Despite fluctuations or improvements in the Mequoda System as a whole, the Mequoda Media Pyramid remains its core—a pyramid in which the foundation is the means by which you draw prospects into your customer base, or Internet hub and build relationships. Then, level-by-level, you monetize those individuals by pushing them up the pyramid to product levels that are increasingly more valuable to them and certainly more profitable for you.
If you take a close look at the Media Pyramid, you’ll notice we list subscriptions and products as two different things. When we say products, we are referring to non-renewal products: books, eBooks, CD-ROMs, DVDs and other one-shots.
If you question the value of one-shot products sold online, try this simple test: offer the same item as a renewable and a non-renewable product.
- Offer a single one-shot—a book, binder or loose-leaf service—in which you deliver all the information at once and charge them once.
- Using the same pitch, the same set of benefits, the same landing page, etc., offer the same product as an ongoing renewable product. Tell them you’re going to charge them today, keep it up to date and then charge them again in 12 months.
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Our research shows that the response rate will be significantly higher for the one-shot. Human beings, it seems, don’t like commitment.
Of course, we encourage you to run your own test. If you already have run this test and have feedback, please post your comments below!
What criteria can be used to determine whether a one-shot product is successful in the market?
In any organization with a product portfolio, every product competes for marketing bandwidth with every other product such that the products with the greatest revenue and profit potential will squeeze out their siblings in a Darwin-like manner, leaving you with the most profitable products and the most total profit from the portfolio that’s supported by your marketing infrastructure and inventory.