5. Customer shopping trip based on approved sketches
6. Final deliverables: Design sketches, and goods delivered to home and installed
Price your services
There are several ways you can price your services. You may charge an hourly rate, a per service rate or even a monthly rate for a set number of tasks, often called a retainer. Pricing can be tricky and you may want to take note of what your competition is charging and the value of your time. Many first time entrepreneurs tend to undercharge-which is a big mistake. Know that what you offer is unique and valuable, and price accordingly.
Take some time to address the following questions and you will be well on your way to creating packages your customers will love.
- What are your customer’s top pain points, and how can you address them?
- What services do you offer that make sense to offer together? How will you package them?
- What are the packages you would like to ultimately offer? Which one will you create first?
Had success with packaging services? I’d love to hear from you.
