Posts Tagged Professional Services

Holiday Promotion Ideas for Professional Services and SAAS Businesses

On November 2, 2021   /   Branding - Marketing, Entrepreneurs - Small Business, Graphic Design and Web design   /   Leave a comment
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Holiday Promotion Ideas for Professional Services girl shopping online

 

Black Friday has been a mainstay promotional event for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops for decades. Many a shop owner prepares months in advance for that magical 6 am door opening. While throngs of caffeine-crazed shoppers stand prepared ready to snag the best deals of the year.

Our focus for this particular blog is to share holiday promotion ideas for professional services and SAAS businesses. If you offer a mix of retail, subscription, and member-based offers, read on—much of this may apply to you too. Businesses also seek deals this time of year and not only for traditional products. These holiday promotion ideas for professional services and SAAS businesses can add a revenue boost to B2B companies in a historically slow quarter. However, to take advantage of it this year it’s important to start planning now.

Many marketing experts recommend preparing for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday at least four weeks in advance. We are posting tips every week leading up to Black Friday on our Facebook and Instagram channels to help tackle everything from page load to email testing. With the challenges many of us are encountering with supply chain issues, product deliveries, etc. it’s important to plan as far in advance as possible for all holiday promotions. Retail and e-commerce product sites are especially vulnerable. Brick and mortar retailers and e-commerce shops will want to check availability well in advance to make sure what they are promoting will be in stock. Fortunately, Professional Service companies and SAAS companies are not as affected by the supply chain. However, planning is still critical.

Following are some Holiday Promotion Ideas for Professional Services and SAAS Businesses

Although Cyber Monday began as the online version of the retail industry’s Black Friday (thank you Amazon) it has evolved to include service and digital product promotions. Personally, Cyber Monday/Cyber Week is when I finally purchase the personal apps and training courses I haven’t been able to justify purchasing. From meditations, to music, to digital training courses, Cyber Monday gives non-traditional tech and digital sales a boost. I havee have also taken advantage of stock art subscriptions, annual software purchases, or BOGOs for professional services for business during the big holiday sale days. More and more professional service and SaaS companies are jumping in the holiday promotion wagon and everyone benefits.

Here are a few holiday promotion ideas for professional services to get you started:

1. Offer a percentage off of the entire purchase

We’ve come to expect discounts from retail shops and service companies and SAAS firms can benefit from this promotion too. The biggest consideration is determining the percentage you want to offer. Getting 30% off a pair of $90 shoes is a good deal, offering 30% off an entire construction project could bankrupt a builder. Paying attention to margins here is key. 

  • Offering customers a percentage off of services can be the trigger to get in the door for the bid or the customer to choose you instead of another contractor.
  • Create an on-demand offer or annual retainer model and offer a percentage off the annual fee
  • Monthly website hosting or IT services, $5 off monthly fee when you pay the year in advance, etc.
Industries who can benefit from this promotion: 
  • SAAS Companies – percentage off of a download or annual commitment
  • Construction service firms: plumbers, remodelers, cleaning services, roofers, etc. 
  • Professional service firms: Attorneys, IT service companies, event management firms, Accountants, Bookkeeping, Marketing, Design Firms, etc.

 

2. Offer One Free of a Multiple Purchase (one session, one month, one download, one window, etc.)

Get creative and think beyond the promise of a free consultation or free estimate. In construction, law, and other industries a free initial consultation or estimate is expected and won’t be perceived as a true ‘freebie’.

  • For products or services, you can offer one free window install with the purchase of a full house of windows. Or for professional firms offer a small add-on service for free. Cover a filing or registration fee or offer free set-up or installation, etc.   
  • Think of offering a set of services, 11 massages for the price of 10, 10 coaching sessions and one free e-book, one free month with annual membership purchase.
  • For digital companies, this could be one or more downloads for free. Think e-cards, meditations, courses, the first chapter, or the introduction of a book. Another idea could be the first download in a series customers usually have to pay for. Give a free introductory training download.  This helps introduce your products and services to customers and can keep them coming back for more or investing in a higher level or longer-term commitment. The customer will save money and when they find value in what they received, you become their go-to company because you helped them get started.
Industries who can benefit from this promotion:
  • SAAS (One free month with annual commitment, or one add-on or in-app purchase)
  • Coaches (Life Coaches, Business Coaches, Family Coaches, Sales coaches)
  • Counselors, Massage Therapist, Hairstylists, Nail Salons
  • IT Services, Website hosting service, Marketing maintenance service, 
  • Bookkeepers, Accountants, Association Management, Client Management
  • Teachers, Trainers, Speakers, Authors,
  • Artists (Digital Downloads)
  • Construction: builders, skilled trades, plumbers, remodelers, cleaning services, roofers, etc.
  • Professional Services: Attorneys, IT service companies, event management firms, Accountants, Bookkeeping, Marketing, Design Firms, etc.

