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Service Marketers; How’s Your Packaging?

Written by: Jay Lipe

Article Overview: When a shopper picks up a product in a store, what is the first thing they notice? The packaging, right? The same holds true for someone buying a service. Yet instead of a folded carton with colorful graphics, you are the packaging for your service business. Intangible points of contact, including your clothes, your briefcase, maybe even your breath, all burn a lasting image in your buyer’s mind.

Service Marketers; How’s Your Packaging?

Here are some of the more common packaging elements all service marketers should pay attention to:

Your clothes
All your technical expertise won’t mean diddly if you wear a tie dye t-shirt and striped bell bottoms to your first client meeting. “Always dress better than you need to,” says Sue Morem, author of How to Gain the Professional Edge; Achieve the Personal and Professional Image You Want. “Even when dealing with a casual company, remember you are not a part of that company; you are an outsider.” If you are not sure what to wear, find a personal shopping consultant.

Briefcase
I have seen people use a briefcase that looked like it carried the first batch of Pony Express mail. Resist the temptation to use that briefcase Uncle Joe bought you at a rummage sale and instead invest good money in one at a reputable luggage store.
Briefcases are one of the few personal effects almost every business person carries into a meeting and this simple item speaks volumes about your image.

Your notebook
When you pull out some paper to take notes, do you pull out a sturdy, professional looking notebook or just a pad of paper? This item, which sits on the table throughout the meeting, may go unnoticed by many of your buyers. But then again, it may not.

Etiquette
Saying please and thank you. A firm handshake. Looking someone in the eye when talking to them. “Etiquette is the equivalent of the ribbon and bow on a package,” says Morem. “Good etiquette lets others know you are in control and finishes off your image.” For a good primer on professional etiquette, consult her book.

Proposal covers
Up until five years ago, I routinely faxed my proposals to prospects. Then, one of these prospects said to me “Jay, I have two proposals here. One is handsomely bound and the other is faxed. Which do you think I should go with?” Point taken. When final packaging your proposals, estimates or RFPs, use the highest quality binding system you can afford.

Envelopes
Do you still hand-address your envelopes? A lot of business people I know do and I sure wouldn’t penalize them for it. But if your competitors are ink jetting their envelopes, your image will suffer ever so slightly.

Email address
What image does your email convey? If your email address is studmuffin@yahoo.com or hottie@yahoo.com, you might take a step back and ask yourself, what image does this convey? If you are after a professional image for your service business, and you have an email address that does not synch up with this image, you might want to consider upgrading it.

Domain name
These days, with the costs of taking your business online dropping precipitously, your business really should have its own domain name. I’m not knocking AOL or Yahoo. But if you want to project the image of an established business that operates in a professional manner, having your own domain name is a giant leap. For more information about availability of certain domain names, visit InterNIC at www.internic.com .

Email fonts and colors
I have received some very professional looking emails. I have also received some emails that were laughably amateur. Increasingly these days, buyers and sellers make initial contact through email, and casual fonts or background colors that bury the body text penalize you right from the start. Consider your email address and template as “wrappers” for your business and treat them accordingly.

Voicemail greeting
Talk about a moment of truth for your business. The vast majority of business calls (including calls from your prospects) reach voicemail, thus underscoring the need for a professional, well-crafted greeting. Do not have your daughter recite her new poem or feature a rap version of “Old Lang Syne”. Keep it simple…and professional.

Punctuality
At the root of being on time is respect; respect for someone else’s time. So, be on time for all appointments. If you do run late, call and let someone know. If you are running a meeting, end on time or announce that the meeting may go longer and give everyone an opportunity to bow out.

If you think any of these packaging elements are not worth investing in, then you have missed my point. Each one of these is a defining contact point between your service business and your market, and forms an important element of your packaging. Pay attention to your packaging; your buyer will.

Author Bio
Jay Lipe is president of EmergeMarketing.com, a firm that has helped hundreds of small businesses and Fortune 500 clients grow through strategic marketing. He is also the author of two marketing books: The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses and Stand Out from the Crowd: Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity. Sign up for his free e-newsletter “Marketing Tips & Tools” at www.emergemarketing.com

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Related Forum Posts
Re: Service Or Product? - I agree with starting a Service-based Business in the economy. Here is what I think is critical: 1. Researching that your Service business has a market. 2. Marketing the Service with as much leverage as possible. 3. Product-izing the Service (aka Package Expert Knowledge). This will only help elevate you as "the" expert in your niche and make you accessible to people in different price points.
Packaging industry - I want to start a new business and considering all aspects of Packaging industries. What is the prospect of industries, keeping in mind the increase in demand for food and food products, and lot of things which require proper packing.
Good Potential for Packaging Industry - Packaging industry is here to stay. These days packaging industry has also updated its own technique. That is why we can now even have fresh coconut water sold in packs too. Its all because of the wonder technique of "packaging".
Re: Ever been scammed... - [quote="David Castro":19sru6ia]Have you guys ever wondered why we get so many pre-approved credit cards on the mail?[/quote:19sru6ia] ??? Pre Approved credit cards? Hows does that work? In the UK its pretty hard to get anything on credit now with the credit crunch, was easy a few years back they would give you anything!
Who Said Twitter Doesn't Work...? - Last month, the BBC World Service programme, The Strand, featured 21 year-old Icelandic pianist/composer Olafur Arnalds. Arnalds achieved extraordinary success through his internet-led project to compose 7 tunes in 7 days, post them on his website and then post links to it via TWITTER. As a result his website got thousands of visitors eager to listen to his music, catapulting him to fame and bringing his music to the attention of the BBC, who featured an interview with him on the World Service programme, The Strand! So who says Twitter doesn't work? (HINT: It does help if you have something uniquely your own that other people want to get hold of...)


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