Voltaire wrote “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien”, or “perfect is the enemy of done”.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the enormity of a project that you are too paralyzed to even start? More often than not, we are bombarded by tasks and projects from all areas of our lives. It is those who have the ability to prioritize and then begin chipping away who will be successful in the end.
Is the end in sight?
To further confuse the matter, it’s rare that a project has a clearly defined endpoint. So when to deliver the goods? If perfection is your goal, the recipient of your amazing creation may not live to see the unveiling. Your product or service is of no use to anyone if it doesn’t exist, so whom is perfection serving? If it is functional, roll it out.
The value in “good enough”
Most things in life are iterative, and thus offer revenue opportunities related to each additional unit of value you provide. This isn’t a new concept. There are many examples of companies who follow a strategy of continuous improvement:
After all, a product that can’t be improved is likely obsolete or easily copied. Why not continue to grow your business by offering your clients your commitment to continuous improvement?
Voltaire offered us a way to succeed in this crazy busy world we live in. He told us that the road to perfection is a journey; one that requires stops along the way.
A couple of weeks ago I went camping. I haven’t camped in over 2 decades, so I needed a tent. After checking a couple of placed on line, I decided to go with the Mountain Equipment Co-op Wanderer 4. The tent was thoughtfully constructed with a full fly and lots of useful features. But it wasn’t until the last night of the camping experience when a deluge struck that I realized just how important quality was to me. Despite being stuck in a tent during an extremely heavy rainstorm, we were dry. The tent outperformed my expectations. Looking back, the other cheaper tents I saw wouldn’t have performed under those conditions.
Cheney Window and Door is another example of quality and service. When it came time to replace the windows and doors in our home, we were thrilled with the quality of their product, but more important was the service we received. The installer was second to none; he took a great deal of care and added some extra touches along the way. The owner also offered some great renovation advice, and pointed us in the direction of our next successful venture, soffit and facia.
Now this provider was a long-time installer who was preparing to retire, but because Cheney gave us the recommendation, he took our job. Again, we delighted with the entire experience.
The final exterior improvement on our list was paint. I knew that it would be tough to find someone who met my standards, having done my share of painting. A friend had recently had some work done by a painter who came highly recommended to her, so I took a chance. His work was amazing.
Pricing for Quality
Could I have paid less for these services? Yes. But I opted for quality, and in the end with a job well done, I was further ahead. Will I shout these companies’ praises from the rooftops? You bet!
In a world where all too often we are disappointed by the quality of the goods and services we purchase, it is nice to know that excellence still exists. This fact provides an opportunity for businesses: customers are willing to pay for quality and great service. But make sure that you deliver, because bad news travels fast. My neighbours thought they were buying and paying for quality and service but instead received a nightmare. I won’t be contacting that company for their services any time soon.
Whether you are an employee, business owner or consultant your reputation matters. Despite its importance, it isn’t entirely under our control.
The scapegoat
Maybe you are an employee in search of a new challenge. You move on your new job and in doing so you become the scapegoat for problems at the old one. It can be one of the most frustrating, helpless situations.
Or perhaps you are an external consultant. After accepting what seemed like an interesting contract, you discover that you’ve been hired to “prove” an unpopular course of action is appropriate; deflecting criticism from the management team. The added bonus being that if the recommended option doesn’t work out – it’s your fault.
For service providers whose product is largely intangible, reputation is one of their most important assets. However, the quality and achievement of their projects’ goals are subject to opinion. With the qualitative nature of their vocation – reputation can be at risk.
Managing your reputation
While we can’t control what is said about us, we can take measures to improve it.
Confirm in your client’s, coworkers’ or boss’ mind that you achieved their goal and you did a good job. And keep in touch. After all, these are folks you shared time with and perhaps a few laughs along the way. Besides maintaining some valued relationships, it might even mean repeat business down the line.
What impression does your website make? Does it imply credibility and quality? Is it up to date?
It amazes me how many small businesses aren’t making their website work for them. I find this particularly true of restaurants. Websites are such an easy way to tell potential customers about your business. If a customer drives by your restaurant or someone recommends it, they will probably want to check out the menu or location by visiting the website, only to fine that it either doesn’t have a website, it’s hard to find, or it isn’t up to date.
Here are some handy tips to help customers find your site, and keep it current.
Seek inspiration from websites that you admire
Take a good look at your website and compare it to others in your industry, or websites you really like. Once you’ve found a few, look at their code to see how they achieved it. To see the code, in MS Explorer click on “view”, “source”. The key here is inspiration not plagiarism. Make your website your own.
Keep true to your brand
What colours and font styles have you chosen for your logo, signage, menus, etc? They should be consistent across all mediums including your website to keep your brand consistent and easily recognized by your customers.
