Wrapping Up Profits with a Package Deal

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.