Today, I want to give you some concrete ideas for building greater value in your offer – product, service, information, physical goods, whatever it is that you sell…

In my last post, we talked about the difference between Price and Value and how easy it is to get caught in the “discount trap”. Cutting your prices can often have precisely the opposite effect that the “price leader” is after. 

When times are tough, consumers are not so much after low prices as they are demanding of greater perceived value for their dwindling stash of money. 

When you stop trying to be the cheapest, you can become the “best deal” by adding greater value to what you’re selling. And if your product or service is a high-ticket item to begin with, the more important this distinction becomes.  

What’s not always obvious to those who favor cutting prices is that adding value instead doesn’t automatically mean more work or increased costs — at least not in the long-term view.

I will go to my grave as a die-hard proponent of the “build it once, use it forever” business model. So, that’s how we’re going to approach building more value into your product or service offering.

We’re going to rethink, repurpose and revise what you’re already doing to extract the maximum leverage that we can from that asset.

Here’s 5 simple ways you can add more value to your offer:

1) Repurpose what you’re already selling. 

Create multiple versions of your product using alternative delivery systems. If you sell an information product like an ebook, create an audio version and offer MP3’s or CD’s.

Sell video training? Make DVD’s as well as downloadable videos that can watched on the computer or iPod.

Sell physical products? Find an aspect of the product you can reuse a different way. Repurpose, rebrand and reuse.

2) Improve your customer’s buying experience

Take a good hard look at your customer’s experience in giving you their money. Is it as simple and friendly as it could be? Probably not, if you’re being honest with yourself. 

Streamline your sales funnel and really polish it up. Make it EASY for them to buy from you and get answers to their pre-sale questions. Give them case-studies or more real-world examples of how they can use your product.

Create a detailed follow-up email sequence for after-sale support and/or training. Show them that you’re going to help them get the most out of your product or service. 

Give them a great product manual or “how to” guide. Details, applications, instructions… You get the picture.

3) Refine your risk reversal

Here’s something that most marketers never even consider… Working a bit harder at removing the risk from the transaction is inherently more valuable to any prospective buyer. Step up and put your money where your mouth is, literally!

Offer to pay return shipping – both ways.

Stretch your full money back guarantee to cover a longer period of time.

Show them exactly how they can get their money back if they need to. Spell out exactly how the return or refund process works so that the buyer can confidently set aside any concerns or objections they may have.

4) Provide a customer community

One of the most powerful forms of social proof and best ways to influence your buyer positively is to demonstrate that other like-minded people are buying and using your product or service.

Nothing does that better than a vibrant community of users that gather to talk about and help each other get the most out of what you sell. If you build it and promote it to them, they will come! 

You can create a social network on Ning.com. You can open a forum or blog on your website. You can host a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly Q & A call. You can do a Ustream.tv video broadcast show. Make T-Shirts and swag that your customers can buy, win or receive free with their order.

Prove to your prospect that you’re more available to them than your competition and I promise you that you’ll outsell them by an order of magnitude.

5) Create A More Comprehensive “Platinum” or “Pro” Version

Any of the above ideas can be wrapped up, rebadged and incorporated into a higher-priced and “better” version of what your already selling.

If you sell digital products, create physical versions through Kunaki.com or Createspace.com

If you sell physical goods, create a digital component that they can have RIGHT NOW… A PDF “Quickstart Guide”, training videos or audios, give them some instant gratification!

If you provide a service, offer them an option to lengthen the term or get “more” for a slightly higher price.

Hopefully, by the time you’ve gotten this far in this post you’ve already sparked a few ideas for ways that you can leverage what you already have and already do to create a more valuable offer.

Remember, when times are tough, value always wins.

Best,

Brian

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