The Donut Analogy
Posted on January 30, 2012
Although different from our usual posts, I have a little soapbox about sales. If you’re bored, with nothing else to do, you might be entertained. If not, check back later this week and we’ll have our usual previews to post.
I saw a post on facebook today complaining about the cost of a dozen donuts. The writer thought $8.00 a dozen was ridiculous. Someone posted below the comment they’d just buy their donuts at ____ (insert un-named retail store here). The facebook user actually got quite a few comments to the post, and pretty much everyone seemed apalled over the cost. That got me to thinking… There is a marketing principle called Project Triangle. You are given the options of Fast, Good and Cheap, and told to pick any two.
Here Fast refers to the time required to deliver the product, Good is the quality of the final product, and Cheap refers to the total cost of getting or buying the product. This triangle reflects the fact that the three principles are interrelated, and it is not possible to get all three – you always have to choose not to have one. In other words you have three options:
1. Good and fast – You can have something of high standard quality, and get it fast – but it will not be cheap.
2. Good and cheap – You can have something of high standard quality, and get it cheap – but you won’t get it quickly.
3. Or, Fast and cheap – You can get something quickly and cheaply – but it will not be of high standard quality.
Again, you can never have all three. You cannot change or exchange any side of the triangle without affecting the other sides.
This of course, made me think of professional photography. No matter where you go there are professional photographers, and there is always a wide array of pricing structures, quality, and customer service. There are photographers that charge $1000 for a session, and photographers who’ll do your session for free and for $25 give you an unedited CD of all your images. I’d be willing to bet the $1000 photographer will deliver a much higher quality portrait, even before the editing is finished. And, you can bet their portraits are printed at a professional printing company that specializes in producing high quality portraits, not at the local photo processing center at the retail store. It comes down to what are YOUR memories worth?
Our goal at Studio 1910 is to give you the highest quality portrait product that we can and get it in your hands as quickly as we can (Good and Fast). We have chosen our vendors with both of those things in mind. Those two things – quality and customer service / turn around time are two of the most important things to us. So that brings us to cost… we are definitely not the most expensive professional photographer you will find. But, we are also not the cheapest. From our market research, we typically fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. Will you always be able to find a cheaper photographer? Sure you could. Just like finding cheaper donuts, someone can always be cheaper.
So I go back to the donut analogy. Would I pay $8.00 for a dozen donuts? You bet I would! A freshly made donut, still warm from the fryer… I’d probably pay more than $8.00 for that experience. In my book, that beats day-old cold donuts, or donuts that have been frozen and thawed anyday – at any cost comparison. Getting a donut from a pastry shop / bakery (that’s pretty much what they specialize in) versus a get-everything-under-one-roof store (where they specialize in nothing) – well, let’s just say I would expect a bakery to charge more for a higher quality donut that is fresh and still warm. Maybe I’m just crazy. For me quality on some things will always trump cost. It’s why I buy Ragu spaghetti sauce instead of the store name brand, and JIF peanut butter instead of the store name brand – some things just aren’t worth saving a few dollars. That is the premise that professional photography is built upon – that your memories are worth finding a photographer that respects your waiting time, gives a top-notch customer experience and delivers the highest quality portrait in the end.
Whether you choose Studio 1910 as your professional photographer, or one of our competitors, choose wisely and do not always base your decisions upon cost… because one of the other sides of the triangle has to be given up for cost. We hear and read horror stories every year from people who wish they could go back in time and un-do the decision they made solely on cost. Sadly, they cannot. Your memories are preserved through photography; it is often the only tangible things left to keep the memory from fading. Invest wisely in the two of three things that mean the most to you… Good… Fast… Cheap.
We love telling your stories through photography, and appreciate the love and support of our clients. If we can ever photograph for you, we’d love to hear from you! If you made it to the end of this post… I know you must really have been bored. LOL But, thanks for indulging me. ~ Cheryl
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