This article previously appeared on HarmonyNest.com

Conservative estimations project that the average consumer is exposed to somewhere around 6,000 to 10,000 ads every day. Every. Single. Day. The number has doubled since 2007. As social media continues to proliferate, market segments expand, and the Internet of Things (IoT) develops never-before-thought-of technology and engagement channels, likely, that number is only going to continue to grow. 

For brands of all sizes, breaking through the noise and getting the attention of your prospective customer grows exponentially more difficult every day. As a small business thought leader, service provider, or solopreneur without the benefit of millions of dollars to spend on a Super Bowl television ad, how can you compete? How can you gain your target audience’s attention, encourage them to explore or experience your offering, and convert them into a paying customer? A crucial strategy involves developing a signature offering that intrigues your prospective customer and allows them a low-or-no-barrier entry to your brand. 

We’re so sure that a signature offering can amplify your marketing efforts’ reach and impact that we’re giving you five reasons to start planning yours today.

1. A Signature Offer Allows Customers to Experience Your Brand

A great copywriter or a talented one-on-one sales rep can impactfully explain what you offer and how it can benefit your prospect. However, what’s more meaningful than learning about an offering, is experiencing it. The best way to get a prospective customer to purchase your service is to let them try it out in a limited but relevant fashion and at a low or no cost.

Suppose you offer marketing consulting services. There are thousands of marketing consultants in each city in the country. How could someone in need of services distinguish one business from the others by merely comparing their marketing materials? The search would be overwhelming. Instead of trying to break through the noise with advertising alone, you could offer a signature Marketing 101 webinar series. For a reasonable fee, your prospective clients could spend an hour with you every week for four weeks experiencing what makes you a valuable strategic partner. They will be exponentially more likely to sign a contract with you for services after participating in your webinar series than they would after stumbling upon your website from a Google search or Facebook ad alone.

2. Signature Programs Help You Define Your Unique Value Proposition

Your signature program or offer should represent the core of your business—the very best of what you do and what you can offer. If you are a nutrition coach, perhaps it’s a 30-day meal plan, complete with top-rated recipes. If you’re a reputation management expert, maybe it’s a free ninety-minute on-demand public relations 101 course. The key is to give your prospective customers a sneak peek into what life could be like with you as a partner and ally to help them meet their goals. A signature offering that exemplifies the core of your business or brand will solidify your value in your prospect’s mind and will make them want to increase their time and financial investment.

3. Signature Programs Allow Prospects to Experience Your Community

Consumers don’t want to buy something. They want to be part of something. They want to find their tribe of like-minded, purpose-driven innovators who share the same values. A signature program or offering that allows prospective buyers to experience what it’s like to be part of your community can exponentially condense the prospect-to-client on-ramp experience and boost your average customer lifetime value (CLV). 

As an example, suppose you offer wellness coaching and mindfulness classes. Your signature offer could include access to a dedicated Facebook group where both new and experienced students can share best practices, support one another, and you can provide resources and additional guidance. Once a prospect feels what it’s like to be part of your inner circle, they’ll want the next best level of access and resources that they can only obtain through a paid membership to your business.

4. Signature Programs Allow You to Make an Exceptional First Impression with a Smaller Upfront Investment

As humans, we are wired to hesitate to invest time and money into any opportunity we deem as having a risk component. Even prospects whose needs are perfectly aligned with your business model may hesitate to invest in a $5,000 week-long masterclass as their first interaction with your brand. A $200 on-demand video series, however, is a much more palatable initial investment for them. For you, it allows you to delight them by meeting and exceeding their expectations regarding the quality of your service offering. You can also rapidly advance through the often lengthy one-on-one sales process that often needs to accompany a large-scale first-time partnership investment.

5. A Signature Offering Can Be a Learning Opportunity—For You

The more intimately you understand your target audience, their challenges, and how your brand and business can support them, the more successful you can be in growing your brand and customer base. By creating a signature offer and watching how your prospective customers interact with it, reviewing their feedback, and engaging in dialogue with them, you can benefit from a kind of invaluable market research. 

For example, if you are a corporate sales trainer and offer a free one-hour, commitment-free consulting service as your signature offer, every session may leave you with insights into marketplace trends, enterprise challenges and spark ideas for new paid services that you can offer the market. Since a portion—if not a majority—of those prospects you meet with will become paying customers, you can consider it a double bonus. Win-win.

Final Words of Advice

Don’t think about a signature program as throwing money away in the form of free information or services. Think of it as an investment in your brand and your customers—because it is. It will help you attract and interest prospects, get them in the door, expose them to your brand, convert them into paying customers, and help you grow your marketplace understanding and improve your sales and service offering along the way. If your only barrier to launching a signature offering is uncertainty about what will make the most significant impact, go with your gut, monitor results, and be willing to pivot and change if you don’t receive the results you expect. The most successful marketers are constantly testing and experimenting with their messaging until they find what sticks. Now, go forth and prospect with confidence, curiosity, and a commitment to the long-term success of your business.