Boost Your Online Business Profits: The Win-Win Strategy of Product Bundling

What if there were a simple and effective way to boost your online business profits and stand out in a crowded marketplace? Discover how product bundling can create a win-win situation for both you (the seller) and your customers, enhancing value and boosting customer satisfaction. Join us as we chat about how to tap into your customers' needs, desires, and problems to offer innovative solutions through clever product or service bundles - it's not just about the usual discounts!

Hear real-life examples across various business types from running shoe companies to life coaches, highlighting the versatility and potential of bundling. We'll show you how to use social media and email marketing to identify your customers' needs and create appealing bundles. We'll also delve into how bundling creates cost savings for businesses and simplifies decision-making for consumers. Get inspired by the power of bundling products or services, and walk away with actionable insights to skyrocket your e-commerce business. Tune in and together let's bundle up for success!

This week’s episode is sponsored by our Search Engine Optimization Mini Course.  Our Free online digital course that teaches eCommerce and website owners how to level up their search engine rankings with some simple, doable steps!  Join us at www.ecommercemadeeasypodcast.com/seominicourse/

Transcript

Carrie: 0:34

As an online business owner, you may be wondering what else can I do to level up my products or services, or what can I do to stand out in the online crowded marketplace, especially without discounting my products even more? In this episode, we have you covered with ideas you can use for the upcoming holiday season, or really any time of the year, to help you stand out in the crowded online world. Welcome to the Ecommerce Made Easy Podcast. I'm your host, Saunders. When we started this business, all I had was a couch, a laptop and a 9 month old. My main goal To help others. Now, with over 20 years in the e-commerce building industry and even more than that in web development, I have seen a lot. I love breaking down the hard tech and to easily understandable bits to help others be successful in their online business. Whether you're a seasoned e-commerce veteran or just starting out, you've come to the right place, so sit back, relax and let's dive into the world of e-commerce together. Welcome back to this week's episode of Ecommerce Made Easy Podcast. Today, we're talking about standing out in a crowded online marketplace.

Carrie: 1:45

As an online business owner, you likely solve a problem, or you create a solution to a problem, or you help somebody in some way, even if the way you help somebody is providing more fun in their life. But either way, what can you do to stand out in the crowd? How can you really stand out? Well, first off, what we need to do is really get into your customers' minds. Really think about what they're thinking, what they're needing, what they're wanting. What could you add on to your current products or services that would really wow them or give them a complete solution to their problem? Again, when I use the word problem, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're solving your problem. It could be you're solving a fun problem, like they just want more fun in their life. So keep that in mind when we're talking about the word problem in this episode.

Carrie: 2:40

So, for example, let's say you're a running shoe company. You obviously help those who are runners. What other accessories could you bundle together with running shoes to make the run better or more enjoyable? Most runners will have a cell phone with them when they're running for safety and or music or podcasts. So what could you do here? You could bundle a running accessory that holds their cell phone securely while making sure it doesn't get in their way of their running. Or maybe you have a lot of dog owners who are runners. You could bundle a running leash with your running shoes to bring more value to those buying your running shoes.

Carrie: 3:25

So for product bundling, you can do this in a few ways to make and create more value. You can create bundles targeted to specific subgroups of your target audience, like we gave an example and the running shoe example. This helps them feel that you really understand their needs, pain points or desires. You can also give them discounts on the items in the bundle if you'd like. Don't feel like you have to do this, but it is a way that you can do it and it is a little bit more typical when we're talking about physical goods here. This creates a higher perceived value as well as helps foster customer loyalty when their field are getting more out of their money for the products they're buying from you. It also helps you, the business owner, move more product out the door. So even if some of these products and you decide to give a discount on some of these products, you're going to get ahead on profits because you're selling more volume in general.

Carrie: 4:22

Okay, so let's flip the coin a little bit and take another example. Let's say you are a live coach and support busy entrepreneurs in their business journey. Most busy entrepreneurs need a really great, reliable way to organize and plan their days, months, weeks and years. You can bundle one of your favorite planners with your top packages, your top service packages, so that you can really give them a bit more bang for the buck without costing you a whole lot more. You can even make this to be an add-on price too, if you'd like.

Carrie: 4:59

Busy entrepreneur also need fuel for their day. So instead of a planner, you could also add a coffee slash tea mug that with a special saying on it. That really helps encourage them and move them throughout their day and be reminded of you every time they look at that mug. So think about it. Every time they see that mug they're going to think of your coaching services. Or, if you do the planner, they're going to think about your coaching services when they look at that physical item. Giving somebody something tangible when you sell services really helps the mind connect better to the business providing the service. So what could you imagine receiving? That would really make you feel special as a business owner. So think about that. So really kind of put your mind in the shoes of the consumer. So let's say you're a little bit newer starting out or you're not quite sure what your consumers would really want added into your bundles and added into your products.

Carrie: 6:07

To make bundles, what you can do is you can actually use social media and or email marketing to your advantage. Here you can simply ask your audience you already have what do they wish they had when they were running. Say, you're that shoe store that sells running shoes. You could just simply ask them what. What would they like to have with them on their run. Or you can even ask them what is their favorite running accessory that they already have. So some of your consumers might have their favorite running accessory already, but some of them might not. So the ones that have a specific running accessory that they love might inspire you for what you can offer in your bundles to serve those who don't have that, who are looking at your running shoes. So we can do similar for a service-based business as well. So, as a life coach, you can ask them what would really help them level them up on their business, and you can also ask them what do they feel is missing in their business. Or you can ask them what is their favorite business tool that helps really support their day and make them more productive. So, again, pull from those who already have this solved so that you have an idea of how to solve it. For those of you that you serve that don't have this accessory, that really helps push them over to the next level.

