The allure of going completely digital is strong, considering that it can seriously cut down on manufacturing, handling and shipping costs, but before you give up physical products, there are a variety of things to consider…
As info-marketers, we’ve all thought about it: wouldn’t it be great to totally eliminate the hassle of duplicating CDs and DVDs, dealing with printing and packaging and eliminate shipping? Wouldn’t it be great to save all that money? Electronic products would be pure profit, right? Well, it is true that electronic or “digital” info products (PDFs, MP3s, MP4s, etc.) save on those costs, but there are many benefits to having physical products, not the least of which is that you can charge more for them. For some reason, the perceived value goes up when you have something that’s physically tangible. People know that they cost more to make and understand they need to pay more for them. There’s also something called the “Thump Factor”, which is a humorous way of saying that when you have a thick (heavy) product like a home study course and you drop it on the table, it goes “thump” like a big textbook, making it seem substantial and therefore, worth paying more for.
Another good reason for having physical products is that some people are just not “up” on the latest technology. They might be (we hope) at least able to play a CD or DVD, but might not even know how to download and play an MP3 – or they might not want to. Maybe they like CDs and aren’t good at managing files in their computers. Maybe they’re much older and didn’t grow up with computers. Maybe they’re “touchy-feely” and have a need to feel a real product in their hands. The point is, people buy for a variety of reasons so it’s good to have a variety of products and formats available to cover those bases. The other thing to think about is how you are perceived as a business. You’ll seem more credible if you offer both physical and digital products, just like the “big boys” (and girls) do. People tend to pay less for digital, there’s the potential for technical problems, and having to provide technical support because someone can’t get their PDF to open or can’t get their audio/video to play properly…well, that’s no fun. Also, there’s the issue of people copying the digital files and emailing them around to their friends, potentially cutting into your profit, although with CDs this is a potential concern as well, considering how easy they are to copy.
Bottom line: for the moment, it’s best to have both.
©2011 Ian Rich
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