Meta data – a search engine’s best friend
What is metadata? Metadata is data about data. It lets search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing understand what your website is about. This is important because not everyone who is interested in your product or service will know your website address. You will want search engines to be able to display your website to those searching for it.
The key pieces of code you want at the top of your website’s home page are as follows, with examples from our website:
Webpage title: The title is more than just metadata, in that it appears at the top of your web page. This should be the name of your website, and the purpose of the page they are on. For example: <title>Economic Insights Consulting Inc.| Pricing Specialists</title>
Keywords: These words are indexed and used by search engines and compared to search criteria entered by users. For example, our keyword meta tag is: <meta content=”Pricing Strategies, Billing Strategies, Strategic Management Consulting, Management Accounting, Health Services Consulting, Canadian, Toronto, Oakville, Ontario, Economics”/>
Description: This is the information provided about the website that is returned to the users. Ours is as follows: <meta content=”Economic Insights Consulting Inc. is a Strategic Management Consultancy located in Oakville Ontario Canada which offers Pricing Strategies and Strategic Management Consulting Solutions.”/>
Let search engines know you exist
Don’t wait for search engine robots to find you, tell them where you’re at! Submit your site to Google and other search engines. After all, you want potential customers to find you, right? Here are the links to the pages that you can submit your web address to. After a few days, the search engine will index your website and your customers will have an easier time finding you.
There are also sites that will do the submission to multiple search engines for you. Just do a search on “submit URL”.
Keep it current
Nothing says out of date like a copyright at the bottom of your website from 1999. Updating this section of code is as simple as changing the year on an annual basis. It is even simpler if you have a php footer file. Click here for code that you’ll never have to revisit.
Resources
Web designers come from both coding and graphic design disciplines. The following resources tell the website development story from both of these perspectives.
Clark, Andy. “Transcending CSS: the fine art of web design”, Berkley: New Riders, 2007.
Castro, Elizabeth. “HTML, XHTML & CSS Sixth Edition”, Berkley: Peach Pit Press, 2007.
Once you have a website, maintenance doesn’t take much time at all, but you do need a few pieces of software.
If tinkering with your website isn’t your cup of tea, by all means hire someone to maintain your site. Now you know a few more ways to ensure your site is working for you.
Here is an update to an earlier post “Real Estate Transactions: When price doesn’t equal perceived value”.
At their annual general meeting yesterday, Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) members voted in favour of allowing agents to post listings on its MLS system on behalf of sellers for a flat fee. Melanie Aitken, Canada’s Competition Commissioner said it didn’t go far enough, as it keeps the power in CREA member’s hands, squelching innovation.
CREA has until March 25 to provide a response to the Competition Commissioner’s application to the Competition Tribunal.
See the Globe and Mail story: “No Sale: Realtors’ plan gets bad review” by Steve Ladurantaye.
What makes a customer shop at one hardware store vs. another? I have an example where price was not a deciding factor.
There are two hardware stores, Rona and Home Depot in close proximity to my home. Both stores offered the same or similar brands of toilets. So what if anything would determine where I made my purchase?
The deciding factor was service. A toilet is heavy and I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to lift it, and even if I could I didn’t want to risk hurting my back.
The following table contains a comparison of the service I experienced at the two stores:
| Home Depot | Rona |
| Toilets mounted on a wall above my head, out of reach | Toilets on a floor display, within reach for easy comparison |
| After 10 minutes of looking at the display, no one comes to assist me. I leave. | Two staff members offer to assist: one immediately and one 2 minutes later. Both give advice on which toilet offers the attributes I am seeking. After a model is chosen, the second also explains what if any additional parts might be needed to complete the job. |
| Generally no assistance in transporting items the customer’s vehicle from this store. | I pay and then drive to a loading area where a staff member loads the toilet into my vehicle. |
I wonder if the two stores realize the vast difference in service they are offering. The gradual move to the big box store format has brought the customer more selection and better prices for some items, but it seems to have come at a cost – a loss of knowledgeable service.
And why not? Labour is a very expensive input. So minimizing its cost by hiring the bare minimum on a part time basis makes economic sense, because the savings can then be passed on to the consumers as a means to draw them into the store. This may work on some items and for some customers. But for other customers, whose time is at a premium or knowledge of all things hardware is precious little, or physical strength lacking, the lowest price isn’t as important, because the customer is willing to pay a bit more for the service they need.
Rona has chosen customer service as its value proposition. This is evident from the corporate values published on their website, which lists customer service as its top priority. Home Depot lists excellent customer service at #4. From my experience, both live up to their values.
The preceeding is but one example of a customer purchase – but it gives pause to consider the psychology behind customer purchase decisions. Cost is not always the deciding factor.
