Product

This is the second in a series of four articles discussing the Four Ps of Marketing: Pricing, Product, Promotion, and Place. This article is about Product.

A friend was telling me an interesting story yesterday that really exemplifies the concept of understanding what you really sell.

He was at an outdoor festival and there were two balloon twisters there. As a performer and balloon twister himself he made the time to watch the two men work. There was a decided difference between the quality of work the two men produced.

"Balloon Bob" was able to create really amazing works of art from a few latex balloons and the occasional scribble of a Sharpie pen. "Pretty-good Pete" on the other hand, was not quite as fast, nor was he able to create balloon sculptures quite as intricate or creative as "Balloon Bob".

Important Point: "Pretty-good Pete" was really more than "Pretty Good". He was a VERY competent twister. He produced beautiful work very quickly, which is critical in an outdoor setting like this. His work was by no means "sub-standard". In fact, as the story was told to me, "Pretty-good Pete" was actually far better than average. He just wasn't as good as "Balloon Bob". And when they were side-by-side, it was easier to notice.

But here is where the story gets interesting. After only a few minutes of watching, my friend noticed that Pete was handing out 2-3 business cards for every ONE card that "Balloon Bob" was handing out. Why were people asking Pete for his card more often than for that of "Balloon Bob" by such a large factor?

The answer wasn't discovered until my friend went and stood in each person's line. After waiting in line for 10 minutes, "Balloon Bob" asked "What can I do for you?"

"Can you make Elmo? My daughter loves Elmo." And within a matter of a few seconds the man had created a very similar likeness to Elmo, handed it to my friend, and then looked past him to the next person in line and asked "What can I do for you?"

My friend then went to stand in Pete's line and before he even got close enough to hear what Pete was saying, he was hearing the people in line talk about Pete...

"He is SOOOooo Funny!"
"He came to my birthday party and did magic tricks. It was hilarious!"
"He was at my party, too!"
"I saw him at my school. Everyone was laughing so hard!"

By the time my friend got up to actually speak to Pete, he already knew what the difference was, but he completed the experiment anyway. The line went a little bit slower because Pete would talk to each person as they stood there waiting for their balloon.

Much of his banter consisted of stock lines, but they were all new to the kids standing there. And Pete delivered them with a smile and voice inflection that made it sound like this was the very first time he had ever had this conversation.

"Where is your daddy young man?" he asked my friend with a grin.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could make a Little Mermaid for my niece".

"Sure. How old is your niece?" he asked as he began selecting the balloons he needed.

"She'll be five in February".

"What a great age! Are you here with any children today?"

"No, just my wife and I. She's shopping at the vendor booths, and so I thought I would come over here and check out the live entertainment".

"If you call this entertainment, you need to get out more!"

And on this went while he deftly tied the balloons together in what looked remarkably similar to a mermaid. As similar as two or three balloons twisted together can look.

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"Pretty-good Pete" understands what his product really is. It isn't "The Little Mermaid". It isn't "Elmo". It isn't crazy balloon hats or swords. These are PART of his product.

But what he is really hired to do is to make the guests at the event (WHATEVER the event is) have a better time. Balloons twisted together in innovative ways is one component of that. But equally important is his ability to relate and engage his guests and clients, and make them feel like they are really enjoying themselves.

His conversations might have been a natural result of his personality, or they could have been something he forces himself to do through repetitive practice. It doesn't matter. Either way, it is a very important part of his success. It is a major part of his marketing.