New Economy Constraints >>
Seems everywhere you look online and offline these days, there is a discounted service or product available. I know the market stinks these days as we are reminded constantly by all media outlets of the impending doom of our economy. It’s just downright silly out there though, and I am seeing the direct impact on businesses’ brand and marketings plans.
The larger sized clients are cutting their budgets, but still expect the same level of service and the smaller clients are wanting more value for their dollars. Now I am all for sensible spending, however it is disheartening to see value bump up the list above quality in any brand or marketing project.
I actually know business owners who are getting their corporate identities (the cornerstone of their brands) redesigned by creative people in India for $50 and then asking small freelance companies to design and develop their site or emarketing initiative to save $. The trouble is, these decisions affect their brand and dilute the brand messaging because they are likely not working with strategy, merely execution. How do you know these “cheaper” projects will be successful? What metrics or goals were developed at the beginning of the project to determine the projected success?
These days I keep finding myself drifting back to the elementary principle and constraints of a successful project and successful project management, also know as “The Triangle”.
As defined by Wikipedia…
“This first project triangle reflects the fact that the three properties of a project are interrelated, and it is not possible to optimise all three - one will always suffer. In other words you have three options:
- Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will not be cheap.
- Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high quality.
- Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time.”
Also defined by Wikipedia…
“Each side of the Project Management Triangle represents a constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further refinement of the constraints separates product “quality” or “performance” from scope, and turns quality into a fourth constraint.
The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to what must be done to produce the project’s end result. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.”
So, in a nutshell…..The cost constraint is becoming a priority for businesses today and the remaining constraints compete therefore the project size (scope) is being reduced. As business owners in the service industry, we need to be aware of this constraint shift and present options for our clients/customers that fit within their new project requirements. Stay tuned for our new offering for clients today who have a cost constraint (no, it is not a sale)!
Tags: 3 Degrees West, Branding, economy forecast, emarketing, Marketing, quality, sandy gerber, scope, triangle, value, wikipedia