I don’t know if it’s only me, but I often think about the state of our largely capitalist, Western society. More specifically, I think about how it all fits together, and why it all fits together. I’m constantly amazed that the whole thing hasn’t yet imploded (or exploded, depending on your perspective)…
I’ve read hundreds of local and global business case studies academically, practically discussed endless hypothetical scenarios, and thought long and hard about how the supposed invisible value chain manages to link things up. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes I think (or know) that I’m missing something. Occasionally, I just have to shake my head, or nod and smile. Value chains work because they contain value – it’s that simple. Now, I’d be the first to admit that there can be no universal definition of value. The world is just too diverse a place for that, with too many beliefs, experiences, and objectives. But in this soup of value systems, we’ve managed to scoop out certain things with relatively universal appeal, which have become well enough known and understood to form markets. People trade things they need, and the monetary value placed on these things is determined by the invisible hand of the market. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Obviously it doesn’t always…
In a simplified market, one of the determining factors of value is quality. Generally speaking, we’ve become used to the idea that a high quality product or service costs more. Sometimes the extent to which it costs more is determined by how good it is. Sometimes it’s determined by supply and demand. Realistically, there are a million factors at play, and these are just two of them working together to come up with some end price. Either way, I’m not here to discuss price theory, but to raise the point of quality as a determining factor in price. I naïvely like to believe that quality costs, and that by raising the quality of what I produce, I can raise the price (in a very simplistic, perfectly controlled world, where demand for my product will inevitably rise). Put even more simply: To earn more, I have to become better at what I do. I have to become a true pro.
I’m getting closer to the point of this post, because I think that a continuous obsession with quality is very important. It separates the men from the boys, or the ladies from the girls (especially for you, Eris 
). If you’re better at what you do than those around you, people will notice, and you’ll be preferred. It doesn’t just work that way in business, it’s life. Continuing this theme, I think that it’s only natural (and sometimes appropriate) to occasionally remind people of why you should be preferred. As long as you can back it up it’s fine – if not, you’re creating an inefficient link in the value chain. Granted, it’ll probably be temporary, as the market will eventually replace you, but you’ll stuff up the chain for a while…
My point? If you’re not professional, or really good, don’t claim to be. Sure, people who aren’t professional (or good at what they do) are probably oblivious to this, but it still manages to irk me when they proclaim stupid things. Take the example of Netucation. I received spam from them tonight, but because they’re South African I didn’t can the mail immediately (spam very rarely originates locally; our con-artists rather deal in the real world it seems).
Firstly, the HTML mail I received from them was really badly designed. It was WAY too wide for mail client display, had a Dial Direct banner ad down the left pane, some redundant (and invisible) CGI form, and a bunch of meta tags. Closer inspection revealed that it had been created with FrontPage, and I suspect that they simply took a webpage and mailed it. To cap it off, it also contained a (non-functional) Google ad. The header read “Providing your Small Business with profitable Internet Marketing solutions & effective strategies to attract customers to your Website....”.
Being curious, I had to check it out and be attracted as a customer to this website… On the home page, one of the main headings is “Make Money on the Internet”. Being a designer myself, I was interested in “What We Do”, and so I proceeded to read what they had to say. An extract from the “Website Hosting” page:
“Hosting with Lunarpages for only $7.95 (approx R53) per month!! If you're paying more then R100 per month for your webs hosting then it's crazy! In South Africa your average ISP charges to much for hosting of websites. Choose on of the following packages that suit your web hosting needs.”
Great, these guys really seem to know their stuff, paying attention to their speling and all...
"Web Design” was next:
“We can provide you with low-cost website design. We use Microsoft Frontpage to design all websites. You can do it yourself if know what you want. We can assist you in putting your website on the Internet. All you have to do is send us as much information as possible. You must be clear what you want to achieve with your website as a website with no clear purpose is like having non at all.”
Wow, I can do it myself?! But, I’d still need them for direction and stuff:
"we can help you develop an online strategy to suite your needs”
I thought Microsoft Office was a suite? At this stage, I was actually getting pissed off. I mean, sure, there are millions of sites like this one out there, with everyone claiming to be an expert. But c'mon.
If you’re a provider of affordable services, point it out, by all means. I’ll even encourage and try to help you. But never, ever criticize those higher up in the value chain. They’re more expensive than you for a reason. I don’t slate large agencies (including the one we share the building with) for being expensive, because I understand the chain. It’s simple economics.
To Netucation : You suck, cheapskates!