Enabling Your Customers to Level Up

18 Feb 2010

leveling up Being in business for yourself is tough. If your day is anything like mine…you’ve got a not so quiet room in the house that you work from, kids running in and out, dogs barking, and a million other distractions that keep you from doing your best work.

On top of that, your working in a vacuum, and even though you might ask for advice on Twitter or via email, you’re still the one that calls the shots. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying.

You are the one in control of your own destiny…all of the credit, and the blame, goes to each decision that you make.

I think that’s one of the main reasons that bloggers and online marketers fail. Not because they don’t make the right decisions, but because they are afraid of making the wrong decisions.

Trying too much

But it goes beyond that…during this process of trying to make a decision, you’re bombarded with a variety of success stories and other success methods that draw you in.

You start feeling the pressure…maybe feeling a little jealousy…and instead of actually making a decision and getting started, you end up doing just a little bit of everything…never giving a single idea 100% of your time.

Instead of mastering one art, you’re trying to master several…and it doesn’t work.

Monetization

It’s the same with monetization.

The trick to making money online and Becoming a Crusader, is not in selling to everyone, but in selling to a very specific and clearly identified target audience.

If you try to sell to everyone, then you won’t reach anyone. We all know that…it’s a tune that’s been played over and over.

You need to identify and recruit a tribe…you need to have a mission.

Level Setting

But beyond that, even once you have a tribe, there’s a peculiar problem you’ll have to solve…and it’s one that isn’t always easy to fix.

Within your tribe, you have many levels of expertise. You have the guy that sells wine for the local liquor store, and then you have guys like Gary Vaynerchuk.

You have Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan.
Bishops and Popes.
Annakin and Obi-Wan

How do you sell to both?

Furthermore, how do you turn princes into kings?

Here’s the deal, in order to maintain your tribe in order to both build them up and unleash their fury, you’ll need to develop programs to train both sides of the coin.

Home Depot sells lightbulbs (beginners) and nail guns (experts).

Starbucks sells black coffee (simple) and mocha choca skim chai frappe double pumpkin spice fruity pebble lattes (I’ve never ordered anything beyond a black coffee at Starbucks).

Apple sells iPods, and Servers.

Getting it right

So the trick here, and it’s not easy, is to satisfy all levels of your audience without alienating them, belittling them, or humoring them.

Here’s my 3 step plan for doing just that:

1. Build a foundation of basic products that people new to your business can purchase in order to:

a. Learn more about you and your business.
b. Obtain a basic education, based on your principles, behaviors, or beliefs.

These products should be inexpensive (not cheap), have very clear aims, and should not overwhelm your clients.

This is the lightbulbs and coffee. The basics. The essentials. These are evergreen products that are always in demand, have lasting value, and can be obtained and consumed relatively quickly.

My examples of this are my Twitter Marketing Manifesto and my newly released premium guide: Claiming Your Destiny.

Granted, I need more…especially for readers of this blog, but those will come.

E-Books (even though I bashed them recently) work great for this. White papers and webinars (pre-recorded) do too.

2. Create premium content for advanced users in order to:

a. Prove that you’ve got it
b. Build them into brand advocates/kings

Advanced tribers are tough to keep around. They know a lot already, and they don’t want to waste their time…they’re on a mission.

That’s why it’s important to both include them in your mission plan, and give them something to do.

You need these people…they are brand advocates and they are the kings that help you build your empire. They have connections, and they’re not afraid to use them.

Get them something quick so that they have something to do when they stop by. If you don’t have an advanced product, then enable them to help you by giving them a place to share their knowledge with your audience.

Forums and comment sections work great for this. Roll out the red carpet for these guys/gals, and treat them like VIP’s…because they are.

In my case, I don’t have a lot of advanced products, so it’s something I’m working very hard on. Just ask the members.

In the mean time, I’ve created a members community where some of them more experienced folks can talk. I’ve also made it very clear that comments and suggestions are welcome here. To top it off, I have a Facebook and a Ning community as well.

I want to make it very clear that I’m not an expert at everything, and I’m always open to learning from those that are. This is another case for JV partnerships, but that’s another post.

3. Expand distribution and bridge product offerings so that you can:

a. Reach more people.
b. create a bridge from apprenticeship to master that runs on its own.

When I say distribution, I’m talking about the medium with which you sell products.

iTunes is a distribution outlet
Kindle store is an outlet
RSS feeds are an outlet
Syndication provides an outlet
Email
Boxee
Hulu
Roku box
etc

Get featured, listed, and published in as many places as you can. Connect with journalists, authors, and other professionals in order to be seen and get heard.

