Forget "Products" - It's All About The Offer (?)

Folks,

This is my second thread today but as I'm not going out, I figured I might as well try and figure this big thing out that's been niggling at me

Here's some food for thought:

I've been mulling over this for some time and not sure whether it's actually 100% true BUT every rule has its exception, right?

I'm talking about the offer you present the customer being the most important aspect of ALL marketing

Allow me to explain myself -

We often talk about "products", "price", "promotion" and "place" which are the 4 "P's" of marketing and have been forever.

However, I've only ever seen a few people talk about the "offer" that we make to our customers. Just before I proceed, I guess this MIGHT come under promotion but I think it's deeper than that. This is what I mean...

I've come to the strange conclusion that whatever we buy is influenced by OFFERS. By "offer", I'm not talking about "buy one get one free". I'm talking about what buying the product will do for you.

I mean that whenever we buy anything, it's always influenced by what the product offers us.

For example, people buy food because it offers us the supression of hunger.
We buy desginer clothes because it makes us look & feel rich and famous.
We buy iPhones because they have too many features in one small handset.
We buy cable TV because it will supress our boredom.
We buy an Internet connection because it allows us to make money
We buy cars because they take us places quicker and more comfortably than anything else
We buy music because it makes us feel good when we hear it.
We buy information products because they will solve our problem(s) AND MORE in one neat little package.
We buy flights because they're a hell of a lot quicker than ship or road.
We buy holidays because they allow us to relax and get merry in the sun.

Can you see what I'm getting at?

My favorite one is this: people buy diets to get thin. If no-one told them that being fat was "uncool" AND unhealthy, we probably wouldn't have a "diet" industry.

In my eyes, products are the vehicle of offers.... which basically means they deliver the offer that you promise the customer.

IF this theory is right then we could use it with info products.

Because the "offer" is what the customer is paying for, we need to be able to equate a killer OFFER to our visitors to make paying $97 seem like a no-brainer, and that's where all the talk of value & quality comes in to play.

Look at John Reese's Traffic Secrets. We all know he's probably Google Analytics' best customer so when he offers us the chance to learn the tips he uses, he makes an offer that many people cannot refuse: the chance to explode the traffic to their website.

Because people perceive the value of that offer as being worth MILLIONS in turnover, it makes the "small fee" of $400 seem pretty small, doesn't it?

I know it's a disjointed post but I hope that it sparks at least some replies lol.

It's been in my mind for God knows how long but looking it now - it could well be right.

What are your thoughts?

Rich