May 4, 2010
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With people as their main assets, many service businesses as just selling hours, re-inventing themselves for every project. Customizing everything, if the people leave, there is no business. As a result, service businesses are tough to sell for anything more than a dreaded “earn out”.
If you want to sell your service business, you need to “productize” your service offer. By making your service look like a product, your business will appear more tangible, sustainable and less dependent on people.
Proctor & Gamble is arguably the granddaddy of product marketing, so I picked up a bottle of Tide before writing this post. To productize and package your service, follow the Tide formula:
Name it.
Tide is the brand and is always written in the same font. Having a consistent name avoids the generic, commoditized category label of “laundry detergent.” Do you have a name for your service?
Package it.
We use the “2 X Ultra” version of Tide, which is packaged in a unique bottle with two pour spouts. The depression knob spigot allows us to carefully measure out a dollop of Tide, whereas the twist cap provides quick flow. Do you have a consistent and unique way your customers interact with your service physically?
Write instructions for use.
Tide gives customers instructions for best washing results. If you want your service to feel more like a product, include instructions for getting the most out of your service.
Provide a caution.
My Tide bottle tells me that the product “may irritate eyes” and is “harmful if swallowed.” Provide a caution label or a set of “terms and conditions” to explain things to avoid when using your service.
Barcode it.
The barcode includes pricing information. Publishing a price and being consistent will make your service seem more like a product.
Copyright it.
P&G includes a very small ã symbol on its bottle to make it clear that the company is protecting its ideas.
What are you doing to make your service business less squishy?
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John Warrillow is the author of Built to Sell: Turn Your Business into One You Can Sell. He has started and exited four companies. Most recently John transformed Warrillow & Co. from a boutique consultancy into a recurring revenue model subscription business, which he sold to the Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD). In 2008 he was recognized by BtoB Magazine’s “Who’s Who” list as one of America’s most influential business-to-business marketers.
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TJ McCue 2 years 0 months and 25 days ago
Hey John, I like the "write instructions for use" part. My company has been squishy for far too long. I have taken this and other posts of yours to heart as well as your book. Thanks.With the new barcodes coming out, putting a code on a service product will be far more do-able and maybe useful for service businesses.