Cheap, Fast and Good – Pick Two!

Yesterday I met my friend Mike Langton – a veteran Ad Man who c0-founded a leading digital services consultancy.

We had a rather stimulating conversation during which Mike shared his experiences and views of how the face of advertising is changing.

We were on the topic of dealing with clients and how we managed their expectations. In a small country like Singapore, I was lucky to have found sufficient business to grow MediaFreaks from a two man team to a thirty man company today. But managing clients has always been a challenge. No matter how much my company has grown, clients always expect us to give them cheap, fast and good service.

Now here’s a nugget from the conversation we had that I would like to share in this post.

Mike told me how he deals with his clients when discussing costs. Basically he tells his client, “Cheap, fast and good. Pick two!”

I couldn’t help laughing! The concept itself is not original – but the idea of telling your client that is just hilarious.

If you come to think about it, it is really a very funny but ingenious way of telling the clients that they need to be realistic about what they want. If they want something to be cheap, then it has to be at the expense of either speed or quality. If they want something to be delivered fast, then it has to be at the expense of either price or quality. If they want something to be of high quality, then they will have to either pay more or be willing to wait longer.

To sum it up -

Good + Fast = Expensive

Good + Cheap = Slow

Fast + Cheap = Inferior

Indeed, everyone is guilty of wanting service to be cheap, fast and good. I mean, who hasn’t been a client or customer at some point and not been guilty of wanting cheap, fast and good service? Considering the fact that we all really know that these three attributes do not usually co-exist, I guess it is just human nature to try and cut the best possible deal.

So the next time you face a client who is trying really hard, tell him/her what Mike says, “Cheap, fast and good. Pick two!”.

One Response to “Cheap, Fast and Good – Pick Two!”

1. FJ mergara says:

   August 15, 2011 at 10:52 am

   Hi sir Aldric,

   Ive been following your blog 3 weeks now and I find it really helpful, i found it in media freaks site.
   I need a little help or tips though, on how I can land a job there in Singapore. Im here in the Philippines, Im a 3D artist in post production.
   Thank you sir, keep it coming!

   FJ