| When you are shopping for office copier paper, it | | | | easily get the business of those who have been taken |
| makes sense to look for a great deal, even buying in | | | | by these "deals" in the past as long as they survive |
| volume if the savings are good enough. But if you get | | | | the experience. |
| taken in by consumer attitude in some areas of | | | | Let's take a closer look at what is being sold. The |
| business, then you risk getting buried by more prudent | | | | principles of my business apply to many other |
| businesses. | | | | decisions a business will face, so the principle is what is |
| Can you imagine a corporate attorney advertising | | | | important. If someone is selling you promotional |
| guaranteed lowest prices? That would not instill | | | | graphics, and they are doing it at a price that makes it |
| confidence in their professionalism. Fortunately for | | | | impossible for them to make a healthy profit, it is |
| them, few if any would risk demeaning their trade by | | | | reasonable to assume that they will not help you make |
| offering such absurdity. | | | | a healthy profit. |
| Most trades, even though a lot of them should be, are | | | | It may not be easy to determine the best value, and |
| not so well shielded from the folly that unjustly reflects | | | | more expensive does not automatically mean better, |
| on all others in their profession. There are those who | | | | but you can be fairly certain that a great deal is quite |
| market to businesses and treat them like consumers. | | | | often bad for your business. If ROI is needed, the best |
| They prey on people's natural instinct to try to save | | | | deals usually provide zero return. |
| money, but they must divert someone's attention to | | | | In some cases, great deals can even be detrimental. |
| price alone to succeed. | | | | There are cheap services and software programs |
| There are inherent flaws that every business person | | | | that promise to put your web site at the top of search |
| should instinctively understand. Successful people look | | | | engine results. Sometimes they might, temporarily if at |
| at Return On Investment (ROI) and this principle is well | | | | all, but often will get you blacklisted from search |
| taught. This should be applied to every business | | | | engines because of shady tactics used to get those |
| decision, but I will illustrate using my own industry as an | | | | results. That is a death blow to your web site. |
| example of practical application. | | | | We are living in a time when con artists are getting |
| I provide promotional graphics in the form of web | | | | increasingly sophisticated. Fortunately, good information |
| design, graphic design, writing, marketing, and technical | | | | is available for you to educate yourself. Take |
| expertise. The prices in this industry are all over the | | | | advantage of the information tools you have available, |
| scale. While many of my competitors complain of low | | | | and do your research. Always think about whether |
| balling price structures and loss of business to prices | | | | you are really saving money, or throwing away a |
| that insult our profession, I don't worry about it. I can | | | | better opportunity to get a good deal. |
