Price, Quality,
Service ---- Pick Two. I used to think that you had to give your clients the
best prices, outstanding quality, and exceptional service. Nobody told me
that no company can give the best prices, outstanding quality, and
exceptional service and still survive in business very long. Most successful
companies usually give two out of three of those things in one combination
or another.
Discount stores,
for instance, provide low prices and good-quality merchandise. But the service
is nothing to write home about. You just don't find many well-informed or
experienced salespeople at- discount stores, despite what their
multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns tell you.
Discount store
employees often are low-paid, part-time workers. Some discount stores are
better than others, but their service rarely compares to the service you will
find at a boutique or even a better department store. Federal Express, on the
other hand, is an example of a company that provides excellent service and
outstanding quality but not the lowest prices.
I'm hard pressed
to name a single company that provides the lowest prices, highest quality, and
best service. The key to business success is to provide two of the three. I
always wanted to provide a high-quality product and exceptional service, but I
also wanted my prices to be the lowest in town. I soon realized it costs money
to provide service and quality, so I had to adjust my prices.
The market has to
support whatever combination of price, quality and service you are willing to
provide. That’s why, when you start your own business, you need to analyze the
market, your personality, your assets and a dozen other factors before
deciding what combination of price, quality, and service you want to provide.
A corollary is
that you never provide discounts without contingencies. Offer to frame their
posters for a certain price so long as they order a specific number of frames.
Let them know you ma have to raise you prices after a fixed period of time.
Never make an open-ended agreement with clients or suppliers. Review the terms
of each of your deals after a specified amount of time.
For the free top tips for small service-businesses, send an email to
bs@futurevisions.org with
"free MWS top tips for small service-businesses" in the subject and nothing in
the body of the email.
