For Dave + anyone interested in quality

[Spider]

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. T.E.D. = Technology, Education, Design.

I just watched The Post-crisis Consumer. John Gerzema says there's an upside to the recent financial crisis -- the opportunity for positive change. Speaking at TEDxKC, he identifies four major cultural shifts driving new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending.

John Gerzema: The post-crisis consumer | Video on TED.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/john_gerzema_the_post_crisis_consumer.html)

How can you use this to help your business?

[huggytree]

I didnt get alot positive for my business out of it....its something i should watch 2-3x to get the whole point though..

what i got out of it is that people are trying to spend the least possible....finding ways to save money....DIY is never my friend...what it will lead to is things falling apart sooner...

Quality of my products is not understood by most people...many dont want to listen when i explain the differences...they have a budget of $x and thats what they can afford...even if there is no quality product for $x.....the problem is $x is typically 50% of what it actually costs...

had a guy today ask for me to come over and advise him on how to do a basement bath...i said $250 and ill even draw it up for you while im there....he almost hung up on me....im sure he thought $50 and probably planned on calling me 20x as the project progressed...

he says people are moving towards long lasting quality items, but also says people are being frugel...frugel means cheap....cheap & quality are opposites.....frugel can mean value, but we all know value means something different to each person...

anything i missed that i should get out of it?

i could look into a business being a plumbing 'advisor'....id be happy to advise people for $250 a project....they would also have to pay for all the phone calls they will be making to me as extra's.

[Spider]

Here are some of the things I picked up--- "Quotes from the video" (My thoughts.)

"Opportunity for the consumers to take control..." (Consumers will determine the value they are willing to pay for = if they cannot afford the quality they want, they will go without until they can afford it.)

"Consumers are de-leveraging... Savings rates are suddenly increasing again..." (Mindless consumption is on the way out. Saving allows consumers to buy better quality.)

"We are moving from mindless consumption to mindful consumption..." (Consumers are more likely to think about and buy higher quality.)

"By restricting their demand, consumers can align their values with their spending so they are not just about 'more' but about 'better'..." (Buying less, saving more = when they do spend, they buy better quality with more value.)

"Value shift..." (From low value to higher value.)

"Durable living...." (Want things that last.)

"30% of US homes are built by the owners... they want to be involved..." (Many trades involved in building a home can be done by DIYers. But not plumbing, which must be done by a licensed plumber, for public health reasons. Anyone building their own home is likely to be more concerned about quality and durability = work for quality plumbers.)

"Rise of social networks..." (Networking and referrals will be more important than straight advertising.)

"Value-driven spending will force capitalism to be better, will drive innovation, make longer-lasting products, create better customer service..." (I see this as good for any company offering superior goods and superior services. But they will have to offer real quality and true value. Price will not be a measure of quality.)

What do you think?

[huggytree]

homeowners build 30% of the new homes themselves...there is NO quality in that..its all about price...and saving money. Many will use sidejobbers...ive done a few new homes directly for the homeowner...price seemed to be the only thing they looked for.

I like the idea of better quality/value...i focused more on the 2nd 1/2 than the first i think......the 2nd 1/2 he talked about everyone wanting to save $$

I am seeing people buy better quality fixtures, but hiring the lowest priced guy to install them...i think over 1/3rd the plumbing is done by sidejobbers right now in my area.

typically when a homeowner calls and wants to general a job him/herself the reason is to save money...its never been for a higher quality job...never....high end customers choose a builder/remodeler with a good reputation to create their new bathroom or kitchen......i like working directly for homeowners(i get paid on the spot)...its rare to get a large project directly from the homeowner...very rare....a couple of time a year rare.. i got more large homeowner projects when i did sidejobs years ago than my company does now...small jobs..yea i get alot of homeowner small jobs...large $5k-$10k jobs nope

reguardless of what the speaker said i dont see people spending on quality installs

maybe they are all saving up instead...long term could mean a large increase in construction when they all feel like spending again.

i found the speaker very interesting..i passed it onto a few builder friends...

[Spider]

I judge from your last post that you are looking for this now. My understanding was that this speaker was not reporting what, in his opinion, is happening now but what he thinks will happen in the near future.

TED Conferences is really a think-tank - What technology, education and design will lead us to. The speaker referred several times to what his statistics were suggesting (his interpretation, of course.)

