Benjamin Franklin said, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” but you don’t need to be an economical scientist to realize that we’re still climbing out of a recession.
Pinching the penny is merely a short-term band-aid on the boo-boo of life. We’ve all cut coupons, entered discount codes and cut back on spending, but when saving changes from being a smart choice to a destructive force, businesses are damaged in its path.
Many businesses have slashed prices in an effort to accommodate the consumer’s craving to save. Often times, all this really accomplishes is a compromise of quality, so congratulations; you just lowered the value of your company/product/service. A scrape heals much quicker when it’s not being covered up by a hopeless attempt to ignore its existence.
Now is the time to protect the quality of your business. Price cutting forces other business to lower their rates to stay in the game, and then they lower once again? Where does it end?
Businesses should be built upon innate intelligence, innovative creativity and product quality. These things that once gave your business its prestige are the very same ones we should be saving from the cut, not cutting to save. Undercutting can only get you so far, and the cost of doing so is not worth the short-tem benefits.
The solution for this gradual, yet critical change in business mentality is simple. Punctuality is the key for success in a speed driven economy. Prompt responsiveness, production speed and actual human interaction via the telephone (A machine can’t ask you how your day is) are all elements we should strive to accomplish.
When you chose to break the mold, your reputation relies on upholding those values. We all have an honor to respect in setting the trends instead of following them. When the economy gets out of this funk, and it will, only the most distinguished will be left standing . Reputation cannot be compromised and still maintain its value. When the skies clear to a hopeful blue, the challenge of excellence will still be there, the only question is, where will you be?
Nicole Devine
Intern, Propulsion Media Labs
Professional Writing Major, Kutztown University
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