Quality vs Price vs Delivery vs Experience 2010-01-23
As a Mesa Arizona wedding videographer, I have come to learn what people want and sometimes expect out of a video professional. Quality, price & delivery seem to be the three things most people want or expect (even if they don’t know it themselves). Some people in this Arizona wedding video market come to me and just want the lowest price I can offer while others seem to care more about the quality and creativity of the video. No one however ever really asks about the delivery time until after they have signed on the dotted line. This to me was a sign that wedding videography delivery time was not as important as price and/or quality. I misread that sign. I have delivered breathtaking wedding video productions to many clients but none have referred any business back to me who had to wait a long time to get their finished video delivered to them. I have learned the hard way about the importance of a speedy delivery or turn around time as they call it. I have never been one to skimp on quality so I have never had to learn that lesson the hard way thank goodness.
It just seems to me that most people want or even expect to get all of the above (quality, price & fast delivery). I’ve heard it before that you can’t expect to get all three in the real world. I’ve heard that you can only have 2 out of 3. If you want a high quality product and a speedy delivery that’s fine but expect to pay a premium. If you want a cheap product and the work finished quickly then expect lower quality craftsmanship. Finally, if you want a high quality product at a bargain price then expect a longer turn around time. This makes sense from a practical standpoint but what about from a business or customer relations standpoint? If we can or should only give 2 out of 3 then why do so many people expect to get all three? Perhaps the answer is to reach a mutual understanding (customer to professional) ahead of time so everyone understands what is expected.
I polled my friends a while ago asking them what 3 main characteristics they would look for in an Arizona wedding videographer if they were getting married or hold a special event of some kind. Do you know what the predominant response was? Quality, Price and Creativity. A lot of people said Price was most important but the same amount said Quality or Creativity was more important than price. No one however, said that a speedy delivery time was important to them. I have learned from experience though, that it is expected. I suppose that most people just don’t know what they are looking for and can only think of Price and Quality alone.
I have had some people ask me for my experience in videography so experience should be considered a variable in what most people want or expect from a professional videographer or any professional for that matter. Experience matters but not as much as some might think. The school of hard knocks is a crash course that can grant you a diploma in short order believe me. In a few short years you could be completely experienced in most anything if you graduate from the school of hard knocks. I have been in the videography business for about 7 years now and even though I always learn new things, I was experienced enough after the first 3 years. If you had a choice between a guy who had 3 years experience and another guy who had 10 years experience which would you choose? Before you answer this, the question you should be asking yourself is: “What kind of quality, price and delivery time would I get with either of them?” In reality, 10 years experience means little if you don’t like the work the guy puts out. When considering between the two choices you need to understand that experience is important but the quality of their work is king. Quality is a byproduct of ones “experience”.
If you want to see some samples of what I was doing just 2 or 3 years into the Arizona Wedding Videography market, click here.
I respect the opinions of others and please understand that this is just my take on it. The perspective of a Mesa Arizona wedding videographer.
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