Experiment with new media.

Essentially…expand your reach.

Creating a bridge

The second part of the equation is the bridge…the pathway that trains your customer to be a good customer, but also enables them to help you.

Like I said before, it’s essential that your mission connects with people in a way that inspires them to follow your lead.

The pathway that we’re building is well-lit and distinguished. It enables people to become part of your mission.

Some examples of this on my front are the Twitter Rockstar program, and the soon to be announced Beyond Blogging Project.

These are not beginner level courses, but they aren’t advanced. They reach the middle ground, and they’re the B that connects A -> C.

When you’re done with that, create A: 1, 2, and 3. Create B: 1, 2, 3. Create C: 1, 2, 3…etc

Develop a portfolio of products and services that cater to your audience and still fit within your mission plan.

At this point, you’re ready to level up. Mission complete.

The Exception to the Rule

As with anything, there’s always an exception.

McDonald’s doesn’t have a beginner or advanced customer, but they have kids and adults.

An online consultant might cater to a specific person, such as an advanced blogger or marketer. In this case, rather than create different levels of products, you can create different levels of access.

Lastly, when you find a product that doesn’t sell, it’s OK to scrap it. However, let’s say that you’ve created a $1,000 product as an upsell to a $97 product. The fact that it exists makes $97 seem like a small investment. Even if you sell 1/month…it’s still something worth keeping.

We’ll talk more about pricing structures and access levels later, but this should be a good start…something to get you thinking.

So now it’s your turn…does your audience have levels? Do you have simple and complex product offerings? How can this fit what you’re doing already?

If you think I’m full of it…let me know…I’d love to hear what you think.

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GetYourBizSavvy

Sick article! It's so easy to define your market as everybody because that is what we dream of. You're absolutely right. You have to define your market.
Eric Saylor

This post reminds me of a couple sales jobs i've had. We had three prices, but one was the sole winner for most purchases. It was the middle one. Customers love to buy and have options; they hate to be sold. This article does a good job of highlighting that. I always create three pricing structures or three alternatives because most commonly a customer will CHOOSE to go with the middle grade (don't want to be cheap and don't want the best).

Good analysis over all.

-Eric Saylor
Nathan Hangen

Eric, thanks for that insight. That's a perfect example of why you need tiered pricing.
Ut ake care

You have such great insight, I have spent too much time chasing my tale and getting nothing done. I come to the conclusion Just do it and don't look back. Narrow the focus and go see where life takes you. Keep up the good work.
Keith Bloemendaal

I am still learning about products as you describe them here, I have a products site (DIY Fence Products) that it only takes 1000 views a month to make me a full time living because my traffic is so targeted, but with a site like my latest one, it obviously takes 10x that (or more) to get the sales from your products to make enough money.

I find it much easier to offer a real product, instead of coaching or e-products for my online income. But then again, my site is new, so I will keep at it....
Adrian Swinscoe

Hi Nathan,
Great post and a prod for me as I have just started blogging but have been putting off creating an initial low-entry point offer as I still don't have a lot of traffic to my blog. My higher level is different intensities of face to face work but your are right that having a lower entry point will improve access. Watch this space :)

Btw, a hot chocolate always looks attractive but worries me that I'd be bouncing around for days on all that sugar ;)

Adrian
TheInfoPreneur

God damn it I need this too. Great stuff I think you and Mike have been telling me this for a while but until I read this post I didn't 100% understand what you were both saying.

although I find it very hard to believe you haven't been tempted by a mocha lol.

Nathan how have you found this balancing act or is it a constantly evolving process?
Nathan Hangen

For me, it's much less balancing than it is experimenting...trying new things...etc. You'll never get it perfect, but the key is to mess around until you see what works.

Yeah, usually iced coffee for me :)
deceth

Well, well, well, what do we have here...

This is my first visit into your domain and it appears you've collected a nice gathering of souls. I approve. In fact, I'm going to pee on your hydrant, you know - mark some territory. Yes, that's weird, but it's the risk of guest posting on Truants empire. You've been exposed.

I'll be back. This is not the last you've heard of me.

Your soon to be evil overlord,

- Deceth
Nathan Hangen

Excellent...overlords are always welcome here. Grab a fire hydrant and enjoy :)
deceth

Seriously, I'm not going to touch it. Did you not just hear what I did to that fire hydrant?!
Mike CJ

That was well put, and I guess many of us find ourselves in that position, having created the first basic products, and then wondering where to go next.

One advantage to bear in mind is that at each step, the air becomes rarer, and therefore there's less competition.
remarkablogger

Dude, I know exactly where you're coming from, as I'm working on the very same thing.

