What Do You 'Produce'?

Hello again,

One myth that holds back many a business person is the idea that he or she (or his or her company) produces one product, which we’ll call ‘Product X’.

Well, of course, many companies do just that. They go on, year after year, producing this or that product or service, perhaps adding ‘Product Y’ to their range in due course.

But sometimes the demand for products X and Y dries up. Rather like life on Earth, there are a million times as many extinct products, or species as there are extant, surviving ones.

Companies with foresight might see the end coming, and evolve and adapt to create new products and services for the new environment. Many companies are more like dinosaurs, though, and carry on in the old way, with obsolete products, because they served them well in the past. Those products were once brilliant ideas, but not now…

Meanwhile, you may have a passion, a dream and boundless ambition, and you might have a new product that you know the world truly needs. You may, but you’ll be hard-pushed to sell that product if it’s also something no one actually wants. Instead of being a dinosaur, your company might be an evolutionary dead end…

You can spend months or years and unbelievable amounts of money ‘educating the market’ to want what you feel they need. Just as you can pour endless amounts of money down the drain trying to promote something that people used to want but no longer do. Either way, you’re in danger of extinction.

Listen to the market, ask your customers their opinion and watch for signs of what people actually want, not what they need or what you feel they should have.

Then you will have a better chance of owning a brilliant business, not just a brilliant idea.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. One product that we created to suit customer demand is The Complete Marketing Manual. It wasn't in our plans for now, but we saw a demand and created the product to suit. We can help you do the same.

PPS. To find out what your customers really want and think, why not ask them? Ask us about setting up a survey, made to measure, so you can supply people with exactly what they want. That’s the easiest ‘sell’ of all. Go to our Cinnamon Edge website to see how we can help you set up a survey to ask your customers what they want from you.

Don't Take it From Me

Hello again,

One of the most powerful marketing tools you can use is one that requires very little from you (apart from doing your job conspicuously well). That tool is the word of other delighted customers and recipients. These testimonials work best when they are most authentic. That is, when they come from people you don't know personally, and without any prompting.

Here's an example of just such a testimonial that I received by email today:

"I have been receiving your fantastic and very informative newsletters for a while now and felt I had to write!

I run an independent PR business ... I often pass your info to my clients to stress the importance of communication ... Hope you don't mind me writing, I will look forward to your next installment.

Many thanks and best wishes,
Sophie"

Sophie runs a PR agency, called Bizari Promotions, so she knows about the value of communication in promoting your business. So do we, which is why we publish the regular newsletter Sophie is so enthusiastic about. You can get your copy, delivered directly to your inbox, by just leaving your name and email address. Plus, you get a free chapter of our new manual, The Complete Marketing Manual, and two other bonus reports as a thank you.

Until next time,

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. If you ever get any letters, comments or emails complimenting your business, or even verbal compliments, make sure you use them, with permission, at every opportunity. One word from a satisfied client or customer is worth a hundred from even the best copywriter.

How Do You Price Your Product?

Hello again

One thing we can all find difficult, especially if we're new to business, entering a new niche or launching a totally new product, is how to set the price.

Surprisingly, a low price can reduce sales, because it reduces theperceived value of the product.
So what a lot of people do when they start is to look around for roughly comparable products and set their price a little lower than the average their competitors are asking. What does this do?

It lowers the perceived value of the product to less than most ofthe alternatives. So how many people will choose the new product ahead of one of its rivals, which cost just a little more?

Very few, I'd say.

But when we launched The Complete Marketing Manual there were no direct competitors to compare it with. There were very few offering anything remotely similar. So what could we do to set a realistic price for The Complete Marketing Manual?

We tried to think what we might be prepared to pay. Bad idea. We asked other people what they might pay. Better, but not perfect, becaue they weren't actually going to buy it. All we could actuallydo was set a price and test it. Result: we need to raise the price,and soon.

So, while The Complete Marketing Manual is currently £47 or $97,depending which sales page you go to (that's about the same price, depending on exchange rates), it's going to be more than that in thenear future. Not immediately, because we're also testing something else, but soon.

So now you have advanced warning of the price rise, and the chance to buy it today, for £47 or $97, whichever suits you best.

Go to http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=LqDY8&m=1ee5dfl0vQRg9P&b=RHTNeMW4RohELdARhcropw for the £47 offer, and to http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=LqDY8&m=1ee5dfl0vQRg9P&b=OZfUuvhHkAYSJvIccdhWuw for the $97 one.

That's it for now, but remember the price will rise soon.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

The Complete Marketing Manual, from Cinamon Edge