Flat pack – It doesn’t have to suck!

We’ve had a week off recently (Yes! We can run a business and have a week off – who knew!). The two Chief Monkeys decided their mini monkey needed some new furniture for the bedroom.

I am sure a lot of you have been there – they just get more and more stuff! – It has to go somewhere. More storage solutions were the answer! – We all know where to go for that – IKEA! (A marketing lesson in itself). They purchased the classic – A square Kallax with the baskets. Perfect. They also wanted another one but the three squares one. Now it didn’t fit perfectly so they researched and saw B&Q did a similar one, similar price. Ok, perfect lets go for that.

The build of these two similar products could not have been any different. The B&Q felt totally different. It instantly had a ‘its going to fall apart in a few years’ feel to it. What was really rubbish was that some of the holes were not drilled where you would put your screws. What was really visually rubbish was the dozens and dozens of other holes that were not needed. It just lacked a bit of ‘spit and polish’. Putting the nails in the backboard – rubbish. It felt totally down to chance if you were going to go through in the right spaces. It was such a long winded and unnecessary process. Painful and with not the best result in the world.

Over to the Kallax. Holes perfectly drilled, even the boxes and packaging felt better. Everything went together perfectly. They even supply little tools and gadgets to ensure nails are going in perfectly. A good looking product guaranteed. We know its IKEA so its not exactly top of the range but you know what you are getting and what to expect – and that’s what people pay for!

Now why the hell are we going on about flat pack? Because of what it tells us about our products and services. Here we have two products that are very similar, priced the same but what people don’t get is it’s about the process. It’s not all about the end result. People remember what the process was like. That’s where the magic happens. Business owners are two busy thinking about the start and the end – the middle is where it’s at! That’s the bit that needs to be perfect. That’s the bit that people remember.

Ask yourselves how easy it is to deal with you? What’s your process like? Is it an enjoyable experience or do you just want to smash it up to pieces and wish you’d just put the candles in the trolley at the till like everyone else?

It’s about the process as well as the product and people will pay to have a great experience!