PCB007 Magazine

PCB007-Feb2019

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10 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 explains, "You can emphasize aspects of your service that solve your prospect's problems or satisfy their needs…Customers may express more reluctance when buying a service be- cause unlike a product, they can't evaluate it before they use it." Johnston's categorizations simply confirm the debate. Is PCB fabrication a product or a service? It has clear aspects of both, after all. Interestingly, we might go so far as suggesting that it's our services that are standardized, and it's the product we build for our customer that is customized. So, how should we communi- cate our business proposition effectively? In an article on the same subject, Nancy Wagner [2] , marketing strategist and speaker, writes, "Service companies use marketing strat- egies that include building personal relation- ships with decision-makers through network- ing and sales calls that require them to listen to the customer's problems and concerns. This type of marketing allows service companies to more carefully tailor solutions that meet the customer's needs." She continues, "Product companies, however, usually rely on advertis- ing, promotional campaigns, and direct mail… High-end products are customizable to a cer- tain degree, but smaller products are usually created to meet the greatest number of cus- tomer's needs." Wagner's marketing comments continue, "Companies that sell services must create mar- keting messages that focus on the benefits of their offerings...what customers want…their likes and dislikes, the challenges they face, and the types of solutions they need to succeed. But if you sell products, you need to provide a healthy mix of both benefits and the product's features to be effective." So, a service provider, according to Wagner, needs to prioritize relationships, networking, and strong interpersonal business methods. Further, Wagner suggests that while service companies might concentrate just on their benefits to the customer, product companies need to market both benefits and features. Then, there's the blog post from Denver- based Jim Keenan [3] , CEO and "chief antago- nist" of A Sales Guy Consulting, which pulls no punches, declaring, "There is no difference between selling a product and selling a ser- vice—absolutely none!" Keenan continues, "Those of you who think there is a difference need to evaluate how you sell because you're selling wrong." He contin- ues, "The salespeople who focus on their ser- vice or product as their selling approach are missing the point. Good selling doesn't sell a product or a service. Good selling focuses on identifying problems, then offers a solution to solve the problem, and if it's a kickass solu- tion, no one cares if it's a product or a service." And Keenan is not done yet. "If we're selling correctly, we're ultimately anchored in the cus- tomer's 'gap'—the gap between where they are today and where they want to be tomorrow. We're selling based on solving measurable, tangible, urgent, business problems. We're not selling our service or product, but what our product or service can deliver for our customers in terms of their business value. When we're selling like this, it's all intangible. It's always differ- ent for each client, each cus- tomer." There is definitely a wide spectrum of thought out there on selling services vs. products.

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