I’ve been using a particular vendor at Collegewise for eight years, one that we’ve come to rely on for an important part of our business. In fact, I’ve looked to them for some time as an example of how we want to run Collegewise. Every interaction with any department was a pleasant experience with someone who genuinely cared about making my experience as a customer a better one. They seemed to put all their energy into making a great product and backing it up with remarkable service. Even the web copy sounded like it was written by a real person, with plenty of personality. I talked effusively about them to anyone who might have been interested in something similar. I’m sure those traits have a lot to do with why they’ve grown so explosively.
But things are changing over there, and for me, not all of it appears to be good. Instead of cheerfully answering the phone or replying quickly, they “regularly respond to customer service requests within 48 hours.” When they made a pretty big mistake with my account recently, I had to jump up and down a bit to get someone to actually fix it. And their website verbiage has traded passion and personality for safe, dull copy.
I still use them and will continue to do so because it’s not yet painful enough for me to make a change. But if a better option came along, I’d investigate it. And I don’t talk about them anymore unless someone asks (and even then, I’m far less effusive).
“Bigger” is an implied measure of success, especially in business. But what a business gains in customers and revenue almost always comes with a price in other areas. “Bigger” doesn’t always come at the expense of “better,” and I’m not suggesting that businesses shouldn’t try to grow. But it’s worth noticing when you start trading one for the other.
And this isn’t true just in small business. A standard measurement of “bigger” or “more” doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better.
Rack up more community service hours, or make a real difference with people who need help?
Spend more hours studying, or find a way to make the hours you spend as productive as possible?
Get even more involved managing your student’s academics, activities, and college process, or help her learn how to handle those on her own?
And one for colleges: spend more time and money trying to recruit students whose profiles will boost your US News rankings? Or funnel those funds and effort into creating a remarkable experience for the students who have already chosen you?
When it’s not possible to have both, “better” is almost always superior to “bigger.”