Mature Products ... 3 Things You "CAN DO" About It

Mature Markets & Products ....

Has your market peaked?

Have your products reached the mature stage of their life cycle?

Is it getting harder and harder to differentiate yourself from your competition? 

Is it a challenge to hold price levels due to competing products dropping their prices?

Are competitors trying to take your people to get your customers?

I try to help business owners and corporate executives with the challenges of a maturing market ...... maturing products ........ often times I have to identify the problem in my consulting engagements or partnerships ........ but when it comes to maturing markets and products, business owners and corporate executives usually already "get it" when it comes to identifying their problems or it is not hard to get them to understand what the problem is ....... they are smart people .... the challenge I find is getting them to take action to deal with the problem.

I have no doubt you have heard these 2 comments before .....

1. When your horse is dead .... get off .......... 
2. When you keep doing things over and over and over & expect different results, it is defined as insanity! 

Why is it that I keep talking to so many smart people running companies who understand their problem of maturing market and products ...... but month after month.....quarter after quarter......year after year......they don't take the actions to do anything about it?

Please understand that I am not being critical when I say nothing is being done about it ..... I have been there........ trying to fix your business challenges is often like trying to repair an airplane while it is flying .... no time to land and fix it in the hangar .... got to find a way to make the repair at 30,000 feet.....

The real challenge is trying to figure out why it is sometimes easier to do nothing than to try and fix a problem that isn't going away and must be taken care of before it gets worse.

I truly believe we don't always take action on many of the things we face in all parts of our life .... whether it be the personal or the professional areas ..... because we often don't see the answer and thus don't get started ..... or we see the answer and don't know how to get from Point A to Point B ..... or we need results now and don't have the time or the needed focus to work on creating the solution.....as the saying goes .... easier said than done!

Maturing markets and products create problems for your business that don't go away ..... there is not a "wake up in the morning idea" that will solve your problem .... often times not having that idea/the answer to our problem NOW prevents us from getting started ....

In situations like these, I believe the solution is to commit to just get started ....an approach NOW ... a process ... a SMART PATH you can be confident will help you navigate as efficiently and successfully as possible from where you are to where you need to be .....

Commit To Taking These 3 Steps TODAY ..... it is the right path .... the SMART path .... these 3 things will give you the confidence to discover the right answer for your company!

Here goes .....

• Clarify Your Target Customers ..... If you haven't done this in awhile and committed it to writing, you don't have clarity. It doesn't matter how long you have been serving this customer....doesn't matter how well you think you know them .... if you haven't gone through the process of documenting who your target customer is, you don't have the clarity you need. ..... I have heard others call their target buyers a "muse" or "avatar" ...... identify the characteristics of your ideal muse or avatar .... create 3 profiles .... The "best" target ... the "middle of the road" target .... the "least likely to succeed" with target. Clarity on all this will be the foundation to stay focused as you take on the next 2 steps.

• Create a Product Funnel Model .... You may think you have this in place, but if you are in a mature market and your products/services have reached the mature stage of their life cycle, you need to start from scratch and recreate your product funnel. The key is to set up your products/services so each one leads to the next. First introduce your customers to products at an introductory level with a key focus on building trust and rapport, delivering value and helping them achieve results ...... Then have higher value products available as customers want more from you as your relationship deepens with them ....... Create a product funnel/suite that has the next product ready and keep moving your customer "up the product path" as you escalate the relationship ..... Again, the key is to recreate your product funnel suite by assessing your current products to improve competitive advantage and package the knowledge and expertise that has come from years of taking care of your customers into products/services that will help you build a new and more robust product funnel.

• Differentiate Your Marketing & Sales Approach .... now that you have clarity on who your target customers are and have created a new product funnel, look at new and better ways to connect with your prospects and customers. The way you sell directly to your prospects/customers and the approaches you can recreate with your channel partners can truly differentiate you from your competition and grow your sales at rates above industry average. There are many ways to be different and effective. One is integrating an online strategy into your selling efforts. I talk to so many people who think about this, but don't know how to do it. Trust me ... it is not that hard .... you just need some guidance on how to get from where you are to where you want to be.

