Customizing Service Offerings

Most service businesses fail at differentiation. Want proof? Visit 20 tech agency websites. 16 will say nearly the exact same thing: "We're a full-service digital agency delivering innovative solutions." Translation: "We have no idea who we are or why clients should choose us." When everyone tries to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to anyone. Here's my step-by-step framework for creating a service offering that actually stands out: → Step 1: Start with WHO, not WHAT Don't list capabilities first. Define the specific client profile you serve best. "Tech startups between seed and Series A with distributed dev teams" beats "businesses of all sizes." → Step 2: Narrow down to specific pain points Not "marketing challenges" but "trouble scaling customer acquisition after product-market fit while maintaining CAC under $100." → Step 3: Show the "Before & After" state Document what life looks like before working with you, and the promised land afterwards. Be ruthlessly specific. → Step 4: Package your methodology Give it a name. Make it tangible. "Our 5-phase implementation process" is forgettable. "The Revenue Acceleration Framework" sticks. → Step 5: Price for positioning, not hours Commodity pricing = commodity perception. Value-based pricing signals confidence. → Step 6: Say what you DON'T do The magic happens when you explicitly eliminate services from your offering. "We don't do X, Y or Z" is more powerful than "We do A through Z." I used this exact framework to transform my agency from competing on price to commanding premium rates with a waitlist of clients. Your most valuable business asset isn't your client list or your team. It's clarity about who you serve and how you serve them differently than anyone else. What's stopping you from getting brutally specific about your service offering?

This cold email offer got 8 positive replies from 2,400 emails: (Without changing a single aspect of our service delivery) One of our clients, Brendan, sells email marketing services to ecommerce brands. Instead of pitching standard "email marketing services," we created a proprietary offer: "We'll write your emails from an AI Avatar named Charlie who acts as a friend to your customers." Same service but with a completely different positioning. 8 positive replies from 2,400 emails, which is considered solid for email marketing outreach. Here are 4 more examples of how we transformed standard services into proprietary offers: 1) SEO Sprint Package Instead of "monthly SEO services," we positioned it as a 4-week intensive sprint with specific deliverables. Same SEO work, just packaged differently. 2) Cold Email System Build Rather than "done-for-you cold email," we sell a one-time system build that clients own forever. We're setting up the exact same system, but the ownership angle creates a unique value proposition. 3) Financial Statement Creation Instead of "bookkeeping services," we offer a standardized monthly financial statement package with industry benchmarks. Same financial work, just positioned as a specific deliverable. 4) Klaviyo Tech Placement Rather than "email marketing management," we place a dedicated Klaviyo specialist into their business. Same email expertise, positioned as talent acquisition. The market is saturated with generic service offerings. When prospects compare you to 5 other agencies offering the same thing, you're forced to compete on price or guarantees. With proprietary positioning, prospects have no one to compare you to. They're buying YOUR unique solution, not a commodity service. And you don't even have to change your fulfillment process at all since you're delivering the same service, just packaging it in a way that stands out.

85% of businesses think they're delivering personalized experiences,  but only 60% of customers feel the same way. Let me share what we learned at Nini's kitchen: Early on, we thought serving great food was enough. We believed our customers were happy simply because they weren't complaining. However, when we actually started listening, we discovered: → Some wanted less spicy food → Others needed more breakfast options → Many desired faster service during lunch hours We weren't as customer-centric as we thought. Here’s what changed everything: → We adjusted our service timing based on peak hours → We trained our staff to observe customer behaviors → We started asking for feedback regularly → We created flexible menu options As a result, our customer satisfaction scores jumped by 40%. Remember: What you think you're delivering and what customers actually experience can be worlds apart. Take a step back today. Ask yourself: → Do you collect regular feedback? → Are you really listening to your customers? → How often do you implement customer suggestions? Because true personalization isn't about what we think we're offering - it's about what our customers actually experience. What’s your experience with this perception gap?

Bespoke is killing your margins. Every client wants something different. Every project gets built from scratch. Every deliverable is custom. You call it being customer-centric. Your P&L calls it something else. I've stepped inside enough services businesses to know the pattern immediately. High revenue. Talented team. Clients who love you. 18% margins. The problem is always the same. Everything is custom. Nothing is repeatable. Here's what I learned: Services that are 100% customised are impossible to scale. Expensive to deliver. Hard to staff. Founder-dependent. Services that are 100% standardised commoditise fast. No differentiation. You compete on price. The answer sits in between. I call it the 80/20 Productisation Rule. 80% of your service is standardised, repeatable, off-the-shelf. 20% is customised to make it feel bespoke. Here's what it looks like in practice. Take a marketing agency. 100% bespoke: Every client gets a fully custom strategy, unique creative, tailored campaigns. High perceived value. Terrible margins. Doesn't scale. 100% standardised: Everyone gets the same playbook. Cheap to deliver. No differentiation. Commoditised. 80/20: You build a proven framework - strategy playbook, campaign templates, reporting dashboards. That's your 80%. Then you customise the messaging, creative assets, and channel mix for each client. That's your 20%. Why it works: The 80% is replicable. You can train people to deliver it. Document it. Scale it without you. The 20% creates perceived customisation without rebuilding from scratch every time. Margins move from 30% to 50%+ because you stop reinventing the wheel. Most clients don't want fully bespoke. They want a proven system with their fingerprints on it. That's 80/20. -------------------------------------- Are you building bespoke - or building a business? If you're a founder doing $500K+ in revenue and serious about building something investor-grade - BOARDROOM is for you. Four specialists. Pipeline, Process, Profit, and Strategy. Working with you every week using the same PE Operating System that generates 40–60 qualified leads monthly, improves margins by 15–25%, and reclaims 20+ hours a week. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eHpcVmyX

How customization beats pre-built playbooks? Here’s a little story: When we worked with a SaaS client recently, we took a different approach: tailored campaigns designed specifically for their ICP and industry. The client had tried outbound before, but the results were underwhelming—low response rates and no meaningful conversations. Why? ❌ Pre-built templates that didn’t resonate with their audience. ❌ Broad targeting that missed decision-makers. ❌ Over-engineered copy that lacked speed and adaptability. We threw out the playbook and built from scratch: 1️⃣ Tailored messaging: - Custom offers and angles for their unique ICP. - Personalized copy for decision-makers, not just gatekeepers. 2️⃣ Hyper-targeted list building: - Focused on industry relevance, company size, and job roles. - Tested multiple lead segments to find the best-performing one. 3️⃣ Iterative campaign testing: - Launched campaigns fast—no waiting weeks for perfection. - Constantly tested angles and turned off underperforming ones. The results: 1 positive response/200 leads. High response rates = scalable campaigns. The client closed deals in weeks, not months. PS — Want to book more calls through outbound? DM me “outbound” to learn more about how we can help you to organically scale your business.