How to create "complete" products...

Recently here on Sowpub, we had a big discussion on the difference between "selling" and "marketing"....

I recently learned about another difference!

It comes from asking this question.... Is your product "complete" ?

What I mean is, are you offering all your customers expect from that kind of product? Including the "intangibles" ?

That's how you "complete" a product.... Let me explain.

Let's say you created some incredible software for "widget hobbyists", with all kinds of useful things the "widget hobbyist" could want.

Many people stop there.... To them, the process of "product development" is complete. But not to a marketing expert.

A marketing expert would go on to ask.... What "extras" will the target market expect from this kind of software product? Would they expect detailed instructions too? A manual? A technical support line they can call?

Do they expect to install it themselves, or for it to be installed for them? Do they expect a guarantee of some kind? Do they expect supporting discussion forums for users of the software?

All these questions have to be asked. If your target market EXPECTS you to provide a technical support line, and you don't provide one, then your product is "incomplete", and a significant number of your target market won't buy it for that reason.

Not all software users expect a technical support phone line they can call, of course. It all depends on who you are targeting.

All these things are "intangibles".... If you create products, you should think about whether your products are "complete"! Are you providing what your target market has come to expect from your type of product?

Info products tend to be easy.... Most people don't need technical support phone lines, for example, to read a report or watch a video. But some DO expect some things, like money-back guarantees, for example (which is why I personally offer such a guarantee with everything here at Sowpub). But you have to think about this kind of thing!

I've recently been reading "Marketing High Technology" by William Davidow, a marketing great who is responsible for much of Intel's marketing success. He makes the distinction between a "device" and a "product".

To him, if it's just the basic "thing" people buy, such as the microchip, or the software, it is a "device" - but it's not yet a "product". In his view, it only becomes a "product" when you add all the intangibles which customers expect, such as supporting service, guarantee or warranty, brand name, etc.

These "intangibles" could mean the difference between a big profit or a big loss!

If you don't provide these intangibles which your target market expects, then a significant number of them won't buy.

And that's a part of marketing (not sales).... :)

- Dien Rice

Right on Dien - completing your offering
in the minds of your customers is exactly what
can set you aside from 90% of your competition.

Not limiting yourself to your own work is one
way to bring a cohesive offering to market fast.

There are many highly successful information
product developers that have worked their way up
through a) understanding how to add maximum value
to their own product offering and b) working
feaverishly on joint ventures to make it happen
fast.

Jeff

> Recently here on Sowpub, we had a big
> discussion on the difference between
> "selling" and
> "marketing"....

> I recently learned about another difference!

> It comes from asking this question.... Is
> your product "complete" ?

> What I mean is, are you offering all your
> customers expect from that kind of product?
> Including the "intangibles" ?

> That's how you "complete" a
> product.... Let me explain.

> Let's say you created some incredible
> software for "widget hobbyists",
> with all kinds of useful things the
> "widget hobbyist" could want.

> Many people stop there.... To them, the
> process of "product development"
> is complete. But not to a marketing expert.

> A marketing expert would go on to ask....
> What "extras" will the target
> market expect from this kind of software
> product? Would they expect detailed
> instructions too? A manual? A technical
> support line they can call?

> Do they expect to install it themselves, or
> for it to be installed for them? Do they
> expect a guarantee of some kind? Do they
> expect supporting discussion forums for
> users of the software?

> All these questions have to be asked. If
> your target market EXPECTS you to provide a
> technical support line, and you don't
> provide one, then your product is
> "incomplete", and a significant
> number of your target market won't buy it
> for that reason.

> Not all software users expect a technical
> support phone line they can call, of course.
> It all depends on who you are targeting.

> All these things are
> "intangibles".... If you create
> products, you should think about whether
> your products are "complete"! Are
> you providing what your target market has
> come to expect from your type of product?

> Info products tend to be easy.... Most
> people don't need technical support phone
> lines, for example, to read a report or
> watch a video. But some DO expect some
> things, like money-back guarantees, for
> example (which is why I personally offer
> such a guarantee with everything here at
> Sowpub). But you have to think about this
> kind of thing!

> I've recently been reading "Marketing
> High Technology" by William Davidow, a
> marketing great who is responsible for much
> of Intel's marketing success. He makes the
> distinction between a "device" and
> a "product".

> To him, if it's just the basic
> "thing" people buy, such as the
> microchip, or the software, it is a
> "device" - but it's not yet a
> "product". In his view, it only
> becomes a "product" when you add
> all the intangibles which customers expect,
> such as supporting service, guarantee or
> warranty, brand name, etc.

> These "intangibles" could mean the
> difference between a big profit or a big
> loss!

> If you don't provide these intangibles which
> your target market expects, then a
> significant number of them won't buy.

> And that's a part of marketing (not
> sales).... :)

> - Dien Rice




How To Generate 60 Hot Selling Information Product Ideas In Less than 60 Minutes

Hi Jeff,

> Not limiting yourself to your own work is one
> way to bring a cohesive offering to market
> fast.

That's a great point!

> There are many highly successful information
> product developers that have worked their way up
> through a) understanding how to add maximum value
> to their own product offering and b) working
> feaverishly on joint ventures to make it
> happen fast.

Yes, it's absolutely true....

Another way is to "complete" things which are already in the public domain....

There's a lot of cool software out there, for example, which programmers have created for fun or as a challenge, which afterwards they have explicitly placed in the public domain. In their current state, these products are "incomplete" - yet they are free for you to resell or modify as you like.

So, one thing you can do is to "complete" these software products - add some service and support, for example, and you may have to modify the software somewhat as well - and you're in business!

There is also a lot of useful public domain information and images out there.... What's needed is for these things to be taken and turned into a "complete" product for a specific target market. Figure out what the market expects (including the "intangible" parts of the product), and give it to them. Then you could have another product that people will find valuable. :)

- Dien

Hi,

Your message addresses an extremely important topic. Thanks for the reminder about it.

Best,

- Boyd