The Unattainable Triangle

Branding experts refer to the “unattainable triangle” as composed of quality, price, and speed. All products or services have two out of the three sides of the triangle.

The triangle is unattainable for two reasons. The first is logistical. Providing high-quality service with faster-than-average turnaround time is going to cost you more money than your competitor who can do the same level of quality at a lower price with slightly slower turnaround.

It’s pretty much logistically impossible to maintain a profitable business that has somehow “attained the triangle.”

The second reason the triangle is unattainable is the “snake oil” effect.

Let’s say it was possible for you to design a software solution that was faster and better than any other software solution on the market today and you priced it below market value hoping to make your money back from high-volume selling. Chances are you would fail. You would fail because buyers today are more sophisticated than ever before and their perception of your offering would be that it’s simply too good to be true. This is the “snake oil” effect.

Here’s the big idea.

If you were able to offer all three sides of the triangle, you shouldn’t. It would be in your best interest to maximize your profitability by sacrificing one of the three sides. So if you had something that was better and faster, you can and should increase the price. The strange thing about this strategy is that it might actually sell better with a higher price. This kind of strategy is known as a Price Premium.

For more information, on price premiums, check out more of our campaign strategies.

Proof of Concept

• Starbucks: High-quality/Fast-turnaround – High-price
• Whataburger: Low-price/Fast-turnaround—Low-quality
• U.S Postal Service: Low-price/High-quality—Slow-turnaround

Look around you and every company you see will be leaning on two of the three sides of the “unattainable triangle”. The key for your business is choosing the right two sides to promote and brand.