Selling "invisibility", something intangible, is much more difficult than ordinary goods - for example, clothing or building materials. It is no accident that marketing of services is singled out in a separate direction and assigned to it a special role. Today we’ll talk about the features of the sphere of intangible production and how to sell services.
What is a service?
A service means any activities, benefits or goods that are produced in the process of their provision and in most cases are intangible - that is, the buyer does not take possession of any tangible property. Nevertheless, some services are directly tied to goods in their material form. So, when buying a plane ticket, we get exactly the service - moving from point A to point B.
Sale Features
All services without exception have common characteristics that need to be considered when talking about how to sell services.
Intangibility
The most logical point. Services are intangible - that is, it is impossible to touch, see, taste. Arriving at the hairdresser, we can not "try on" a new haircut in advance. What does this mean from the point of view of the supplier? To increase sales, you need to make services more tangible, highlight the key benefits that the client will receive. For example, for a hairdresser it can be a portfolio with photos of the best works, which confirms his skill.
Inseparability from the source
Another feature is that the service is always closely related to the person or equipment. So, buying a ticket for a concert, we expect to see your favorite musicians. If for some reason one of the group members has to be replaced, the service will no longer be the same. This directly implies the need to properly organize the process of providing services: learn how to work with a large number of customers at the same time or speed up the service process.
Inconstancy of quality
Speaking about how to properly sell services, it is important to remember that the quality of services is constantly changing depending on the place, time of delivery and hundreds of other factors. One and the same waiter can perfectly serve you on one day, and on the other - drop a dish or be rude (for example, due to poor health). What is this talking about? Starting a business in the service sector, it is always necessary to allocate a sufficient budget for attracting and training really good specialists. In addition, it is necessary to establish feedback with customers in order to quickly process any complaints and improve the work of employees.
Inability to store
Why is this important for a business owner? The fact is that in almost all sectors of the service sector, demand fluctuates: tours to sea resorts are mostly booked in the summer, and taxis around the city at the height of the working day. How to sell services in this case? There are several marketing strategies that help stabilize demand and plan expenses more efficiently:
- Differentiation of prices over time. To shift part of the demand from the peak period to the lull period, many companies use discounts - for example, cinemas sell tickets at low prices for pre-dinner sessions.
- Creating an alternative for those who are waiting during hours of maximum demand. A good option is a separate cocktail bar for those who are waiting for a table in the restaurant.
- Implementation of the pre-order system.
Other options are also being practiced. A part of companies in periods of maximum demand attract temporary workers or part-time workers.
Service Marketing: General Scheme
It’s quite difficult to describe by points how to effectively sell services, because it all depends on the characteristics of a particular company and the niche in which it operates. It is impossible to offer a universal recipe for a large airline and a small hairdresser in a residential area of Moscow. However, a certain algorithm common to all enterprises in the service sector still exists.
Step # 1: market research
The first stage is a thorough, comprehensive study of the market in which you plan to work. The analysis is carried out in two directions:
- competitors;
- potential clients.
Information about competitors is collected in order to understand what exactly they offer, what “clings” customers, how they interact with them, and what prices they set. It is important to know who are the key players in the market and work in the same region with the same target audience as you. This can significantly affect the company's marketing strategy.
For analysis, cabinet and field methods are used. Cabinet data sources include industry magazines and directories, databases, and published ratings.
However, most often it is impossible to obtain the necessary information on a specific territory, since most publications work at the national or regional level. Then proceed immediately to field research:
- calling competitors in the guise of a potential customer;
- request and study of commercial offers, promotional products;
- analysis of advertising activities.
It is also necessary to obtain maximum information about customers of other companies. The main tools are questionnaires, surveys (on the Internet and on the streets), interviews. To develop a unique offer, it is important to find out exactly what they like / dislike in the companies they are currently contacting.
Step number 2: the development of pricing policies and additional services
First of all, you need to correctly calculate the cost of services sold. Knowing this indicator, you will be guided in how many customers you need to attract in order to go to zero, and what margin to install in order to earn. How to do it?
The cost of the service includes the sum of all expenses that the contractor incurs in the course of its provision. The costs are divided into 2 large groups:
- Permanent. These include rental premises, utility bills, administrative expenses, depreciation of equipment (computers, office equipment).
- Variables. Salary to employees, procurement of materials, etc.
Basically, when calculating costs, they are repelled by the time required to provide a particular service (for example, how many hours of the total time a programmer spent on an order).
However, in order to make a profit, it is also necessary to correctly set the extra charge for services. What should be taken into account?
- Competitor prices. In most cases, it is desirable that your price does not differ too much from the market average. Even if you see that competitors' prices are too high, you should not use a dumping strategy - this will only lead to the fact that demand will be quickly satisfied, and then your business will begin to wither.
- Quality level. There are niches in which it is generally impossible to determine average prices. For example, the creation of a site in some studios can cost 5,000 rubles, and in others - all 200,000. In this case, the cost depends on how you yourself evaluate the quality of your services, as well as on which segment you focus on. However, keep in mind: to work with elite customers, your business must comply with this bar (well-known specialists, a luxurious office, etc.).
