White Paper 5:
Brand Insights: What's Your Extended Product?
Customers buy more than a product; they buy the total package of
benefits associated with your company. This "Extended Product"
includes the deal itself, the efforts your company takes to make the
product work, and the relationship your company maintains. These may
be more valuable than the product features, benefits, price, and other
tangible aspects of the transaction. Here is a view of how this Extended
Product can work.
The extended product defines the total value of what you are selling. If
you can take a wider view of what it is you have to offer, you can
address more of the customer's needs. The more needs you can
address, the more value you bring to the table. When you bring a lot of
value, your offering starts to outweigh price objections or product-only
advantages that the competition may have.
To use this concept, you must first define what is it is you are selling.
Your extended product actually consists of:
The Physical Product itself, including competitive, technical features
and benefits. If you can explain how the features offer benefits that
differ from your competition's, you are adding value.
The Deal, including terms, availability, delivery, installation, ongoing
support and application ideas, negotiated terms and credit. If you can
develop or negotiate deals that are competitive and you can meet
customer expectations, you are adding value.
Customization, or modifying or improving the general product for a
specific customer, or providing tailored information about usage,
design, or financial matters. If you can communicate how your company
works to help its products work more effectively, you are adding value.
The Service Relationship, including everything that can be done to
keep the customer using the product to its maximum effectiveness,
such as user meetings, customer service representatives,
newsletters--even how bills are submitted and inquiries processed, etc.
If you can demonstrate how you company is invested in keeping
existing customers satisfied, you are adding value.
Your company's Past Success Stories, including what your company has
done with other customers that have made a positive difference to the
customer's business. If you can point to examples of how other
customers have successfully used the product and the impact of that
on their business, you are adding value.
Access to Expertise associated with using the product, including
networking to others outside your company, industry-wide information,
as well as indeas under research and development. If you and your
company can provide unique, valuable information to your customer,
either supporting the product or providing support in any related area,
you are adding value.
Yourself, including your experience and knowledge with past customer
and installations, your ability to get things done internatll, your long
term investment in the account and your personal position in the
industry. If you are viewed as a knowledge advocate for the customer,
as an ally at the planning table, your are adding value.
Once you define in your own mind this wider view of the value you
provide to customers, you can develop a strategy for asking questions
that will evoke a wider range of needs. In a sense, if salespeople can
define all the positive additional offerings of the company inherent in
the extended product, they will have expanded what they can do for a
customer. This is the essence of adding value.
Copyright © 2002 Singularity Group, Inc.
Brand Insights: What's Your Extended Product?
Customers buy more than a product; they buy the total package of
benefits associated with your company. This "Extended Product"
includes the deal itself, the efforts your company takes to make the
product work, and the relationship your company maintains. These may
be more valuable than the product features, benefits, price, and other
tangible aspects of the transaction. Here is a view of how this Extended
Product can work.
The extended product defines the total value of what you are selling. If
you can take a wider view of what it is you have to offer, you can
address more of the customer's needs. The more needs you can
address, the more value you bring to the table. When you bring a lot of
value, your offering starts to outweigh price objections or product-only
advantages that the competition may have.
To use this concept, you must first define what is it is you are selling.
Your extended product actually consists of:
The Physical Product itself, including competitive, technical features
and benefits. If you can explain how the features offer benefits that
differ from your competition's, you are adding value.
The Deal, including terms, availability, delivery, installation, ongoing
support and application ideas, negotiated terms and credit. If you can
develop or negotiate deals that are competitive and you can meet
customer expectations, you are adding value.
Customization, or modifying or improving the general product for a
specific customer, or providing tailored information about usage,
design, or financial matters. If you can communicate how your company
works to help its products work more effectively, you are adding value.
The Service Relationship, including everything that can be done to
keep the customer using the product to its maximum effectiveness,
such as user meetings, customer service representatives,
newsletters--even how bills are submitted and inquiries processed, etc.
If you can demonstrate how you company is invested in keeping
existing customers satisfied, you are adding value.
Your company's Past Success Stories, including what your company has
done with other customers that have made a positive difference to the
customer's business. If you can point to examples of how other
customers have successfully used the product and the impact of that
on their business, you are adding value.
Access to Expertise associated with using the product, including
networking to others outside your company, industry-wide information,
as well as indeas under research and development. If you and your
company can provide unique, valuable information to your customer,
either supporting the product or providing support in any related area,
you are adding value.
Yourself, including your experience and knowledge with past customer
and installations, your ability to get things done internatll, your long
term investment in the account and your personal position in the
industry. If you are viewed as a knowledge advocate for the customer,
as an ally at the planning table, your are adding value.
Once you define in your own mind this wider view of the value you
provide to customers, you can develop a strategy for asking questions
that will evoke a wider range of needs. In a sense, if salespeople can
define all the positive additional offerings of the company inherent in
the extended product, they will have expanded what they can do for a
customer. This is the essence of adding value.
Copyright © 2002 Singularity Group, Inc.
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