If your horse is dead ....get off ...... stop doing the same things over and over and over, expecting different results. 

Take action today ... commit to a SMART Path to addressing your mature market and products .... it only takes 3 steps .... have the confidence to get started even though you don't have clarity on the answers you are looking for ...... This 3 step process will get you from where you are to where you want to be......

Let me know how I can help!!

 
Follow @PatAlacqua

"Getting Started Online"- Monetizing Your Knowledge

Several of my latest blogs have been about creating content products/programs and how to leverage them to increase your revenues.

A number of people have asked me how to get started monetizing knowledge and expertise ...... They ask...."What do I do 1st....what is the overall process?"

The overall process can be outlined in just 4 Building Blocks......

1. Positioning .... Position you and/or your company as an "expert" and integrate into all your communications.
2. Product Creation & Packaging .... Create high value & high margin information products/programs.
3. Promotion .... Create fresh, content driven online sales campaigns.
4. Partners .... Get the right promo partners to reach larger audience of buyers for your products & services.

First thing to consider ..... what are your objectives ...... consider your strategy alternatives and which one or combination do you want to implement. Some idea generators & alternatives to consider are:

• Evaluate your current products and make adjustments with your product strategies to improve your competitive advantage
• Starting a new business and need to create a product strategy and product suite for development and launch over next 3 to 5 years
• Create new revenue streams with content products/programs
• Have written a book and want to leverage it for additional sales of products you have and/or can create
• Create a lead generation system to increase leads for your sales staff
• Have a speaking offering and want to leverage those opportunities to sell more "stuff" 
• Use content products to enhance direct sales and/or channel partner sales efforts
• Bundle content products to add value to and differentiate current product/service packages
• Use content products to create internal training systems for your staff
• Use content products and online sales campaigns to target Donors and increase funding for your non-profit organization
• Use content products and mobile marketing techniques to more effectively capture contact info and and follow-up with your target buyers and customers

The rest of the steps to take to get you started and on your way to increasing your sales & building your business to the next level are below ..... see the whole picture, but a manageable approach to implementation is to take 1 step at a time ..... each step you complete will provide you the clarity to effectively focus on the next .... 

Here goes ... step-by-step....

1. Clarify your target customer profile .... define your most "qualified" customer ..... your middle of the road customer .... least likely to succeed customer ..... 
2. Evaluate your current products and services. How can they be improved to increase your competitive advantage?
3. Identify your expert/thought leader topic that adds the highest value for your target audience.
4. Create 1st draft of your product funnel model ...... set up a product/services funnel so each product/service leads to the next. 1st introduce your prospects & customers at an introductory level ..... keeping your focus on creating trust and rapport .... delivering value & helping them achieve results. This leads to a deeper relationship as they continue to apply what they are learning. The key is to always have another offering that keeps them moving up to higher value/deeper relationship/higher prices.... continuing to escalate the customer relationship.
5. Create a development schedule for your Product Funnel ...... prioritize your current products/enhancements and the new ones..... list your expected delivery formats, price points and go to market target dates.
6. Create a Product Framework for the primary product in the funnel ..... people are always looking for advice and "how to" information .... they want to shorten the learning curve .... get from Point A to Point B as efficiently & successfully as possible. A product framework breaks down the big picture steps required to get from Point A to Point B. 
7. Review & Adjust Product Funnel .... once you have developed your primary product framework, you can then consider how it impacts the products in your funnel down to the introductory level as well as the ones that continue up through the advanced and premiere level "stuff."  
8. Create expert positioning & supporting content ..... this includes things such as testimonials and stories that prove the positioning.
9. Create the 1st draft of product offerings  ..... includes what you will communicate to prospects and customers about what the offerings are and how they will benefit.....
10. Create the content to fit the product framework ..... stop short of production .... provide all the content you will teach within the framework you have created.
11. Identify the technology platform requirements .... todays technology capabilities no longer have cost  .... or ease of use  .... or available features .... standing in the way of getting started ..... 
12. Develop product production plan, schedule & get started making it happen..... now that the product framework and content has been created .... it is now time to produce it..... topic for another blog, but the solutions available today make the video, audio and other formats you will use for production .... so easy.... so cost effective.
13. Create the campaigns .... get ready to launch online communications to sell your products/programs.