I'm not surprised you don't see the appeal of quality presently - we are still in shock, and consumer confidence is still quite low, I think. I see the speach as a glimpse at a possible future, and a "heads-up" for anyone interested in directing their business in a fashion that will score big from a move to "mindful consumption" rather than the "mindless consumption" of the recent past.

I think it offers some wonderful opportunities ahead.

[huggytree]

ill let you know when i notice it.....i admit i do notice higher quality fixtures...could just be a lucky short trend on my own business, or a larger trend...a few months will tell.

[Spider]

I suspect it will take longer than a few months for this to be mainstream. It might begin to occur in a few months, here and there, but so infrequently as to be unnoticeable. Yet, I do believe it is a trend that will build so that in a few years there will be businesses benefitting greatly from having seen the possibility today.

Let's put it like this -- This is the making of a trend, which will die if there are no business people feeding it. Businesses might continue - as they are right now, by and large - believing customers are broke and want everything they wanted before but at lower prices. Goods and services will continue to be cheap and unsatisfying. Even during the "mindless consuption" period of this past decade, there have been pockets of quality consumption - there have been some customers and some products that have not fallen into that trap. I think those pockets will expand, if there are busineses to provide for them.

Of course, there will always be the cheapskates who want everything cheap, and who cannot see any value in buying quality. They may even remain in the majority. But I do believe the groups who want better quality and are willing to pay for better quality will grow. They may have to buy less, because money is not infinite, but what they buy will be better quality.

There are more businesses providing the cheap market than there are businesses providing the quality market - and that is where the opportunity lies for us.

So, what can you do - and this is for everyone, not just Dave - what can you do to add quality to your business without necessarily increasing price? What will you have to do to find the quality buyers?

Here's what I am doing -- I am shifting the focus of my coaching consultancy from helping people with problems (the common focus of business coaching) to helping successful people get better. In fact, the rewrite of my website has been moving in that direction for a couple of months, now.

It just seems to me that the next decade will not be anything like the last.

[vangogh]

Interesting video Frederick. Thanks for posting it.

What I took from the talk is mostly how much more empowered consumers are today. To me that's where the push for quality comes from. Consumers are now better able to see through the BS that's shoved at them and have more ability to find the better options. It's up to us to then be better if we want to be the choice the consumer makes.

[Spider]

...It's up to us to then be better if we want to be the choice the consumer makes.Absolutely!

I vote this Quote Of The Week!

[vangogh]

Do I win anything for the quote of the week? :)

[Spider]

You win my approbation :)

Now, what precisely can you do to add quality to your business without necessarily increasing price? What will you have to do to find the quality buyers?

Anybody?

[vangogh]

For me it usually means learning more about what I do so I can do it better. I'm always learning how to design better and how to build websites better. I do adjust my price as I do better work since I offer more value in my services, however I think I offer more value than what I ultimately charge for. In that sense the quality is going up more than the price.

[Spider]

You are talking generalities, VG - good generalities, but generalities, nonetheless. I want to get everyone to think "specific."

What, specifically, will you do? What is your next step to increase quality? What is your next step to learn something new that will increase your value? What next step will you take to meet or contact people who want a better quality website than you produced last year?

Questions are aimed at everyone.

[vangogh]

Earlier this week I received a half dozen books on design theory in the mail from Amazon. So at the moment my learning is reading through those books. Once done reading I'll look to apply the things I've learned when it's time to design a new site.

I'm always plugged in to articles and blog posts that relate to the industry. I can't specifically tell you what I'm going to learn reading them since I don't know what they'll be talking specifically about. However when I see some code or an idea presented that I think I may use somewhere down the line, I'll bookmark it or save it in some way for future use.

As far as specifically meeting and contacting people I won't do anything specific. In time I'll redesign my site and have an updated portfolio which I would think would show improved skills. I'll continue to market myself as always.

[Spider]

Great! Anyone else?

[Vivid Color Zack]

Check out TED's iphone app too, it's interesting stuff whenever you have a few minutes to kill and provides some interesting conversation topics.

[vangogh]

I downloaded the TED app awhile ago, though I keep forgetting to watch what's there. TED does have some great videos.

[yoyoyoyoyo]

TED is a most awesome, and educational resource.