Give Your Customers What They Want: The Importance of Product Development, Front-Ends and Back-Ends

Whether you're launching a new business or you're established, product development should be an active part of your strategic business plan.

However, many companies - large and small - oftentimes neglect product development due to internalized myths such as:

·We don't need extra products
·We don't have the time to develop extra products
·We don't have the money to develop extra products

First, let me say if your products are relevant and useful, I believe you can never have too many products. One thing you need to constantly do is "ask" your list (i.e. subscribers/customers/clients) what they want. You can do this in many ways, such as simple and brief surveys or questioners. You can also take the 'idea' of a product and test offer it to your list.

For instance, if you're thinking about offering a copywriting coaching service, start out by measuring internal sentiment. Create a simplified version of this product which has the "essence", like an eBook called, "50 Hot Copywriting Tips". Price it attractively, and promote it to your file. If your file responds well to the eBook, they'll likely respond well to a more comprehensive version of the eBook, whether it involves multi-media components (such as workbook, DVD, CDs) or a personal coaching element. So your eBook would be your "front-end" product (low price point), your kit would be your "mid priced" product, and your personal coaching would be your "back-end" product.

This leads me to my next point - pricing levels. Many companies make the mistake of either having many front-ends products, and no back-end, or visa versa. Here's my belief: Front-ends are relatively easy to create and involve little cost. So there's the myth-buster of "not having time" or "not having money". If it's an eBook, there's little overhead, outside of the gathering of information (editorial time), production and graphics design. And you're saving money by fulfilling it digitally to customers.

However, the product line shouldn't end there. Your customers are going to look for more comprehensive information. And that level of detail will mean a higher price - which they'll be willing to pay for. So if you're not offering them a mid or back-end product - you're actually doing a disservice to your list. They will go to your competitors to buy that information. So why not make sure you have a well-rounded product list with varied price points?

Here's a sample of pricing levels:
1. First level - free newsletter

2. Second level - paid reports, paid newsletters ($1 - $99). Front-End

3. Third level - Bundled products, kits, membership sites ($100 - $499). Mid-Priced

4. Fourth level - Conferences and events ($500 - 999). Back-End

5. Fifth level - Premium service, upscale events ($1000 - $2,999). Back-End

6. Sixth level - Lifetime value clubs, VIP products ($3,000+). Ultra Back-End. This is ideal for your true multi-buyer, loyal, advocate customers ... the Golden Goose!

Now, keep in mind, the aforementioned may not be your business model. You may sell a service or retail item, as opposed to contextual-based infoproducts. But it still gives you an idea about pricing structure and product variety.

Also, if you read last week's issue, you'll know that content is king. So recycle it. Repurpose it. And repackage it. You can take articles, blog posts, webinars, bonus materials, conference transcripts, etc. There's many sources of content that can be re-used for creating product.

What About Going Outside Your List?

If you have a product and not sure how viable it is on the global platform, you can do a few things to test product viability...

1. Use PPC ads to see if there's general market interest. That is, use a "quick and dirty", watered down version of your "real" product. For example, a free or paid (i.e. under $10) eBook. Create up to 5 ads on Google Ad Words. Run them for about 2-3 weeks. Each ad should be different in tone and pitch. Because you don't want poor copy to influence your results. Based on ad clicks and conversions (i.e. leads or sales), you'll have a good idea if there's general interest in your product/idea.

2. Go to eBook market places like ClickBank.com and see what's hot, what's in demand. You can search topics to see what's the most popular.

3. Do your research in related blogs, chat rooms, forums. See what people are talking about within your niche or product genre.

4. Do keyword research. Using Google's free external keyword search tool, check and see what the actual keyword search volume is on your relevant, targeted keywords related to your audience and product.

My suggestion is start out with the 3-2-1 approach. That is, 3 front-end products, 2 mid-priced products, and 1 back-end product. From there, you will define and refine your product development based mostly on demand.

If you're in need of assistance in product development or testing your product's viability, you can contact me at wendy@precisionmarketingmedia.com .