How do you market two services under one roof?

Career Management Series

By Laura Lee Rose

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of TimePeace: Making peace with time – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management and work-life balance strategies. I help busy professionals and entrepreneurs create effective systems so that they can comfortably delegate to others, be more profitable and have time to enjoy life even if they don’t have time to learn new technology or train their staff. I have a knack for taking big ideas and converting them into smart, sound, and actionable ideas.

At the end of the day, I transform the way you run your business into a business you love to run.

Today’s comment came from a busy professional and an entrepreneur:

How do you market two services under one roof?

I have a business that specializes in two areas.

1. Purchasing service/management – product sourcing – Procurement/purchasing agent
I provide a purchasing service, sourcing all types of engineering, industrial and commercial products locally, nationally and internationally.
There are no upfront fees or locked in contracts keeping costs down.
The process is simple:

• You send us your enquiry
• We source the product for you
• We negotiate the best price for you to obtain value for money
• We provide you with a quote for your approval, once approved
• You provide us with a purchase order
• We purchase the item on your behalf
• We organize fright to your door step or you can use your own fright company
• We invoice you

2. I am also official agents/distributors of major industrial brand names and products, assisting customers in mining, export, import, manufacturing, transport, construction and industrial market

My question is how do I promote or market those services and how do I word it all in my marketing material without confusing the potential client? Also how do I get the word out there to at least get a chance to quote?
Any help on marketing such services world be greatly appreciated

From your description, it appears that the two components of your business may have some cross-over but are essentially independent from a functional perspective.

In this instance, combining the two separate and distinct services will confuse your client base. A confused person will never say “yes” to the sale. Therefore, separate you marketing.

Here are some quick steps:

1) Clearly and fully define your target market or target client for area 1.

a. Include their income, their leisure activities, their family lifestyle, etc.

b. Understand their specific problems and how you can uniquely solve their problems

c. Understand exactly what they want to accomplish and how your unique service achieves their goals

2) Repeat for the target client for area 2.

3) If the two descriptions are not the same, then create two separate and distinct marketing plans and branding messages for each business.

4) Create separate websites, brochures, social media pages, and marketing plans for each.

5) Advertise “Area 2” as an affiliated program/product/service on your “Area 1” websites and brochures.

6) Advertise “Area 1” as an affiliated program/product/service on your “Area 2” websites and brochures.

7) Continue to cross-promote the other service as something they may need down the line.

In short, use one area to get a foot in the door (give a quote); and then introduce the other service as the answer to a separate issue or problem down the line.

Conclusion

It is going to be easier for you to define and focus on the right client for each individual product. It’s easier to sell a product or service that specifically answers their very specific and individual needs versus a disjointed and confused product platform.

It may seem a duplication of effort to a degree. However, your goal is to increase the probability of giving a quote (not to combine marketing plans). What good is it to save marketing effort if you don’t attract the right clients?

Once you have attracted the right client, and then continue to cross-promote and "refer" the paying clients to the other service. By then you already have a paying client who already trusts you and understands that you have their best interest in mind. You will have already built trust with them, and then can recommend your other service as a solution to their next problem or hurdle.

If you need additional help on this topic, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info

I am a business coach and this is what I do professionally. It’s easy to sign up for a complementary one-on-one coaching call, just use this link https://www.timetrade.com/book/WFSFQ