When providing services and products to your customers, you have an important decision to make: Will your company be known for its low prices, exceptional quality, or speed in getting the job done?

Achieving all three is a nearly impossible feat:

• Increasing speed usually increases costs (through hiring additional labor or buying equipment) and may diminish quality (if a faster turnaround is at the expense of proper attention to detail).
• Improving quality often adds cost (via higher-grade materials and/or workers with specialized skills) and pushes out completion dates (due to the extra attention and care given to the job).
• Decreasing costs may sacrifice a quality end result (due to using lower-quality materials or less-experienced workers). There’s often a give and take, so it’s critical to think about what you want your brand to be known for. Rarely, can businesses market themselves as “lowest prices,” “best quality,” and “fastest.” Usually, they become known for one or two, at best.

Consider:

• Harbor Freight Tools vs. Snap-on
• Kia vs. Mercedes Benz
• Walmart vs. Nieman Marcus

So, how can you determine the right legacy to build for your company?

That’s both easy and difficult at the same time! It involves knowing your company’s core strengths. Rely not only on your gut for figuring this out, but also ask for candid feedback from your customers. If there’s a mismatch, you’ll have some work to do, either to shift the scales to what you want to be known for in the marketplace or to embrace and strengthen the public perception that already exists.