The Next Next Level

(i.e.. The Next Level Part 2)

Last month I wrote about the Next Level meme. The message hit home with a lot of people and the idea has been spreading. To expand on this idea further, this article explores how we can apply these ideas to your business.

You may of heard of the Price, Quality, Service triangle (see below). The theory goes that, in order to gain a competitive advantage in business, you can only compete on two of the three elements. Either you have great service at a great price with average quality (for example, McDonalds), or you have great quality and great service at a premium price (like, The French Cafe), or you have great quality and a great price with DIY level of service (like, My Food Bag). But, according to the theory, you can’t compete on all three.

Figure 1: The Price Quality Service Triangle

I think in today’s world of rapid change and disruption, companies need to think about competing on all three levels, or be competitive on two and blow one of the elements completely out of the water. We have seen plenty of examples of this in the last five years were companies have turned their industry on their head by achieving advantages on all three areas, or going big one. For example, Uber gives customers the same quality, better service at a significantly better price.

I think that the Price, Quality, Service Triangle should be drawn like this:

Figure 2: The Next Level Framework

Or this:
Figure 3: The Next Level Framework (Version 2)

I think that a useful assumption to make is that, someone in your industry is going to change the game completely by achieving advantages in all three circles or by achieving a massive advantage one of these areas. Whether you are in IT, tourism, hospitality, construction, wellness, or professional services, it’s either already happened or it’s happening. The question is, are you the one making it happen?

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. How is your company going to change the game?