Also at this stage it is necessary to develop a set of additional services. To do this, it is important to study your target audience well, their needs, lifestyle and financial capabilities. Staff training is of great importance: employees must offer additional services themselves, using special sales scripts.
Step number 3: psychological packaging
This specific concept appeared in the marketing of services. By analogy with physical packaging - a box or a proprietary package - the psychological is a certain environment in which certain services are provided. Moreover, it has the same properties as the service itself - it is intangible, volatile, inseparable from the source and not preserved.
The components of psychological packaging include:
- where to sell services - the situation at the point of sale, the design and atmosphere of the premises;
- the appearance and behavior of employees providing the service (for example, waiters);
- style of advertising messages, announcements, other printed materials;
- the impression that the client makes contact with the company during a telephone conversation or visiting the office.
Speaking about how to sell services, it is important to emphasize the importance of these factors. Even if you manage to hire the best chefs on the planet, the "cream of society" will not rush to your restaurant if it looks like a cheap roadside eatery. When you design a room, create advertising and train employees, you need to consider the needs and expectations of your target audience.
Step number 4: customer search
In the service sector, there are two ways to attract customers:
- using advertising and PR tools, creating a certain image, recognizable brand;
- independent search for potential buyers.
The first option often requires significant financial investment. In addition, it takes time for your company to be imprinted in the memory of potential customers, they began to trust it.
The second method requires minimal costs - as a rule, this is only the cost of salaries to employees engaged in finding buyers. However, in this case, audience coverage will be significantly lower, and your profit will constantly depend on how sellers work.
For planning a marketing campaign, again, it is important to have a clear portrait of your client. First of all, the choice of advertising media and channels depends on this. So, young people mostly get information on the Internet (in particular, on social networks). But if you work in the B2B segment and offer services for other companies, it is more logical to focus on sending commercial offers and publications in special industry publications.
Step number 5: sale
As a rule, potential customers choose between several companies. When you are in the list of possible options, it is necessary to create conditions so that the person turns to you. How to do it? Naturally, showing that it is here that he will get the best result.
Most courses for managers teaching how to sell services emphasize that the secret to success is to materialize what you offer. That is, to prove high quality before the time of sale. For this, a whole range of tools and techniques is used:
- "Test drive", demo version, trial free use of the service.
- Caring service - a hotline, free consultations, the possibility of testing on the site.
- Personal training by company employees (for example, a master class on hair dyeing in a beauty salon will demonstrate the level of professionalism of hairdressers).
- Demonstration of work - equipment, materials, process. This technique is often used in modern cafes, where visitors can see with their own eyes through the glass how cooks prepare their dishes.
- Reviews This has its own trick: the more famous and respected the person is, the more trust and interest it will cause.
- Portfolio. Photos or other examples of work performed that a potential client can see and evaluate.
If you are looking for customers yourself, you need to develop or use already proven effective sales scripts - scenarios by which you can offer your services to a "cold" audience.That is, to interest those people who initially did not think about buying.
The general scheme of a conversation with a potential buyer:
- Greeting.
- A few questions (2-3) to identify and specify the problem or need.
- A brief presentation of the solution to the problem. Since the buyer has already agreed that it exists, you won’t hear any “we don’t need anything”.
- Special offer / promotion. This may be the opportunity to use some service for free or a discount that is valid for several days. It is necessary to make the proposal relevant here and now.
- Reconfirmation of demand. That is, you need to remind the person of what he himself said at the beginning of the conversation about his problems and tasks.
- Objection handling.
- Promise of action. This can be either a direct purchase of a service, or, for example, an agreement to meet at the office to discuss details. The main thing is the result.
What services can be sold in this way? The described model is more suitable for selling services in the B2B market, where personal sales come first. In the B2C (consumer) segment, the main focus is usually on mass advertising, as a result of which potential customers themselves purposefully turn to the company.
Step number 6: work with the "denied" traffic
Due to the specific features of the service sector, it is far from always possible to get a client the first time. A typical mistake of entrepreneurs is not to interact with those who thought to turn to this company, but at the last moment changed their minds. But often this is a rather large layer of the target audience, and if you learn to interact with it, you can significantly increase profits. How to do it?
To work with outgoing clients, 2 main strategies are used:
- The offer of "last hope". It is often practiced on the landing page, when when you try to close the page, a message appears on the screen with a suggestion of super-favorable purchase conditions.
- "Growing" a potential customer. It is applied if the consumer has left due to the fact that he was not at the final stage of decision-making. This situation is typical for the sale of complex and expensive services. In this case, you need to get his contacts (email, mailing address) and try to "squeeze" using informational messages, newsletters with useful tips, etc.
Using these simple methods, you can significantly increase the sales of any services, regardless of their type and price category.
Step 7: Evaluating Profitability
Does your business make a profit? Is it worth it to continue? Do I need to change something? To summarize and understand this, a special indicator is used - the profitability of the sold goods, services, works. It is calculated by the formula:
- Profitability = Profit / Sum of all costs (cost) x 100%.
This indicator is calculated as a percentage. With its help it is easy to understand which services bring you the most profit, and which require too much cost and pull your business down. When introducing a new type of service, the planned profitability is also calculated.