 

3. Offer Free Shipping/Delivery or a Fixed Amount Discount  

Keep it easy for everyone. Taking $20 off every $100 spent is much easier to understand than 30% off of a $100 purchase. Customers don’t want to do the math. Keep it simple for them Keep it simple for you.

  • SaaS companies could do $20 off purchase or $5 off in-app purchase. Coaches, Therapists, Hairdressers, and Nail Techs could do $10, $20 off a session, etc.
  • If you have higher ticket items you can offer a scale. $15 off $100, $40 off $200, etc. The more they buy the more they save and the more you sell. Just be sure to keep your margins in mind when you are selecting the discount. Win/Win
  • If you have a hard copy study, journal, workbook, calendar or other books for sale consider offering free shipping. Nobody likes add-on fees especially delivery costs. Choose a dollar amount the shopper needs to spend that will earn them free shipping. Set up your e-commerce platform to tally their totals as they add items to their cart. Honestly, who here hasn’t added another $7.00 item so they could get free shipping?
  • Always create promotions that are clear. Don’t make shoppers have to think – Black Friday or any day.
Industries who can benefit from this promotion:
  • SAAS
  • Coaches – Life Coaches, Business Coaches, etc
  • Counselors, Massage Therapist, Hairstylists, Nail Salons
  • IT Services, Website hosting service, Marketing maintenance service,
  • Bookkeepers, Accountants, Association Management, Client Management
  • Teachers, Trainers, Speakers, Authors
  • Artists (Digital Downloads)
  • Construction, skilled trades, builders
  • Professional Services

 

4. Give a Gift, Send a Card

The holidays are about giving. If you don’t have an add-on, training, or a download to share you can look for other ideas. You can still give a gift that brings you top of mind to your customers and prospects during the holidays. Do your best to find an item that connects with your business in some way.

  • For companies that have time-sensitive services, calendars with your branding may be seen every day, all year long.
  • Work with a promotional product company to discover a gift that is appropriate, on budget, and useful. 
  • For small businesses with a local focus personal deliveries of food or homemade goodies are always great ways to get in the door.  
  • If you have a large customer and prospect list and gifts are not in the budget this year send a card. In lieu of customer favors some companies donate to a cause. Acknowledging this in a holiday greeting sheds a positive light on your brand. Cards are always appreciated and once again get your business name out there. I recommend resisting sending postcards. Cards are often displayed on customers’ desks, file cabinets, in their homes, etc. Postcards do not fit with standard display options and in many cases won’t be seen by others. The last tip to stand out a little more is to consider sending cards for Thanksgiving or New Year instead of Christmas.  
Industries who can benefit from this promotion:
  • Everyone!

 

If you decide to run a campaign this year be sure to follow us on social media. We have broken down tasks for each week leading up to the major holiday sales days. Catch tips on how to optimize your website for holiday promotions. We will also share what to review to be certain your campaign goes without a hitch, and more. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for 4 weeks worth of step by step tips.

 

Good luck with your holiday promotions!

If all of this is just too much, or if there are pieces that make more sense for us to do instead of trying to plow through them alone, connect with us. We’re happy to help with setting up your website for e-commerce, creating auto-generated emails, or digital graphics and pop-ups to promote your sale. Give us a call or shoot us an email today. We’ll do a quick phone review to get us all up to speed and plan the next steps.

Stay connected!

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Ideas for Residual Income for Your Professional Service Company and SaaS Firm

On October 20, 2021   /   Branding - Marketing, Entrepreneurs - Small Business   /   Leave a comment
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Personal totaling Residual Income for their Professional Service Company

Looking for ways to add residual income for your professional service or SaaS firm? Are you an expert in your field? Do you have a flair for breaking complex ideas down into simpler contexts? Do you have a unique business model or process others can benefit from? Or do you have a talent, hobby, or practice that can help others feel better personally or professionally?

Service Companies and SaaS Companies can expand their offerings and enhance revenue by developing some of the following digital assets. These can complement in-person consultations and offerings or be introductions to more in-depth digital services.

Online learning is not just for k-12 students and gone is the day where everything is free to download. We pay for apps, we pay for online news articles, we pay for local tv! If you have a following or if you have expertise in an area or topic that others want or need, you can create an entire business or add an additional revenue stream for your existing company.  You determine if the assets you choose to create will require regular attention. Determine which fits best for you and your customers or think of some other opportunities not covered below. Some of these ideas can attract passive income for your business for years to come. Most digital items will require a few updates or refreshes on occasion.

Start with determining the best option for you, plan it out on paper or a Google doc. Next, build it out or hire a website design firm to help design all the elements and create the e-commerce component. Next, all your need to do is decide what you’re going to do with the passive income and how frequently you want to update or add to it.

