When I was young, my parents thought that it was important to have a good encyclopedia in the house and they were constantly encouraging me use it. I had other ideas. I just wanted to ride my bike and play with my friends. I still have those same paper books, but they are a bit out of date now. But they are a bit like old friends, so I don’t like to throw them away. But I must admit they are now just decorative. I also have a set of books about wood working. I have no idea how old they are but there is no mention of electric tools. I think they must have belonged to my father from when he was a very young man or even his father. I also still have workshop manuals from some of my earliest cars, oil stained from extensive use.

I think my parents would be really proud of me now. As soon as I have a query, I go and look it up. It has never been so easy to learn. I just Google it!

There is an important message here. If you make it easy for your customers, clients, staff, children etc. to do what you want, they will probably do it. I will look for products on the internet. Having found what I want, I generally then go and see if it is on Amazon. Why? It is easy to order, pay and track. The service is reliable and returns easy. Why would I want to risk using any other source, if I don’t have to.

It’s just human nature. We are all intrinsically lazy. We like the path of least resistance.

I do buy from other sources and there are retailers other that Amazon that I have come to like and trust. But the service and ease of use, are very similar to Amazon.

It takes a lot more effort to make a system appear simple. You have to start by looking at the wants and needs of the users of that system. What do they want to know? What do they want to do? What services are they looking for? It’s a bit different from a shop or street trader who sets out their stall and hopes people will be attracted so that they stop and buy.

I think the other thing that I see these days is that we, me included, are very impatient. I can go and order something on the internet. I have already looked around, done my research and read the reviews. I now know what I want, and I want it now! I know that if I order something on one of my favourite websites, it could be home as early as tomorrow in some cases.

Everything is getting faster. I recall filling in the forms to get a new company incorporated, posting them away to Companies House and then several weeks later, the certificate of incorporation would appear in the post. That was after you had got live signatures on all the director appointment forms. That whole process took so long.

These days we complete the application online. Built in checks in the software ensure that everything is included and complete. When you press submit, the company can be set up withing 24 to 48 hours. It used to be quicker before Covid, with incorporations frequently being processed with a few hours.

So, what are the lessons here?

The first has to be that any system has to be easy to operate. Easy to view, easy to order, easy to pay and easy to track. Speed is also up there. How quickly can you turn that order or service around and how quickly can you get it delivered.

Price, in my view is lower down the order. It is still important because no-one likes to think they have been ripped off. But if there is a clear distinction between you and the next supplier, in terms of product, service and delivery, value for money is more important that price. Don’t get me wrong here. Everyone works to a budget and you may be pricing yourself out of their particular budget, but that will always happen. There will always be someone cheaper than you and if you try to compete solely on price, it is a race to the bottom.

Differentiate or die! What makes you stand out. If you are perceived as being exactly the same as everyone else, price is the only decider.

I know, because people tell me, that one of the things that makes us stand out from the crowd is our Fixed Price Agreements. We agree in advance what work we will do for you over a period of time, often 12 months. We price that, and we have a program that does it for us. You then pay by monthly direct debit. We send you a link so that you can input your bank details. We then set up the agreed payment schedule. Nothing particularly special so far, but then we offer unlimited ad hoc advice and fee protection, both included in the agreed monthly payment.

Unlimited ad hoc advice means any number of meetings, phone calls and email about any aspect of your business where we are involved. Could even be a potential acquisition.

Fancy a coffee?

 

Alan E Long

The Long Partnership

07770 738770