Carrie: 7:27

The great thing about bundling products or services is it's usually easy on you, the business owner, to do it, and it boosts your perceived value. Bundling will also create a cost savings for you, the business owner, as well as the consumer. So think about it. If you're selling a bigger ticket items to the same number of customers, you're going to get a bigger profit for minimal effort because you're selling more products or services to the same number of people. It's just simple math here, right? Another advantage is that bundling products and services simplifies decision-making for the consumer.

Carrie: 8:08

A confused mind says no. So when you create a complete solution package, it is much easier for the consumer to say yes to your products or services. They can really have a clear direction on how your bundle helps solve their needs, especially if you do great with your words and your marketing to really speak to the solution you provide rather than the features the bundle has. So make sure you keep that in mind when you're doing these bundles. You need to make sure you're speaking to the solution it solves, the problem it solves. Don't be talking about specifically, like all the features. You can have that later on in your marketing material, but the top of your marketing really needs to be what you're solving. You need to get into their mind and through the brain and this isn't really manipulation, it's just helps them connect better with what you're really serving and selling so that they can make an informed decision.

Carrie: 9:04

Another thing that can happen is maybe somebody doesn't need at this specific bundle you have built, but when they see that bundle they can see some of the other products and services that you sell and that gives them a bit more awareness and brand awareness on what you have to offer. So they may not know about these things. And then now they are able to see what they are. Or if you do sell these product bundles or services to your consumers, you can really kind of get an idea of what their needs are and you can more effectively upsell them the next time they're coming to you for more products or services, because you know, say, for example, you're the dog the company, the running company, and you're doing the dog leash with the running shoes. Now you know everybody who's bought the bundle with the running dog leash. They are dog owners and so you can upsell them more accessories to help them on their run with their favorite doggo right? So you can really use this to gain some insight on who is buying your products and services.

Carrie: 10:12

If you want to get a little bit more advanced, or if it makes a bit more sense for your target audience, you can create custom bundles. For example, for us here at BCSE, we tend to create custom bundles because not every business is the same and some might have already features that they need on their website, but others do not. So we usually do an assessment and figure out what products and bundles will make sense to create the goals that the that our consumers want. However, I feel like that's a bit more advanced, so I would advise this route only if you mastered standard bundles already, as you do risk creating customer confusion if it's not done correctly.

Carrie: 11:01

One simple way you can do this to kind of level up a little bit is one thing our phone carrier does that we use for us personally is when you buy a new phone. Almost always you can buy two accessories and get a third accessory for free. Obviously, it's going to be the cheapest accessory of the three You're going to get free. That's how that usually works. But you're buying two items and you're getting one item for free. So as a consumer, I feel like I have a better perceived value because I'm going to get that third accessory that I might not have paid for before, because when you buy a phone you always need a new cell phone case, right, you might want an extra charger. So those are two things you're probably already going to buy anyway. So then to get that extra accessory say a phone mount for your vehicle you feel like you've got a little bit more bang for your buck because that's something that's nice to have, that you probably wouldn't have bought, but now you have it because they have this deal going on. So this can be the simpler way to do custom bundles that you could explore seeing if it's a good fit for your target audience.

Carrie: 12:08

Another way reason you could do this too is say you don't understand your target audience really well just yet and you kind of want to see what are those add-ons that they want to have in their custom bundles. So as long as you think about this strategically, from a business standpoint, obviously the buy two accessories, get one free makes a lot of sense because all those items are probably priced the same point at the phone carrier. They are about the same price point. Then you can make sure you don't have too much of a risk on the item that you're giving out for free. So you could really use this to also get a really better idea of how many dog owners you have. So say you do the running shoes and you can pick an accessory for free that's under, say, $20. Pick a price point. Maybe a lot of people buy the phone carrying thing or, into your surprise, maybe they buy the dog running leash because they already have a phone carrying device for when they're running. So you get a little bit more idea of who is purchasing on your website or at your storefront and really get a better idea of who you are serving. However you want to create bundles is really up to you, but you do want to make sure you're keeping the consumer in mind.

Carrie: 13:26

As we've talked about Making sure you can easily fill the bundles. You want to make sure this is scalable, so in case this really takes off and you're really selling these bundles like crazy, you want to make sure that you can either provide it, whether you're doing services and you're giving a tangible item that you're mailing in the mail, or if you're selling, say, running shoes or products and you're wanting to give them accessories. Make sure that you can fill that as a business if this goes crazy and really takes off. So make sure you can scale this, make sure it's not too onerous on your business. And you also want to make sure you're very clear in your communication of the bundles. So, for example, the cell phone company where you can buy two accessories and get one free, in their terms they say the cheapest item of the three accessories is the one that is free. So you want to make sure that you're very clear in those terms, because it could really mess up their business if the more expensive item were given for free and they didn't specify that the cheapest item was for free, because that could really cut into their profit margins right there. So, overall, selling services in packages or products in packages can be a very strategic approach to retain and attract clients. It can help you increase your revenue and streamline your operations and when done effectively, it offers a win-win solution for both you, the business owner, as well as your customers.

Carrie: 14:56

That's all we have for this week's episode of the eCommerce Made Easy podcast. Thank you for joining me this week. Be sure to visit our show notes and other episodes on eCommerce Made Easy podcastcom. And if you're watching this on the YouTube channel, make sure you hit that subscribe button. Or if you're listening on a podcast, hit that follow button wherever you're listening so that you don't miss out on any upcoming episodes. And if you're listening to this and found value in today's episode or any other episodes you've listened to, we want to hear from you. What other content do you want to hear on our show? Make sure you drop us an email at podcast at bcs engineeringcom, or leave us a review on your favorite podcast app. We would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening and I will see you next week.