The concept of bundling applied.

• Author: Conway, Tom

The concept of bundling is not new. It probably began in the middle of the last century when banks made the feeble attempt to bundle new accounts with toasters. Most consumers failed to see any logic in the combination, but even so, it worked for a while. In more recent times, AOL and Microsoft built empires based on the concept. In both cases, their ability to combine their products in a package that consumers found useful, practical, and economical won out over competition that claimed, often accurately, to have superior products available.

Bundling is now extremely fashionable. Gas stations and convenience stores have joined together and now offer fast food, Krispy Kreme donuts, oil changes, car washes, and gourmet coffee as well. Fast food restaurants began combining menu items into packages that made buying a hamburger, french fries, and a drink somehow cheaper than buying just a hamburger.

We see bundled services everywhere we look. The phone company offers us multiple phone lines, cellular service, long distance, cable TV, and Internet service all in one value-priced package. When we open a checking account, we get a credit card and a check card and life insurance and investment advisory services. Supermarkets now include bank branches, dry cleaners, and, in some cases, hair salons in addition to the traditional bakery and deli.

So, what does it all mean to us? How do we, in marketing the services of CPA firms, effectively bundle our services?

Well, in most cases, we don't. At least not very often. For the most part, we seem to apply the term bundling to the way our services are categorized and presented, not so much to the marketing of value-priced packages of specific services.

Custom bundling

"I guess you could call what we do Custom Bundling," says Julie Niles, marketing director at Baden, Gage & Schroeder, LLC. "We have a variety of services and assemble the ones that will best meet the needs of our clients on an individual basis. Consulting engagements may involve various services, all of which may be tied together, or even priced together with a not-to-exceed price, but creating a cookie-cutter approach is just not always possible. You have to find out what is actually needed, and then create a custom package."

Alicia Ward, marketing director for Gamble Givens & Moody LLC (GGM), essentially agrees with that sentiment. "We do custom fit and tailor services for individual clients, but we have made it easier by organizing our...