Get started today !!! ... 

Take one step at a time ... 

1st Step you can take today .... COMMIT ......

COMMIT ...... to using content products & online strategies ..... to increase your revenues ...... to implement the process I have outlined for you.

If you need help, reach out to me. I have all the processes to support each one of the 13 steps ..... getting you efficiently & successfully from start to reaching your desired outcome.

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Increase Your Qualified Leads

Are you finding it more challenging than ever to create a consistent flow of leads to your sales staff? Here is something to consider .... 

I have had conversations with different companies lately about the topic of Lead Generation. An idea that has surfaced is leveraging content products/programs to create a Lead Generation System. 

A Lead Generation System that keeps you in regular interaction with your prospects ..... consistently building trust and rapport .... positioning you as a thought leader/expert in your field.

One type of content product that is being created today that makes a great foundation for a Lead Generation System is a continuity program. It is based on delivering monthly high value content to your customers. Today's cloud based technology platforms are easy to use, secure web portals allowing online access to content with a user name and password you provide. They can be set up for costs that don’t stand in the way of getting started. The main considerations are often how much content, traffic, and interaction you want. You’ll also want to ensure your platform can fully integrate with your customer relationship management software.

If your sales strategy includes Channel Partners, you could even partner with each of them. A great offering to approach your channel partners with to enable you to work together to engage your common target buyers. You can co-create and together provide your prospects a co-branded offering that is actually a Lead Generation System for you.  

When creating your continuity program/Lead Generation System, you need to identify what kind of content your prospects/customer considers high value. Help them access information they need, get better at doing something, gain more skill at something or accomplish a specific goal or outcome. Decide how often you want and need to release information to your prospects/customers? Once a week? Bimonthly? Monthly?

Typically you would charge a monthly subscription fee for this kind of product, but it would be provided at no cost to a prospect/customer when this product concept is used as the foundation for your Lead Generation System.

The following are some idea generators for the types of content you could include in your "branded"VIP Program that generates qualified leads for you:

• Monthly video ... an hour in length that teaches a select topic
• Monthly video interview of a recognized thought leader/expert on a select topic .... 30 to 45 minutes in length .... 
• Webinar Rebroadcasts
• White Papers
• Case Studies
• Tools/Templates
• VIP Customer Service Access
• Online Forums

Hopefully I have sparked an idea that can help you create a Lead Generating System that can increase your sales ........ take some action today. No longer worry about how to get enough qualified leads in the hands of your sales staff. Let me know if I can help!!


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"How To" Create Your Own List for Online Sales

As you prepare to sell your products and programs online there are 3 strategies to create your contact list to consider implementing ....... at some level you need to implement all 3.

They are:

1. Create "organic" traffic ..... build your own list.
2. Create affiliate relationships with individuals or companies that are selling to the same audiences as you are trying to reach ...... who will market and sell your products/programs to their lists for a meaningful share of your revenue.
3. Create promo partner relationships with non-profits and corporate partners who can leverage what each can contribute to reach common target audiences to benefit each other.

I want to spend time talking about an approach for creating "organic" traffic to build your own contact lists for your products and programs.

Identify questions your target customers are always asking (FAQs) and questions they should be asking but aren't (SAQs). Create a video lasting 2 to 5 minutes for "each" question/answer you provide. This turns into a 20 to 30 video series......

Once you create the question & answer videos, you upload them to all the video sites (ie YouTube, Viddler, etc) that get them ranked in all the search engines .... you also transcribe the videos into articles so you can upload the articles to all the article directories that will also get you into the search engine rankings.  At the end of each video, you communicate that if they liked the content you provided, they can get the complete 30 video series free by going to a URL you direct them to on the video......

The URL is an optin landing page where all they need to do is provide their email address and immediately receive the free 30 video series...... great way to provide high value content with the objective of building your contact list. You will send them one of the videos daily ..... now you have them into a sales campaign where you are building trust and rapport daily and moving them through a campaign that will introduce one of your products they can buy when the time is right.

