Hey there. Today I’m going to share four types of products you can use to build a strategic digital product suite and how you can leverage your product suite as a tool to get more easy yeses from your dream clients.
How Not to Build A Strategic Digital Product Suite
Don’t Depend on Cookie Cutter Strategies
Speaking of values, let me first start by saying that cookie-cutter strategies just rub me the wrong way.
When I’m talking with my clients about strategies, I always ask them about the strategies they’ve tried in the past and why they felt the strategies didn’t work. They couldn’t successfully build out their product suite even though they had all the parts.
This is when I tell them: only cookies like cookie cutters.
Then I ask, Are you a cookie? If you are not a cookie, then clearly cookie-cutter strategies aren’t going to work for you. If your business depends on doing things exactly the way someone else promoted, launched, or built their product suite, you’re not building a business of your own.
But if you’re trying to build a business that’s unique to you, then you need to dump the cookie-cutter strategies and figure out what makes you creative, to begin with.
Digital Product Creation Should Not Be Reactive
Many entrepreneurs create a digital product out of thin air without any feedback from their dream clients. They have an idea. They put everything together before testing it out. And then they’re completely shocked because nobody wants to buy it.
Here’s the thing, if buyers are confused about the value of the product, or they don’t believe that the product will actually solve their problem, they won’t buy it. Often, entrepreneurs don’t take the time to have a conversation with the people they serve, and they miss the target with their digital product offer.
Creators and coaches may also keep customizing their offers as an attempt to overcome objections every time they get on a sales call or every time they respond to a direct message. This leads to a confusing offer, and often a confusing message. And confused buyers never say “yes” to the offer.
Reactive digital product creation usually happens for a couple of reasons, and they both have to do with vision. Either the owner has forgotten their vision for their company or they no longer believe in it.
They second guess the value of the transformation that they offer and they throw things at the wall hoping that they’ll stick and chalk everything that they go through up to trial and error.
But it’s not really a justifiable trial and error process if you’re not getting any results by way of advancing your business or learning from your mistakes.
The Stepwise Approach to Building a Digital Product Suite
The Four Digital Product Types
Now that we’ve talked about what not to do, let’s go over my STEPwise approach to building a strategic product suite.
Remember, sales is all about relationships. And just like any relationship, it’s going to flourish based on the amount of time and the amount of effort you put into building it. You have to create experiences that get your customers to know you, like you, and trust you more.
Think of each digital product in your product suite as a different step in the long-term relationship you’re building with your dream clients.
Step Zero
This is your “Hi, it’s nice to meet you” product. It’s what you offer to your audience to show them that their problem actually has a solution. You don’t have to give them the whole solution upfront, but you just want to give them a glimpse of the fact that they don’t have to live with that problem forever and that you are equipped to help them solve it.
I also call it your audience resource. It’s the product that pulls them in a little bit closer and gets them to stay awhile in your community. This could be your lead magnet or free Facebook group, for example.
Baby Step
This is a low-risk digital product that leverages your expertise and shows your prospects that you can be trusted. You can use it to either invite your prospects into your conversion experience (i.e. launch event) or to support that conversion experience and get them to make a decision. If you’ve created an impactful experience up until that point, your dream client will decide to work with you. Examples are a webinar, a summit, or a challenge.
High Step
This is the complete transformation package. Here, your customer is committed to working with you to solve their problem. This is your signature program or one-to-one offer.
Lock Step
The product that you use to continue the relationship after the initial transformation is complete.
You can combine your High Step with Lock Step products if that’s how your signature digital product is packaged. For example, if your signature digital product is a membership, then you’re combining both of those High Step (committed to the full transformation) plus Lock Step (engaging in the transformation for a prolonged period of time).
The goal with the Lock Step product is to extend the customer lifetime value and leverage this relationship to get even more dream customers like your fans. I’ll use myself as an example.
Example of the STEPwise Approach
My Step Zero digital product is my Positioning Advantage workbook, where I show you how to turn strangers into dream clients. It’s a workbook where you can enter information and start working on your positioning advantage and message, which is the first part of building your own customer journey.
My Baby Step products are masterclass trainings, one of which is called The Digital Customer Journey. I show you how to review your digital product suite and set appropriate product goals for your business.
If you’re ready for complete transformation, you can join me in my High Step product, the Strangers to Fans Group Accelerator, where we work together for six months to build your customer journey and grow your raving fan base. Or you could book a session with me for more 1:1 support.
I have Lock Step offers for past clients that help them optimize your customer journey every six months. They are also consistent referral partners for me and help introduce me to other dream clients just like them.
A note here that a Lock Step product doesn’t have to be a digital product. It’s just a method to further increase your customer lifetime value after they have purchased your signature product.
Time to Review Your Product Suite
Review your digital product suite and your customer journey to see what problems they’re solving for your dream clients along the way.
Make sure that they attract the type of people you’d like to be a part of your raving fan base because that’s the most valuable position your customer can be in.
If you want to learn more about building a strategic digital product suite and creating a profitable customer journey, download the Positioning Advantage workbook I’ve created for you. Send me a message on Instagram and let me know what changes you plan to make so you can attract and serve your dream clients.