Another way to look at this is what's called the "ladder of intimacy." Low rungs on the ladder are less expensive products that involve little of the "expert." Maybe an ebook. As you move up the ladder, you get closer to the expert: incorporate sound and video. This costs more. As you move up even further, personal contact with the expert can happen: group phone calls or webinars. These cost more. One on one calls? Cost even more. Higher up still, you have personal face to face contact with the expert: live video conference or live event. Yet higher cost. And then, highest of all on the ladder of intimacy: small live group or live person-to-person. These are the most expensive of all.

It may not apply for all businesses, and it definitely has a "guru" vibe to it, but it's tried-and-true.

By the way, I think a Fruity Pebbles Latte would be kinda awesome.
Nathan Hangen

Yeah man, that's the ticket right there. I was going to save that for another post, but maybe I can pull your arm and have you write about it over here?

Selling levels of access is a great way to create a diverse group of product offerings.

Fruity Pebbles FTW
remarkablogger

Happy to help out dude. Gimme some idea of a date when you have one in mind.
Samuel Rodriguez

We must identify the natural course of our services, and give them the structure to help our clients achieve their goals step by step.
First, build the basement, then the first floor, then second, etc. When the building is done, build another.
For example: give a client a personilized mail account. Then a personal website. Next an e-commerce site, promote it, etc.
When the customer succedes, he'll give you the next project.
Nathan Hangen

Exactly man, it's all building blocks. The key is to #1 make sure they come back to you instead of a competitor, and #2 make sure you're ready when they do come :)
BrianJ | OnlineBusinessBlogger

Nathan... Solid post...

First my niche is MLM... I know it sounds crazy, but I'm bringing a 3rd Tribe Philosophy to the MLM Industry.

My audience has a few different levels; I'm targeting two levels, small business owners and at home business owners. These make up 70% of my audience.

I offer 5 free ebooks packaged as system of how to create an online business to support their MLM Business... yes there are affiliate links in it. Then I offer paid services through the website... Small business loans, Interchange Management, Direct Mail, etc... Services that my target audience find value in and hire us for.

I teach them to get an online presence then... Then I provide services to help them grow and succeed...
Nathan Hangen

Thanks Brian.

I never had any luck in MLM, but I can see how blogging/IM techniques could work wonders in that arena.

Sounds like you're doing good things...I'm guessing that you're seeing some success using that model?
BrianJ | OnlineBusinessBlogger

Hey Nathan...

Yeah, at least 95% of anyone who get involved with MLM fail (that's a dirty little secret they never tell you when they are trying to get you to sign up)...

80% of the people who get involved with MLM will get involved with more than 1 company... They'll fail at one, then go to another... then repeat... It's a vicious cycle. I figure... If someone is going to join multiple MLMs, they might as well join mine...

We also teach them that their Great Aunt Millie isn't going to be a good prospect to enroll in their MLM and that there are millions of people on the Internet searching for "work at home business opportunities."

If they don't have a business, we teach them how to create a business around something they already know... We then teach them about blogging, social media, affiliates, how to create their own products and so on... We teach them how to do this so they don't rely on the $ from the MLM.

Like I said, a good percentage of our market is small business owners... The reason they are "trying MLM" (typically) is because their business isn't doing well... Then, here I am with small business loans and marketing solutions to make their phones ring... More people contact me for those than download our 5 free eBooks... (which is a good thing for me...)

We just re-branded and relaunched our MLM website and blog about a month ago... Everything is going well... Though we're getting ready to switch everything over to the Thesis theme in the next couple of months... I've used TypePad for years, but WP just keeps coming up with so many awesome plugins and features, it just makes sense to switch...

We've had this business model for almost 2 years now... My wife was able to quit her day job back in July of 08, I quit my day job in February of 09... We were able to move to South America because of our business model... Been in Montevideo Uruguay since May of 09... Just had our 2nd daughter this past Sunday... So everything is just humming along smoothly...
Hulbert

Nice post Nathan. My blog currently doesn't have enough traffic for me to build a product, but one day I plan to. I agree that sometimes people see other successful business sales pages and think that they can do everything at once, which can be a huge turn off to many people. I like your examples of appealing the product for a small group of people, but also earning the expert's trust as well. I'll keep this in my when my blog grows as big as yours one day. Thanks.
Nathan Hangen

Well, even if you don't have traffic, you can still create a product and have it waiting for launch.

It's easy to get distracted when there are so many ways to do the same thing, but what's important is finding the approach that works best for you and then zeroing in on it.