GET STARTED identifying the FAQs you are always being asked by your target customers and the SAQs that they should be asking, but are not ....... 

The insightful questions and responses you will provide give you a great opportunity to postion yourself as an expert and to differentiate yourself from competitors.

Post any questions or comments you have .... I will do my best to respond and help you get started. Just let me know how I can help!

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Stop Wondering How To Sell Online - THIS IS IT!

I received several questions lately and all are trying to get at the same basic question ...... "If I already have products or services, how can I sell them online and use the insights you have been sharing in your last few blog posts?"

If your objective is to remain focused on your current products and services and to implement a strategy to sell them online, I recommend you create online sales campaigns. These sales campaigns should include content products that you choose to leverage in one or both of the following ways:

1. Provide high value content packaged in a product at no cost you include as part of your campaign when reaching out to your prospect .... if the content product is something that addresses a real need for your prospect, it will go a long way in building trust and rapport with your prospect. Thus creating a higher level of probability the prospect will buy your product online .... removing the need to involve a sales person ....... or if you want to continue to make the sale through a sales person, it will increase the probability the prospect will take your call and/or a meeting with you to learn how they can get more value by buying your products/services.
2. Another alternative for your consideration is the same approach as number 1, but also bundle another content product with your core product for even more value if they buy from you. 

You may recall in a previous blog, I outlined a sample for what an online sales campaign might look like. The following is that outline:

The sales campaign model looks something like this:

• Target customer receives 3 well written/scripted emails .... each 2 or 3 days apart. With each email is a video that is high value content teaching something that can be used to address a real need at no cost to the target customer. The key here is that the sales person is delivering the value in the video without any focus on making a pitch to sell something to the target customer .... creating trust and rapport along the way. 
• The 4th email and video is where the pitch to sell something is made. In the video, your salesperson who has been positioned as a thought leader/expert and has delivered high value content .... now communicates .... if you liked what we have provided you in the 3 part video series, let me tell how you can get more by buying our products and services. 

Each of the emails sent out as part of the online campaign are scripted/written to add value through the video product series that is provided at no cost. The content is created and packaged using a framework that clearly shows how to move from point A to Point B ..... thus learning your topic as quickly as possible in the right sequencial steps. Which is what everyone wants to accomplish when they are learning something. They might not put it in these words, but they are saying .... get me from where I am (Point A) to where I want to be (Point B) as fast as possible.  

I talk to so many people who want to transition to online sales and don't know how to approach it. The approach is to create an online sales campaign that includes a "stand-alone" content product you have created for your target prospect/customer. This content product provides such high value to address your prospects needs .... they want to learn how they can buy from you to get more. The more is your core products/services.

Stop looking for "how to" use online sales to increase your revenues .... This Is The Approach .... GET STARTED TODAY! Let me know how I can help!

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Differentiate Your Company & Sales Staff

In my last blog post, I talked about "how to" monetize content products/programs. I outlined 4 approaches.

Today I want to get you thinking how you can differentiate your company and your sales staff with 1 of the approaches you can use for selling.

Consider one of your experienced sales people as I get you thinking about a new & different approach to close sales.

The following 5 steps are what it takes to implement an approach that will differentiate you from competition while increasing sales results.

1. Create a positioning story that will get your prospects to perceive both your company & sales person as thought leader/expert in a select topic area. This story will then be integrated into communications with them.
2. Create content products & programs that your prospects will be able to take what they learn and use to address their needs. We talked about how to get started creating these in my last blog. The key here is that your sales person is the primary messenger in the videos or other formats that are used for content product creation.   
3. Create a web page and You Tube channel for the sales person that tells the positioning story you created in step 1 above.  More on what is included on web page later.
4. Use a scalable cloud based content technology platform that includes a private customer portal and auto-responder ...  inexpensive and easy to use. Nothing to install .... nothing to support .... you just focus on product creation and sales. 
5. Create your online sales campaigns that launch when your sales person targets a prospect, when a prospect visits your web site or You Tube channel and when connecting with a prospect through a channel partner.