With Federal Competition Bureau’s announcement of its challenge of the Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) rules before the Canadian Competition Tribunal, significant changes to the pricing of realtor services may be soon to come.
Pricing of Realtor Services
Ever wonder why the cost of a realtor is tied to the cost of your home? The Competition Bureau alleges that it has a lot to do with CREA’s control over Canada’s MLS service (http://www.realtor.ca/). From the seller’s perspective, pricing realtor services based on a percentage of the seller’s home price doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Does it cost more for the realtor to list and advertise the home if it is worth more? If not, why does the seller have to pay more? It is this decoupling of the value of the service from the price that is the root of so much discontent with the real estate experience.
To add insult to injury, when no cooperating (buyer) agent is involved, the seller’s agent is allowed to represent both buyer and seller, collecting the full fee. I would imagine it would take something akin to schizophrenia for the agent to act objectively in that situation. And what value does the seller perceive that they are receiving? It can leave a seller feeling bitter and taken advantage of.
Real Estate Lawyers: A contrast
In contrast, real estate lawyers generally charge a flat fee. The legal aspects of a residential real estate transaction are pretty standard, so the lawyer can with little risk on their part offer their services for a set price. The client knows the cost of the service and can link it to the value they are receiving, with no variability based on the value of their home.
The Future of Real Estate in Canada
If the Competition Bureau’s challenge is successful, I believe it will give many of the real estate agents who have a finger on the pulse of what their clients need the freedom to implement a little innovation in the pricing of their services. And for those clients who still want the full service option – no doubt it will be happily provided. I predict a marked increase in client satisfaction!
Since we posted “Grocery Bag Wars“ on January 7th, Atlantic Superstore, part of the Loblaw chain said it is “evaluating” their 5 cent bag charge at their Maritime stores. See CBC article “Grocery giant reviews fee-for-bag program“ posted January 28th.
Since the City of Toronto implemented its plastic bag by-law in June, grocery store chains have left a patchwork of bag policies across other jurisdictions, making the simple act of grocery shopping an agonizing experience.
It begins at the check-out, when customers must in some stores guess whether they will be charged for bags. If there is a charge, the customer must estimate how many bags will be required to contain their order. This is further complicated by whether the clerk will bag or not, and if so how efficient the clerk will be at filling the bags.
Since the advent of bag fees, it seems that bagging can no longer be assumed, even when a bagging policy is in place. Superstore abandoned their bagging service after offering a reusable bag. Fortinos claims to bag, however experience dictates that it depends on the clerk that serves you. The same goes for Sobeys. In the early days, Metro was still solidly bagging; however this policy appears to be slipping, as are the pleasant smiles and chitchat, while Longo’s continues as usual with their complementary bags and bagging service.
It needs to be said that the cashiers have been left ‘holding the bag’. It is they who have been saddled with the unpleasant task of asking a customer if they would like to purchase bags, a question often met with a snide retort. They are also left to awkwardly fumble with whatever style of bag a customer may choose to supply.
So who benefits? Stores offering five cent plastic and reusable bags make a healthy margin, while customers leave the store stressed and frustrated with their check-out experience, and front-line workers suffer from lower job satisfaction. According to Health Canada, food placed in reusable bags may even be at risk of contamination.
Loblaw, recently citing the poor economy for slower sales volume, vowed to keep their market share by offering discounts. While we all like a bargain, it would appear they have failed to grasp that for the customer, time is significant consideration. Many customers can’t afford the time to shop at multiple stores in search of deals, hunting down their list of items in foreign isles.
Customer loyalty translates into significant revenue for a grocery store. If a customer spends an average of $200 per week on groceries, it translates into $10,000 per year in revenue. Compare this to $15.00 in annual revenue from plastic bags, or the one-time $6.00 or so from reusable bags. These token bag charges are more than just money to the customer; they represent shameless opportunistic profiting by stores in the name of the environment; reusable bags as yet another thing to remember; and the bagging stare-down at the check-out as just another uncomfortable situation which the customer is happy to avoid.
In the middle of all of this angst, Wal-Mart and Zellers, the new entrants into the Canadian grocery market have taken a different tact, offering complementary bags and bagging service, no exceptions. Their customers leave satisfied.
Years ago, grocery stores would take your order, retrieve the items, and if you wanted, deliver them to your home. Since then, selection has infinitely improved while service has all but disappeared. A time-honoured method of attracting and keeping customers is customer service. Canada’s grocers would do well to reinstate their bagging policy and offer complementary compostable bags, which can intern be reused in our municipal composting bins. Sadly, a quarterly earnings-focused myopia has rendered some grocery chains incapable of see their customers’ torment. Customers are destined to wander in the grocery store desert, searching for the store that cares about them.
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