One of my favorite bloggers,
Seth Godin, frequently reminds us that cheaper is rarely better, easiest is
rarely bestest (my word, not his). We
see proof of those assertions often when we reactively reach for the cheapest
priced product (soap, tires, computer, insurance, barbed wire, software, lawn
mower, etc.), only to be hugely disappointed by the quality or the durability
of our chosen item, or the fidelity of the vendor when we need remedy.
To be sure, the age of
interconnectivity, automation, easy access to information, and convenient transportability
allows (forces?) businesses and institutions to remove a lot of the traditional costs of
overhead and middlemen, in order to get their product or service in our hands
at the lowest possible price. These
changing paradigms are having huge impact in my areas of vocation
– education and agriculture.
At the end of the day (and the transaction), what brings us satisfaction
and happiness is almost always the fact that the
product/service did what we needed it to do, when we needed it done, with the
least amount inconvenience or discomfort.
To channel Godin again, the wisest businesses, institutions, and
individual vendors (we ALL fit into
at least one of those categories) figure out ways to optimize the exchange by
optimizing the experience.
Two elements are the “trump
cards” with regard to customer satisfaction:
Relationship and Quality.
Most of us are just fine
paying a tad bit more, if the transaction is immersed in those two elements. It seems rather odd that we so often abandon
those two powerful dimensions for the sake of saving a few cents or a few
dollars.
If you’ve ever wrestled with
a discount insurance company, you understand the importance of the first.
If you’ve ever used the off
brand of toilet paper, you understand the second.
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