THE 3 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN BUSINESS

In the ad agencies we've worked, account and creative people used to all agree on one thing: When it comes to client demands for Good, Fast and Cheap, he or she may choose two.

You can choose Good and Fast but it won't be Cheap. You can choose Fast and Cheap but it won't be Good. Or you can choose Good and Cheap but it won't be Fast. That, we believed was simple a law of advertising and marketing, if not a law of nature.

Times have changed. Now clients don't only expect Good, Fast and Cheap. They expect...

Better, Faster, Cheaper

In this New Economic Era, a business that can't deliver on all three is at a competitive disadvantage.

One thing I tell all my clients is that if you can get it better, faster and cheaper somewhere else, you'd be a fool not to go for it.

Same is true of your customers.

The Domino's Dilemma

Domino's had a great success with the faster and cheaper aspects of the pizza business. The 30-minute guarantee and the low (compared to local pizzarias) price won them a lot of business.

The problem was the quality. Domino's wasn't better -- it wasn't even good, by their own recent admission. So they had to reformulate. And they did.

It will be interesting to see if Domino's adds "better" to "fastest" and "cheapest?"

Pizza Hut is responding with new lower prices. Is there a Domino effect in the pizza biz?

Walmart's Move

Walmart has been changing.

Walmart started as the cheapest. As it expanded, more stores meant easier access for more people. For the last five years Walmart has been working on being better.

If the last time you were in a Walmart was 10 years ago, you'd be surprised at the clutter-minimized merchandising, improved presentation and neater organization. More like Target than K-Mart.

That's what makes them such a formidable retailer. They're the cheapest. They're the fastest (most conveniently located). And their quality is getting better all the time.

What Are You Branding On?

Your brand is many things. But answer these questions (honestly) and every other question will be answered. Are you better? Or best? Are you faster? Or fastest? Are you cheaper? Or cheapest?!

As a brand you have to pick one, minimum. Or two maximum. Are you a high-end handyman service? You probably do a very good job and your customers are very satisfied. And you probably aren't the fastest -- because good things take time. You're prompt, reliable and do an commendable job -- at a price.

If you're a book-keeping service, are you better? (Whatever that means, which in this case probably means honest, accurate and secure.) Are you the fastest? Probably not. Nor are you the cheapest. But given the government penalties for dishonesty, inaccuracy and lack of security, your customers are better off being safe and paying more for you.

QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, PRICE.

There's no way to avoid them or fake them.

Those three words are the core/foundation of any business, product or service in the minds of your customers and prospects. Quality, availability, price. They determine success.

How do you position your business?

And how will you position it in the future?

Better? Faster? Cheaper?