Wrapping Up Profits with a Package Deal

by Marcia Yudkin

A landscaping company complained to a reporter that instead 
of carefully defining their needs, interested prospects say, 
"Send us a proposal."

"That's like saying, 'Go buy a car,'" objected the owner. 
"We need to get people to think about what they want."

Not necessarily. They can set up new customers well in 
less time by offering a line-up of package deals. Packages 
of services or products provide a combination of options 
at a set price, instead of forcing people to identify 
the ideal mixture for their needs.

Barbara Leff, founder of Legal Web Works, created special 
packages for her target market, law firms with up to five 
attorneys. "Some are behind the technology curve," she 
says, "and they prefer to spend their time practicing law 
and adding billable hours."

Leff's all-inclusive Web site package deals greatly 
simplify lawyers' design decisions and ensure that 
they're not sucked into a black hole of unlimited charges. 
They can mix and match design elements freely, and add 
extras to the package for an extra fee.

"For lawyers who are tempted to say, 'I need a Web site,' 
I demystify the process," Leff says. "The package deals 
make getting small law firms onto the Web as painless and 
as cost-effective as can be."

Package deals involve additional dynamics that marketers 
can take advantage of. While package deals often involve 
discounted prices, the opposite can work too. When the 
combination of items is exciting enough and includes at least 
one product or service that's not usually available, people 
may become willing to pay much more than they ordinarily 
would.

For instance, suppose you own a vacation lodge and you 
recently hosted best-selling mystery writer John Grisham, 
who signed ten books while there on a fishing trip. 
Autographed books can't easily be bought on the open market, 
and for fans, they have a powerful appeal. You could thus 
create a "Grisham weekend" and give away a book to each of 
ten guests signing up for a three-day package including 
lodging, food, boat and equipment rental and a couple more 
luxuries or gifts the ordinary patron wouldn't spring for 
a la carte.

Even without a scarce or package-deal-only item, you can 
increase the appeal of your special deal by giving it a 
tantalizing name. The name might indicate a special purpose 
that plants ideas in the minds of people who don't 
ordinarily buy from you, as in the "Treat Your Spouse" 
weekend at a city hotel, aimed at local residents. 

For an auto repair shop, you might call your package "The 
Midwinter Tuneup," including a rationale for maintenance 
services that most car owners don't usually think of 
bringing their car in for that time of year. A publisher 
might likewise create a Valentine's Special -- four romantic 
books that a woman might love to receive from her man, who 
might otherwise buy just one, or none at all, in favor of 
that old standby, roses.

The above is adapted from "Secrets of Mouthwatering 
Marketing Copy" by Marcia Yudkin, available from 
http://www.yudkin.com/mouthwatering.htm  . Marcia Yudkin 
<marcia@yudkin.com> is the author of 11 books, including 
Persuading on Paper and Internet Marketing for Less than 
$500/Year.