{"id":2526,"date":"2013-02-14T02:24:36","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T02:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/?p=2526"},"modified":"2013-02-14T02:24:36","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T02:24:36","slug":"faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/","title":{"rendered":"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doug Stephens<\/p>\n

I came across this<\/a> article today, examining the debate over whether Apple should create a line of cheap iPhones.\u00a0 It seems Bank of America\/Merrill Lynch authored a report that comes down soundly in favor of such a move. Apple they say, should make cheaper iPhones for “emerging markets and budget-conscious consumers”.<\/p>\n

Once I got past the irony of\u00a0Merrill\u00a0Lynch (a name carrying the lingering odor of bankruptcy) advising Apple (who has more cash than the U.S. government) on building a successful product strategy, it \u00a0occurred to me that this same scenario has been played out hundreds of times in virtually every category.\u00a0 A manufacturer sets \"CHEAP\"incredibly high design and build standards and in so doing creates a brand that appeals very deeply to a select segment of the market.\u00a0 Their uniqueness, efficacy and attention to detail commands a significant premium for their products, which their chosen segment pays quite willingly, happy to be part of a brand that clearly understands them.\u00a0 Life is good.<\/p>\n

But then…<\/h2>\n

The moment the brand\u2019s astonishing growth slows \u2013 even slightly \u2013 the market (analysts, consumers and investors alike) do the same thing.\u00a0 Rather than have faith that the values that got the brand to its soaring heights will carry them through the rough patch they instead pressure the company to lower its standards \u2013 the same standards it built its success on, to appeal to a wider, more shallow segment of the market. \u00a0To reach customers for whom the brand was never intended in the first place.\u00a0 They recklessly suggest the company broaden its segmentation, while risking disenfranchising the very customers that make up the beating heart of loyalty at the core of the brand.<\/p>\n

The lesson here is simple<\/h2>\n

No matter what you do or what you sell, the market will ask you to do it faster, better but above all, cheaper<\/em>.\u00a0 Wall Street will pressure exclusive brands to be more inclusive.\u00a0 Analysts will coerce you into dumbing down your design principles. In short, in an effort to make a quick dollar, investors will push you closer and closer to the deadly middle of the market. \u00a0The place where brands go to die.\u00a0 To forfeit your company’s soul.<\/p>\n

And it doesn\u2019t matter if you’re Apple, Mercedes, Coach or the small retailer down the street.\u00a0 My emphatic advice to you will be the same.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Look for my book, The Retail Revival<\/a>, in stores February 28th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Doug Stephens I came across this article today, examining the debate over whether Apple should create a line of cheap iPhones.\u00a0 It seems Bank of [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[92,259,113,24,118],"class_list":["post-2526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-apple","tag-bank-of-americamerrill-lynch","tag-iphone","tag-retail","tag-retail-prophet"],"yoast_head":"\nFaster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Doug Stephens I came across this article today, examining the debate over whether Apple should create a line of cheap iPhones.\u00a0 It seems Bank of [\u2026]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Retail Prophet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Doug Stephens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Stephens\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/\",\"name\":\"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c61e8def90993f7f05ebee505a9da467\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/\",\"name\":\"Retail Prophet\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c61e8def90993f7f05ebee505a9da467\",\"name\":\"Doug Stephens\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet","og_description":"By Doug Stephens I came across this article today, examining the debate over whether Apple should create a line of cheap iPhones.\u00a0 It seems Bank of [\u2026]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/","og_site_name":"Retail Prophet","article_published_time":"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg"}],"author":"Doug Stephens","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Doug Stephens","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/","url":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/","name":"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper | Retail Prophet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg","datePublished":"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-14T02:24:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c61e8def90993f7f05ebee505a9da467"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CHEAP.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2013\/02\/14\/faster-better-but-above-all-cheaper\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faster, Better But Above All Cheaper"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/","name":"Retail Prophet","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c61e8def90993f7f05ebee505a9da467","name":"Doug Stephens"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}