If content is king, service is queen

...the laurel wreath of competition doesn't crown the company who constantly cuts price in order to stay ahead. The critical edge goes to the company that is able to either:

- integrate aspects of its existing proposition into a better "whole" or

- bring new aspects of service into the overall proposition.

In either case, the margin (i.e. their profit) of each individual pice of the proposition reflects the "cheaper" state of the market. But the increased profit is made on the overall "whole". A big company example: When "The Woolwich" recognised in the late 1990s it could no longer compete with the likes of Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank etc by offering single-line banking products (e.g. a current account, or a mortgage) because it could not operate as cheaply as these larger companies, it merged all its products into a single joined-up proposition. This "Open Plan" proposition reflected the reduced profit per product, but by offering joined-up services (e.g. offsetting your mortgage interest payments by having savings in a separate account) it attracted new customers into the bank.

A small company example? Sayyou are engaged in the "race to the bottom" in the competitive Wedding Organisation market. Noticing your once lucrative consulting market has become a fight to the death for cheapness, you look instead at:

- offering a wedding planning website;

- you bring together a wide range of service providers for all aspects of weddings (from hen parties, through to florists for the church, through to honeymoon holidays). (A bit akin to Woolwich bringing together all its banking products into one joined-up proposition);

- You ask for an affiliate and advertising commission from each of those providers, which is how you now make your money from the venture;

- You market your site as a one-stop wedding planning site;

- You turn over the "management" which was previously your expertise to the happy couple themselves who using your easy-to-use website, retain complete control over who they select and at what price;

- You begin to plan what next as your competition is bound to copy and under-cut you.

And you probably make more money than you formerly did as the consultant!

About the Author: Richard Martin of Briquesetclics is a Certified Management Consultant and Accredited Internet Marketing Consultant of 20 years experience in IT. Briquesetclics offers exquisite eBusiness solutions, website design and Internet Marketing with English to French Translation to expat and French Comunities in Southwest France. He serves the Limousin, Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine regions and the cities of Limoges, Poitiers, Bergerac, Perigueux, Angouleme, Cognac, Bordeaux, Niort.

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