IMMania.com

It seems a big IM launch doesn’t go by without the bold claim about how much the product is going to over deliver. The most common tactic is to tally up the individual value of all the  bonuses: “A Whopping $23,456.87 In Additional Bonuses!”

In reality, these bonuses are probably a collection of resell rights or PLR material or outdated loss leaders that the marketer’s JV partners threw into the pot. Total actual value: $29.95.

Most people who have been involved in IM for any length of time, have developed blindness to these kinds of claims. However, what about the claim of over delivering on the main product? This is where things get more interesting as they raise questions in my mind of how profitable and how effective this tactic really is.

First off, what exactly does it mean to “over deliver”.

I take the literal definition of this to mean to deliver to the customer a product or service that exceeds what they paid for it.

For a typical business, delivering a product or service with a value above what the customer paid for it isn’t a recipe for sustainable profits. Especially if the margins are either razor thin or even negative. Things like Loss Leaders and teaser rates are very effective for drawing prospects into continuities, both online and off.

But selling commodity items such as consumer electronics or even phone service at a loss is nuts.

That’s why the claim of over delivering for IM info products should be examined a bit more closely.

I should point out that I’m not talking about not being scammed.

Over delivering doesn’t mean the creator is not out to scam you. Not being scammed is par. Come to think of it, I can’t really recall ever getting scammed on an IM product. Sure, I’ve purchased my share of crappy info products, but I don’t classify that as being scammed.

Getting scammed is when you’re either flat out ripped off (no product or service is delivered for payment rendered) or the product doesn’t come close to living up to its advertised claims.

Unlike a certain notorious affiliate marketer, I haven’t been “Scammed 37 times“.

Geez, if you’ve been taken for a ride that many times, then you really need to have your Internet access suspended for your own safety.

Placing a value on information is not an easy thing to do. In many cases, customers and creators see things differently. However, at a fundamental level, I would guess that both typically use an ROI calculation to determine a product’s value.

Thinking back to info products I’ve purchased, I’d have to say that only a small handful have truly over delivered according to how I define “over deliver”. For me, it’s when the creator has made himself available to customers after the sale in the form of participation in a forum or membership site. Or for a software product, continues to offer substantial updates and feature enhancements at no additional cost.

The two marketers that come immediately to mind are Jeremy Palmer of “Quit Your Day Job” and Dennis Becker of “5 Bucks a Day” and “Earn 1k a Day“. The level of trust and respect Dennis and Jeremy have earned from their customers is now legendary.

In terms of actual products downloaded from anyone, I really can’t think of any that I’d say over delivered. Perhaps 1 or 2 actually came close to living up to the hype of the long sales letter, but over delivered? No.

Back when I was employed in the IT industry, it was popular to have a corporate mission statement. This was usually a platitude that was meaningless to both employees as well as prospects and customers alike.

I think mission statements became popular back during the 1980s when quality and ISO-9000 were getting a lot of attention. At the end of the day, it was just a bunch of window dressing. Much like the claim of over delivering in the IM world.

I remember the gist of one mission statement from a company I worked for that contained the line: “to exceed customer expectations, both internal and external“.

I always took that to mean do your job and do it with pride.

It was amazing how many people really didn’t take pride in what they did. This was especially true when delivering products and services to their fellow employees. It was too much “it’s not my job” stuff.

Does proclaiming to over deliver help conversions?

I’d have to say yes. It certainly doesn’t hurt.

After all, whose going to check that you actually did?