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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Creative Packaging And Pricing

Creative Packaging and Pricing

To make more money with what you are already offering, consider different strategies to make it easier for people to purchase what you offer. Restructuring your pricing and packaging creates more options for your customers. Here are some examples:

1) Bundle them. Offer your services in monthly increments. Instead of working with people session by session, offer a bundle of services. For instance, a personal trainer can offer sets of workouts for 3, months, 6 months, or a year. Add value by including a workbook to chart workout progress. You can also create levels of advancement to create more options for clients. Consider a silver, gold, and platinum program. Each level is a higher price and offers more value to your clients.

If you offer products, consider other ways to bundle things. For instance, a garden shop can put together a spring garden package that includes flower bulbs, a trowel, wildflower seeds, and gardeners' gloves. A restaurant could start packaging their sauces and selling them to customers to take home. A life coach could put together a notebook and CD set to sell online.

2) Change product usage. Railroad ties are now used as decorative items for landscaping. I've also noticed that antique stores are offering faucets as coat hangers. And how about those stretchy bands that people use for workouts?

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda has this strategy dialed in. The product was originally for baking. On their website, the company also suggests you use baking soda for brushing your teeth, as hand cleanser, mouth rinse, deodorant, skin care, crafts for kids, deodorizing your dog, and to extinguish fires. As a result, a simple product that might only be purchased once in a while has been transformed into a must-have product.

3) Change your pricing options. Offer your customers an option of paying in installments. Give a discount if customers buy a service early or in bulk. Offer a credit card option or allow people to buy online. Give people coupons, discounts, frequent-buyer rewards, or loyal-customer rebates.

4) Offer it in a new way. For example, a book or a workshop can be turned into a CD program. Certain prospects may not have time to read a book or attend a workshop. But, with your new packaging option, they can listen to your program during their commute or at the gym on their mp3 player. A used furniture store could paint some of their chairs or old frames in creative colors and sell them as functional art.

5) "Plus" it. There is a term called "plussing" that comes from Walt Disney's constant efforts to continually make an good idea even better. An example of this is adding a playable scavenger hunt game to the waiting area of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Park. Hallmark Cards also uses the concept of plussing. When their creative team develops a new product idea, they invite all of their other divisions to follow a concept and spin off additional new products.

ACTION STEP: Take a look at your packaging and pricing. What at your company works well right now, but can be plussed or made better? How your services or products be bundled? What pricing options can you add? How can your products/services be made to be even more remarkable? By providing a variety of options to customers, you will make more sales.

Copyright 2006 Marketing Maven

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series)

Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do what nine out of 10 adults do, according to a recent article by the American Society of Association Executives. Join an Association. Choose from over 130,000 associations in the United States alone that represent practically any industry at national, international, regional, state and local levels.

How can you reap benefits from association contacts? OhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based company that helps businesses worldwide with their marketing, public relations and freelance writing services, shared tips based on their own client projects and Association affiliations in a 3-part series:

• Part I: "How to Develop Industry Contacts"
• Part II: "Tips For Improved Networking in Associations"
• Part III: "Researching Associations in Your Industries"

Part I:

HOW TO DEVELOP INDUSTRY CONTACTS

1. Keep lists of industry associations that your company and clients are affiliated with handy.

2. Bookmark the association websites and place their contact information in separate computer and print folders.

3. Contact all associations where appropriate and let them know that as a member and affiliate with your client who is a member, you'd like them to add your personal mailing info & email address to their member lists so that you get their member guides, newsletters, press releases & other announcements, etc.

4. Stay in touch monthly or bi-monthly with association contacts you meet either in person or via the phone, fax or email. Attend events when possible and volunteer on committees. When you can't attend, ask for minutes of the meetings or follow up in the next newsletter. Follow up & congratulate speakers & other (workshop) presenters; asked to be placed on their mailing lists, etc. Note that many groups still have difficulties with electronic communications, so reach out with the phone. Note: If emailing, keep your emails in the "Sent" folder until you hear back. If you don't hear back, your email most probably never reached the recipient, so call to touch base.

5. Log communications in a notebook or separate online file and follow up.

6. Keep hard copy folders for each organization to hold the membership guide, latest newsletter, URL & other contact info. What works well is to use 3-ring plastic page inserts where you can insert a bunch of papers, a brochure & other goodies into one packet, then just insert the entire pack into a 3-ring binder. Or file the plastic packets in a file cabinet for quick retrieval.

7. Take advantage of online aids. For example, keep up with the latest info to discuss with group members by joining an ebook club: http://presssuccess.com/wholesale. And share your own company / industry tips, news & other automation enhancements (like electronic downloads of your own ebooks & reports) with http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot.

SPECIAL OFFER

For a 30-day no-cost trial of ProfitAuto, sign up online at http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot. And download ebooks with loads of information to help with your business from the "Freebies" section of the OhioHelp.net bookstore at http://www.presssuccess.com/bookstore

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You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net