Selling products vs selling services (Part 1)
Early on in planning your new business, one of the things you have to decide on is whether to offer products or services. The answer to this will depend on a wide range of factors, all of which you should consider carefully. Before you can evaluate which one is better for you, first you have to know the finer points of each.
Harry Beckwith in his book The Invisible Touch: The Four Keys to Modern Marketing presented these primary differences:
* Products are made; services are delivered.
* Products are used; services are experienced.
* Products possess physical characteristics we can evaluate before we buy; services do not even exist before we buy them.
* Products are impersonal; services are personal. A service relationship touches our essence and reveals the people involved: provider and customer.
The first two are self-explanatory, but with the evolution of technology, his third point needs a little tweaking. Digital products like software don’t exist physically, but just the same they can be evaluated in the form of trial packs before the actual purchase. With products, what you see is what you get. Meanwhile, firms offering services are usually considered based on past works, or a portfolio. You will need to get the client’s trust that the same quality of work will be delivered if you get hired for the job.
If you don’t have a portfolio yet, consider doing pro bono work to get some experience under your belt. Related school projects can also be used if you feel that they’re good enough, like a book cover for art class for a graphic design or illustration work.
As for his last point, I think it’s a mistake to think that products are impersonal, because to assume so would be a disaster. Both products and services need to connect on a personal level with your customers, although with services this is perhaps magnified ten times over. It requires much more interaction, and clients will not only evaluate the quality of your work, but also the way your present yourself and how much you connect with them and cater to their needs. You have to be willing to be sociable, even if only on a professional level.
Share your thoughts!!!