Ideas for Increased Revenue for Professional Services and SaaS Companies:

1. Digital Courses

  • introductory training – start with a pdf workbook where you share your knowledge and tips about your service or a topic of interest to your prospects and customers. These can be pre-recorded webinars or live streams.
  • formal courses using UDemy, LearnDash  – Go beyond the pdf workbook and offer full-blown courses. Depending on your expertise and industry you could get approval to offer continuing education credits for your courses.
  • reward – Students may receive industry-approved CE credits, a unique certification, or may attend for personal interest and education with no need for credentials at the end.

Some courses can be nested right on your website with a plug-in or on popular course apps like UDemy, etc. These can be individual or multiple class courses. Allot time for course creation. If you will be charging for your course you want to make sure you are offering enough content to match the value received.

Some industries utilizing digital courses include:

Attorneys, Accountants, Coaches, Human Resources, Graphic Design, Marketing, Arts & Crafts, Construction, Skilled Trades Authors, Professional Speakers, Physical Fitness,   etc.

2. Digital Programs

  • webinars – this can be an individual sharing information, a group of experts, or someone in your business walking guests through an instructional presentation via Zoom or other virtual meeting platform
  • digital meetings – similar to above however you can also have audience participation if desired
  • paid access to live streaming events, etc. – These programs can be one pre-recorded webinars, a single course, or a series of classes or live and attendees can join in. These can be hosted on a members only channel on YouTube or another platform. Plan to record the presentations and you can offer attendees access to the recordings afterward. You can sell  prerecorded trainings to those who were not able to join in.
Some industries utilizing digital programs include:

Pretty much all professional services; Attorneys, Accountants, Coaches, Human Resources, Consultants, educators, Graphic Design, Marketing, Arts & Crafts, Authors, DIYers, as well as Construction, Skilled Trades, Physical Fitness, Physical Therapy, and so many more.

3. Paid Digital Memberships

  • niche memberships that offer exclusive support and content for specific groups – Exclusive content may include live webinars by the host or guests, pre-recorded webinars, downloads such as ebooks, graphics, photos, etc.
  • consulting / therapy and coaching memberships – Exclusive access to information, membership may include allocated time throughout the month for one-on-one calls, chats, etc.
  • group forums – This platform includes member-based forums for member discussions, members can upload photos, videos, etc. Content may be structured the same as the others and include webinars, group coaching calls, or digital meetings for group training or discussions, etc.
Some industries using paid digital memberships include:

Coaches, Counselors, Niche skill-based education and training, Marketing, Book Clubs, Industry Associations

Ready to Build Residual Income for Your Professional Service Company or SaaS Firm? Reach out if we can help!

Do one or two of those ideas fit with your business model and sales goals? Do you already have some content or some prerecorded training or webinars that can be uploaded? If so maybe you can fit in a holiday promotion this year. and get some orders started. Make sure everything looks professional and when the customer receives access they know what the next steps are.

If You Already Have an Idea and Content:

  • Is your course, or download already created?
  • Do you have all of the content complete and need a professional graphic designer to make it legible and attractive?
  • Do you have e-commerce capabilities set up on your website?
  • Have you made it easy for customers to check out?
  • Have you tested your product or course?
  • Have you thought about how you will market it? Who you will market it to?

If you’re not as far along as you would like, or if this is the first time you have thought of these options for your business, don’t rush in. Taking time to plan at this stage will help everything go more smoothly. If you truly think one of these ideas is an opportunity for business growth, take some time with it. Build time into your schedule to write an outline of your course, membership vision, or download. Although these ideas can be implemented eaily if you have the cotnetn, there are a lot of aspects to consider to make this a successful venture.

Questions to Ask If You’re Considering Offering Digital Products:

  • What is your expertise?
  • Who is your customer?
  • What format is best? (Workbook, Love webinar, pre-recorded, a full course with grading, etc.)
  • Is your training applicable for continuing education credits in your industry?
  • Do you have knowledge of workbook, e-book design, and creation?
  • Do you have copywriting skills?
  • How should the materials look? Lively, traditional, artistic, etc.
  • Do you have knowledge of web page formatting?
  • How much will you charge?
  • How will customers pay and how will they get all the content?
  • How will you reach your customer?
  • Can you enlist a few people to test it?
  • Where and how will you market?

There are many pieces to consider to have a successful launch. If you don’t have content at this stage I recommend building this into your planning calendar for next year. Maybe you can pull it together and begin bringing in residual income for your professional service firm in the first quarter. If you need help with any of the stages call us or email today. We have developed 1000s of digital downloads, e-books, workbooks, etc. We also have experience building courses with LearnDash and have worked with UDemy courses as well.

Start with one additional revenue stream and you may be surprised by the new ones that come to you! We would love it if you shared other ideas with our readers. Please post below if you offer any of the options above. Or if you have another passive income stream idea, please share it below.

Why not share your knowledge and add residual income for your professional service business along the way?

Stay connected!

 

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