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



Service Marketers; How’s Your Packaging? - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Lipe's Website.

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