Smart marketing For Product-BaSed BuSineSSeS

[Pages:66]Smart Marketing For Product-Based Businesses

Module One: Profit Plan

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? Marie Forleo International



CONTENTS

Welcome!

Questions question 1-- It seems like B-Schoolers with service-based businesses have an easier time. What challenges should I be looking out for? page 4

question 2 -- I'm having a hard time coming up with my clients' fears. Am I missing something? page 6

question 3 -- My product doesn't seem to really fit into my Ideal Customer Avatar's life. Am I doing this exercise wrong? page 15

question 4 -- I know my prices are too low. How do I communicate value and raise prices without upsetting anyone? page 21

question 5 -- I know stories are great for connecting with customers but how can I use them and where would I use them? page 31

question 6-- I'm working on my Strategy Canvas and I have no idea what sort of special things I can provide my customers--any ideas? page 38

question 7 -- I'm just starting out. How can I use my three "brand models" to inspire my premium brand position? page 44

question 8 -- I'm having trouble with the Money Tracker Exercise. How can this work if I sell various products? page 48

question 9 -- I'm having trouble finding that emotional connectivity point for my product. What do you suggest? page 52

Even Deeper: page 56 -- More Insights on Module One

Spotlight Case Study: page 58 -- Sara Pocius page 60 -- Whitney English page 61 -- Sonia Ruyts

It's "You" Time: page 63 -- Your Notes on Module One

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? Marie Forleo International



Welcome!

This is the very first PDF in our series devoted to B-Schoolers with product-based businesses. Look for one in each module--it's designed specifically to address some of your toughest questions and help you get the most out of the training every step of the way.

Here, you'll find in-depth insights and tips from a number of B-School grads on how best to implement all the wisdom from Module One. You'll also find three grad case studies to inspire you on your journey. In the very back is a space just for you. Use it to keep notes, write down questions for "Office Hours" calls, sketch out ideas, and dream big. Enjoy!

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? Marie Forleo International



Question 1

As a product-based business owner, I'm noticing there are certain areas where I'm having more trouble than my fellow service-based B-Schoolers. For example, I'm having difficulty figuring out my Ideal Customer Avatar's worse case scenario. Can you advise where you see the biggest challenges in B-School for someone like me? What input can you offer to help prevent roadblocks so I keep moving forward?

answers

"Personal challenges vary so it's hard to answer this question specifically. What I do know, being a product-based business owner, is that I don't find the modules more difficult for me than they would be for a service provider. My difficulty is the tech aspects and accounting. Life will always give us roadblocks. We can either stop at them and feel defeated or we can figure out a way to `git' round them. Roadblocks develop wisdom and intelligence." - Elise Muller

"What I learned after taking B-School was from Chet Holmes in Tony Robbins' Business Mastery Series. Everyone needs to be an educator. Everyone should be selling like Andy Miller, consultative selling. Knowing this earlier would have helped me see the value in having a spotlight on myself as Marie teaches in B-School.

Of course, I get why an expert would be required to sell services as a consultant or coach, but I didn't connect the value in that as a product-based business owner. When I go through B-School this year, I'm looking at the experience as building myself as the expert to better serve my product-based clients. If I'm doing that with freakin' gas additives then surely that approach can work for others too." - Bethanie Nonami

"Always think about the whole picture of your customer's life (as identified in your Ideal Customer Avatar). She or he will definitely have big challenges in life. Where does your product intersect and solve some of those problems?" - Allison Rivers Samson

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answers

Question 1

"The Ideal Customer Avatar exercise is a bit different for product entrepreneurs because sometimes selling a bar of organic soap, for example, or a thank you card, doesn't necessarily help someone with their worst fears. But a lot of these questions are still very important to explore because if you know, for example, that your ideal customer buys your organic soap because she has skin sensitivities or because your family is allergic to chemicals in conventional soaps, then those are some fears that you can speak to in your marketing.

Or if you sell jewelry, there isn't necessarily a fear that your customer has when they buy your jewelry--they might buy it because they like the color or because it looks good with their outfit. But behind that decision is the fear that they don't look good or feel good. Your jewelry is one way to combat that fear." - Andreea Ayers

"Let me give you an example of my avatar's worst case scenario. I have a jewelry business and I went deep into her psyche. She is afraid her needs won't be met. All that for purchasing a piece of jewelry. A purchase from me is about indulgence. I am not solving the world's energy problems or teaching third world countries how to cultivate arid farm land.

If you could observe the behavior you go through before and after your purchase experiences, you will be able to distill the less obvious pain points.

However, by examining the behaviors I observed from years of in-person events that the customer goes through while hemming and hawing in their internal dialogue it was clear to me that the issues revolved around feelings of self-worth which are just as deep. If you could observe the behavior you go through before and after your purchase experiences, you will be able to distill the less obvious pain points. My client often tried to hide her purchases from her hubby and often doesn't want to pay in a way he will know about. This is crazy behavior for grown women but it is common and telling about the relationship women have with money and indulgences."

