Delivery of Products Services and Causes
This is my first post about the second element in the circuit questionnaire, Products and Services. This element’s first question asks whether you deliver products or services or combine both. I would add causes to the mix. Many organisations combine two or all three of products services and causes. So you need to understand what they are and how they combine.
Products
A product is a thing you purchase. It might be a consumer product such as a car or a television set or something more ephemeral like food or soap.
Two Types of Product
Material products, manufactured or crafted by hand, were the foundation of the industrial revolution. The digital revolution has modified them in significant ways.
The second type is digital products, such as applications or online courses. These did not exist a few years ago and for some people have become a significant source of income. Their big advantage is they can be downloaded once created at any time and in any part of the world. However, it is not as straightforward as that because they still need marketing, which is usually the hardest part of selling a product.
Products with Services
Products often combine with services. Walk into most department stores and you almost always thread your way through a maze of make-up counters. Here is a product with a closely related service. Do you buy the product with the service as a bonus, buy the service with the product as a bonus or buy a package that includes both?
Products with Causes
Products combine with causes too. Solar panels are a product but also a cause. Some governments encourage renewable energy and so offer incentives to invest in solar power. Other governments withdraw these incentives.
Services
A service is work done for you in exchange for payment. There are two kinds of service.
The first is a task performed for you. Hairdressers or cleaners are examples.
The other type of service is coaching or consultancy. This can deliver a completed task (expert consultancy) or help with a task (coaching or non-directive consultancy). These services do not always need the physical presence of the service deliverer and so can be delivered online.
Services with Products
Someone might visit your home to help apply make-up and sell you make-up as well as the service. Equipment may come with a service that helps you install and maintain it. Sometimes this service is an essential part of the package.
Services with Causes
Plenty of consultancy/coaching businesses offer support to people who want to be more effective campaigners, for example health or spirituality consultancies are usually inspired by a cause. Sometimes the cause is so integral to their offer, they may not even think of it as a cause.
Causes
Causes are offers that aim to change the world in some way. The invitation is to join the cause; it may include payment for a product or service but may not involve a financial exchange of any type. A financial exchange may be a donation, where you receive little in return beyond an acknowledgement.
Causes with Products
The cause may be peripheral, for example where someone sells make-up that is not tested on animals; they choose how much prominence they give to this and can make it a major selling point. Another example is solar panels sold to cut the customer’s carbon footprint. There are other reasons to buy solar panels but climate change is a major incentive for some customers.
Causes with Services
Combined with services, a cause may be a primary incentive: “I’ll show you how to apply the best make-up not tested on animals”, may appeal to people concerned about animal testing. The person offering this service could be forceful, lecturing customers on the ethics of animal testing and encouraging them to sign up to the cause. Others may simply state in the small print they use make-up not tested on animals.
Why are Causes Important?
Causes are more important than some marketers realise. Whilst some businesses may be cautious promoting a cause because it might put off some customers, the fact is causes permeate the marketplace.
With climate change, for example, the market is very lucrative, especially with government incentives. Solar panels, insulation, efficient boilers and other appliances, electric cars, bicycles; the list is likely to be very long.
Political campaigners soon realise they can sell products and services for their campaign to be successful. The money might go directly to the cause or a small business might fund its owner to devote time to promoting their cause as well as their product or service.
However, some businesses start solely to generate income. Purists might argue this is the usual reason for starting a business and a cause will only get in the way. However, many business-owners have ethical values. Someone selling make-up may soon realise there are several associated causes, for example what does “natural” mean? The Body Shop certainly turned natural make-up into a cause and in the early days recycled its bottles. (Maybe it still does but these days it does not make such a big thing of it.)
Many businesses discover an ethical dimension and embrace it. It makes sense to share your customers’ values; listen to their concerns and try to meet them. You might be a cynical manipulative capitalist but people find embracing a cause is natural and increases their offer’s credibility.
It becomes more complex where large corporations take on causes and impose their values on their workers. But for most small businesses the cause makes complete sense as a part of their offer.