The following is included on the web page that is created:

• A video that features a content product/program. This video and featured content product should change out periodically. The visitor watches the video ... the video communicates that once the person provides their contact info, they will have immediate access to a 3 part video series. This video series begins the sales campaign. 
• Sales person's BIO.
• Overview of content products & programs. When someone clicks thru to learn more, they are taken to an optin landing page that gets their contact info and then the online sales campaign begins. More on the campaign model later.
• Pictures and videos that reinforce the sales person's positioning story.

The sales campaign model looks something like this:

• Target customer receives 3 well written/scripted emails .... each 2 or 3 days apart. With each email is a video that is high value content teaching something that can be used to address a real need at no cost to the target customer. Again, the key here is that the sales person is delivering the value in the video without any focus on making a pitch to sell something to the target customer .... creating trust and rapport along the way. 
• The 4th email and video is where the pitch to sell something is made. In the video, your salesperson who has been positioned as a thought leader/expert and has delivered high value content .... now communicates .... if you liked what we have provided you in the 3 part video series, let me tell how you can get more by buying our products and services. 

Get started today. Use this approach to differentiate you with your competition and increase your sales results. Take one or 2 of your sales people and create a pilot to implement and evaluate results. 

If I can be of any help, just give me a holler. I can coach you through the process from strategy to implementation .... even take on some of the activities for you if you need some bandwidth to create the "pilot."

 
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"How To" Monetize Knowledge & Experience

I got some great feedback by email on my last blog about using online sales campaigns to increase your sales. Included with this feedback were some questions I will take the time to answer today.

• When considering product strategy, what are some alternatives for monetizing information/content products & programs?
• How do I get started creating content products & programs?

These are some alternatives for you to consider for leveraging information/content products and programs:

1. Provide VALUE (free) as part of your selling process to your prospects to more quickly build trust and rapport so they will want to buy your core products/services.
2. Bundle content products & programs with your core product/service packages to add value and increase sales of your core product/service packages.
3. Create new revenue streams from the sales of content products & programs.
4. Create internal training programs and systems for onboarding staff into new roles.

Once you build the creation of content products and programs into your operating processes (this is not hard), you will identify other ways aside from the 4 alternatives above to consider when setting strategies.

I will now take a few moments to address the other question .... How do I get started creating content products and programs?

Stay focused on the fact that people who are looking for advice and "how to" information always want the same thing. They want to shorten their learning curve. They want to get from Point A to Point B as fast and effectively as possible.

So ..... identify Point B .... begin with the end in mind .... what is the goal your target prospects/customers want to reach ... for example, what they want to learn ... want to achieve ... want to have .... and so on.

Once you identify the goals your prospects/customers want to reach, then breakdown the sequencial steps to get there. Take a high level approach initially to identifying these steps so you have 4 to 7 in total. This framework will begin to shape how to get from Point A to Point B. This begins to help you organize what you will teach/communicate for each part of your framework.

Let's use Steven Covey as an example. The approach he had great success with when he wrote his book. Many of you have read or have heard of his book ..... 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When he began the planning process to write the book, he identified the outcome (Point B) people were reaching for as ... taking control of your life and becoming a highly effective person.

He then created the following step-by-step framework to get there:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin With The End In Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen The Saw

Once he created the 7 steps to becoming an effective person, he began to organize all his thoughts around each of the steps in the framework ... he identified his main points, provided examples of each main point, told stories to demonstrate what he meant and then provided step-by-step directions on how to learn and apply each step in the framework.  This enabled people to learn more quickly and effectively. If you were to go back and look at his book, you will see he arranged his thoughts with this type of framework.

Stephen Covey then took his framework and created many different types of information products/programs. Of course the book was one. He went into corporations and taught people to train others within their companies. He created seminar programming. I could go on and on with the products he created around his framework, but I believe you get the "gist."

TAKE YOUR OWN STEPS TODAY.... leverage content products and programs to increase your sales ...... GET STARTED CREATING the products and programs you can provide your target prospects and customers to help them reach their goals and objectives. 

 
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