- April DeMarco

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Question 2

As a product-based business owner, I have a hard time coming up with what my clients' fears are. Is it that the products aren't returnable after a week? That they fear it won't work in their space? I feel like I'm not getting deep enough or that I'm missing something.

answers

"Their fears may have nothing to do with your product directly. Instead, think about what may be going on in their lives outside your business and how your products or experience may help ease those troubles. Can you do a blog or marketing campaign that could tie the two together and create a "Yes! That's exactly how I feel!" moment? This can help potential customers bond with your brand and connect to your products."

- Sonia Ruyts

"Think of your clients' fears as less directly related to your product and the buying process. Deep down we all want to be loved, respected, successful, etc., and our fears consist of a lack of those sorts of things. For example, the fashion-savvy career woman fears that she won't be seen as stylish by her fellow fashion-savvy friends. The owner of a new home fears her family won't be as impressed as she had hoped when she gives them the grand tour. After all, she had been bragging to them about how fantastic the place is throughout the long buying process.

When you sell a product you are providing a subconscious shield against your clients' fears of being seen as a fraud or unworthy. If you sell artwork that can be hung on a wall, for example, you can ensure your prospect that the piece will add a layer of culture and depth to the entire space (and therefore make an impression) to her front room. Now, she can add an extra boost of confidence when she shows her family her new place for the first time. After you indirectly address these fears, the deep-down ones, then you move on to assuring your customers of your return policy, that you ship safely, etc. Those are all good to include too, but they aren't really at the heart of why a prospect will buy or not, particularly with a unique luxury item."

- Megan Petersen

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answers

Question 2

Don't focus on your customer's fears about your products. Focus on the fears she has about her own life, or of her own self.

"Don't focus on your customer's fears about your products. Focus on the fears she has about her own life, or of her own self. For instance, my Ideal Customer Avatar is a little worried that my baby carriers will be too cumbersome or complex for her, but more than that, she's afraid of being cut off from the professional world she's so familiar with as she begins the unfamiliar journey of mothering. My product will help her stay connected while taking beautiful care of her baby."

- Kristi Hayes-Devlin

"Customers' fears are not always rational and they're not always connected directly to your product. Yes, specifically for online shopping, feeling comfortable with a return policy is important. However, if you think about why someone buys your product-- that's where the fears might come up. For example, you sell decorative exotic accents for the home. Perhaps your client's biggest fear is that they'll never get to travel the world, so they like to bring the exotic experience into their home and look more cultured through buying these products.

Therefore, maybe you need to build an educational component to that vase from Thailand to help them understand the backstory so they can share it with their friends when they come over. That's a simple example, but you can see how the story is connected with the end benefit the product delivers but also the emotional side as well."

- Kristi Soomer

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answers

Question 2

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"I think yes, there are fears like, `Will this truly fit?', `Can I exchange it, if I do not like it?', `Will this really work for me?' or even `Is this site safe for me to buy from?', and those fears need to be addressed. But those are more of the basic fears, the foundation. Those are often not product-specific but rather help establish a general trust between you and your customer. If I can't be sure that I will like the product, that it will be just as it is shown on the internet, that I can exchange it if I am unhappy, that the service will be okay then I do not want to buy. No matter what the product is. These are more like the general online-shopping fears that have to be addressed for your customer to be happy to buy from you without being able to see the product or hold it in their hands.

But then there are also more product-specific fears. It helped me to think about why they want to buy it in the first place. Like if you sell a T-shirt, your Ideal Customer Avatar will not buy your T-shirt cause she wants a T-shirt. And her fear is not (at least not only) that she will be T-shirt-less. Her fear might be that she is not stylish enough, that she is too `bland,' that she wants to feel beautiful even with `just' a shirt on, that she wants to see or show a certain message on her T-shirt, that she does not want to support unhealthy work-conditions for people when buying T-shirts, etc.

Really try to think about what else might be going through her head related to your type of product. It might not be a `life-or-death' kinda fear. But if it is something she worries about, that is relevant and can (and should) be addressed by you."

- Ursula Markgraf

"Digging deeper into your ideal avatar is important because it will help you communicate with that ideal customer and identify where and how you are going to find them to market to them. Creating a backstory can be interesting if it helps offer insight that will get you where you need to be, closer to finding out how to effectively market your product to that person.

I'm the founder of Pure Natural Diva Botanicals, perfumes, body and skincare, and was invited to be a part of an amazing high-profile event that ran for 10 days at the Greystone Mansion International Design Show. This event was perfect for my brand because it would be attended by primarily women: women with an eye for style, a love of fine things, willing to spend time and money to tour an amazing showcase, etc. What was interesting was that it ran Thursday to Sunday, and we found that sales were double and triple on the weekdays.

This would seem counter to what you would expect, after all, more people attended the show on the weekends, but if you examine my avatar closely you'll learn more about her. She shops when she's with her girlfriends but not when she has her husband or family with her--she's not in shopping mode. She shops on her own or with her friend, with no distractions. It's only by digging deeply into your Ideal Customer Avatar that you really understand that kind of key information about your customers."

- Tania Reuben

? Marie Forleo International



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