If you’ve done your marketing job right, and you’ve got a customer standing in front of you with cash in hand, then you’ve got to make sure you are able to take that cash and put it in your pocket. However, too many businesses and bloggers make it too difficult for their customers to buy from them. Consultants and service businesses screw this up all the time. They build pages and pages of content about what they can do for their customers, yet when the customer is ready to buy, they’re asked to “call for a quote” or “contact us to get started.”
Why are you making it so hard for someone to give you their money? Asking someone to “call for a quote” is like saying, “We need to find out how much money you have first, then we’ll give you a price.” At least that’s what the customer is thinking. Every business, regardless of what you offer, should have some type of packages or set pricing in place for people who want it. If not, you’re leaving a large percentage of cash on the table that they were ready to hand over to you.
Graphic designers are usually the worst offenders at this. They say, “We can quote you as soon as you tell us what you want exactly.” Fine, I get it, but not everyone wants to play that game anymore. Why not instead offer a few packages that a customer can evaluate, and buy, without having to interact with you first? It’s easier than it looks. Here’s an example:
Package A: New Business Logo/Branding Package $499
This package is perfect for the new business or brand who wants to get a professional logo that will make them stand out! You get 5 different logo concepts to choose from, as well as up to 3 revisions. Final logo is delivered in digital format as a vector image, which allows you to use it on business cards, websites, brochures and anywhere you need it. If you order by September 2010, you get 20% off! Click the order now button below to get started.
Package B: Rebranding Logo/Branding Package $1499
This package is perfect for the business or brand who needs to re-brand themselves. You get 25 different logo concepts to choose from, as well as up to 10 revisions. Final logo is delivered in digital format as a vector image, which allows you to use it on business cards, websites, brochures and anywhere you need it. If you order by September 2010, you get 20% off! Click the order now button below to get started.
Tell me, if posed with those choices or “call me for a quote,” which one are you more likely to choose? The point is that there are going to be a large percentage of your customers who won’t need, or want, to “contact you for more information.” They will simply see the package they want and click to buy it.
For this to work, you have to make sure you have a secure, safe way for the customer to pay you right then and there.You should consider getting a merchant account, so you can accept credit cards. Sure, it’s a pain in the butt to set up, and those pesky fees from the card companies stink, but it’s the cost of doing business on the Web. If you don’t want to spring for a merchant account and offer credit card transactions, then at the very least get a PayPal buy button in place. However, many customers aren’t going to want to use PayPal. Small-businesses owners or employees at corporations don’t have access to PayPal accounts. However, many of them do have corporate credit cards. Again, make it easy for them.
You may be saying to yourself now that your business is different. That you can’t offer packages. Bull! The truth is you don’t want to, either because it’s not how you’ve done business forever, or you just don’t like the taste of it. Fine. Know this though: The days are gone when a potential customer had only a few choices. Sure, it used to be you and your competitor only, but now your customer has more options. They’re often going to choose the company that makes it easier for them. You know this is true. You do the same thing when you go shopping for anything. Deny this at your own peril.
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For over 15-years, Jim Kukral has helped small businesses and large companies like Fedex, Sherwin Williams, Ernst & Young and Progressive Auto Insurance understand how find success on the Web. Jim is the author of the book, “Attention! This Book Will Make You Money”, as well as a professional speaker, blogger and Web business consultant. Find out more by visiting www.JimKukral.com. You can also follow Jim on Twitter @JimKukral.
Jim, your post is a good reminder. With all we do in marketing, we sometimes need a kick in the butt to keep things simple.
Glad you enjoyed it. It’s hard to remember our golden rules!
We can all agree, I think, that “making it easier for your customer to buy from you” is a mom + apple pie idea. You can’t argue the counter very effectively. So let’s try a different angle. What does a “buy now” button imply?
If you’re a graphic designer, the web is littered with $99 logos (don’t do it!) and other quick buys – offering an idea of what it might cost tells the customer what to expect but also suggests that you, the customer, won’t be offered a “one (the one that I, the seller, choose) size fits all” solution.
If you’re a consultant, you’re being paid to consult – not to sell off-the-shelf packages. The buyer wants extreme customization, something unique and catered to his/her specific business. A “buy now” isn’t the answer – but a “call now” or “call back” could, in some instances.
Michael Port has made the very excellent point that we can’t always get people to go from “hello” to “sold!” in one jump – often, we need to build the relationship with a series of smaller jumps. “Hello” to download e-book to attend conference call to join local presentation to small engagement to big engagement. Selling (for him) a $20K consulting package on the back of buying his book for $20 is too great a jump.
Making it easy to start the process makes all the sense in the world, so long as we’re not expecting our customers to jump too far. If it’s a logo (10 creatives, 3 review cycles max) – or a brick of cheddar, for that matter – a buy button may be fine!
Thanks –
Stephen Denny
@Note_to_CMO