A marketing bundle or product bundling simply refers to combining products that sell separately into one bundle and selling it at a special price, while allowing the buyer the option of choosing the products individually or together as a bundle. You have probably purchased a bundle before; an excellent example is when your local fast food outlet offers you a “mega meal deal”, where you’re offered a burger, fries, and a coke for a fairly cheaper price as compared to when you purchase these items separately.
Types of Marketing Bundles
Even though as described above, the buyer gets an option of purchasing the product as a bundle or as an item; in the markets, there are still some products that do not offer this option. This breaks it down to two more kinds of bundling.
a. Pure Bundling
Adobe Photoshop is an excellent example. You only have the option of buying the entire marketing tools bundle and not just one tool. Microsoft Office Suit is another similar example; you can’t buy Word and leave out Spreadsheets. Simply put, there’s no option of purchasing a single item.
b. Mixed Bundling
This is the more successful type of bundling; it gives the buyer the option of purchasing an individual item or the entire bundle.
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What Makes a Good Marketing Bundle? – Main Qualities
In order to convince the customer that the bundle is indeed worth the effort, it should offer:
i. Monetary value – The buyer must see the value for his money, and the benefit of buying the bundle rather than single items.
ii. Functional – It must offer value to the customer as a combined set as opposed to individual items. It must meet a common need as a bundle.
So, What Makes Product Bundling a Brilliant Strategy?
Bundling always comes out as a win-win scenario for both the seller and the buyer, when done right, here are some benefits:
For the Seller:
i. It’s a Chance to Up-Sell
As a seller, you get to prompt the buyer to consider purchasing more products; this is especially interesting when you’re offering complementary products.
ii. Boost Your Average Order Value
This is a KPI that shows the average total of the orders placed over a specified period of time. When a buyer opts for the bundle instead of the stand-alone product, their overall order value goes up, meaning higher revenues for you.
Therefore when you’re able to convince the buyer to purchase more than one product, you increase your average order value.
iii. Inventory Management
This works in two ways, first, you can leverage bundling to raise the profile of a less popular or new product, this offers you a chance to have the product tested and you’re able to get feedback. Secondly, this would give you a great opportunity to clear slow-moving or old stock.
For the Buyer:
i. What a Bargain!
Buyers always like when they feel like they’re getting a good deal and saving money. Like a reward of some sort, and when this happens, they tend to associate your store with good deals. So, they become regular happy shoppers.
ii. Convenient!
What’s more frustrating than having to go through an entire aisle or list of complimentary products in order to choose the ones that make a perfect combo? This is how the majority of customers feel, but when you save them time by putting together such complimentary products or services, the versatility that comes with an easy purchase is not only convenient, but it feels good too.
iii. Time-Saving
This really is a no-brainer.
So, having understood the benefits and qualities of a good marketing resources bundle, how then can you go about making one that works?
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How to Make It Work
a. Understand Your Buyers and the Market
Just like any other marketing strategy, you can employ, having a clear understanding of your customers is important. Before building your marketing bundle, get up-to-date data about their preferences on different demographics. This includes:
· The kind of advice or information that would be useful to your customers as to what to buy
· The kind of deals they’re looking for
· The amount of money that they would be willing to spend
· What products do they purchase simultaneously
· Which products would they be willing to spend a little more money for
· What products would give them value for money when included in the marketing bundle
For the market, find out the:
· Competing bundle offers and their pricing
· The estimated demand plus the marginal cost
· The supply-chain structure
· Possible risks.
With this data coupled with your own goals, you can make the offer as beneficial for both the buyer and the seller as possible.
b. Know How to Offer the Discounts
Make the benefit of this marketing bundle as obvious as possible to the buyer, this can be done by justifying the need to buy the bundle instead of the individual items. Remember the buyer may not necessarily require all the items in the bundle, but your discount may encourage them to pick the bundle anyway, this goes alongside the complimenting products, they really must be a great combo.
If this is not done carefully, you may risk not being able to sell anything.
c. Psychological Aspect in Pricing
Bundling your slow-moving or less popular products with the best-sellers is a smart strategy for both the seller and the buyer. The trick is in ensuring that the offer is irresistible and that it satisfies the customer’s needs. And as they say, a satisfied shopper is a happy shopper, they will spread the word.
Take Away
For a successful marketing bundle campaign, the seller must have up-to-date data on their potential customers’ needs as well as market dynamics. There are several types of bundling, pure and mixed bundling. Research has shown that mixed bundling performs better.
Bundling saves buyers time and offers them convenience while boosting the seller’s sales. So, go ahead and try bundling up, as a seller or buyer.
