Speed Over Perfection: Why Being First to Market is Crucial

The fast-paced business environment is sometimes necessary, especially when making a name and space for your brand.

Today’s post is by Francisco Serrano, author of Brain-Ding. This is an archived post, originally published in 2020.

When you talk about branding, you are talking about constant change. This fast-paced environment leaves brand managers with no choice: they need to favor SPEED over perfection. That is, if they want to succeed. Especially when launching products.

When innovation is a key element in the industry, processes must be faster. Great businesses such as Amazon understand that decisions need to be immediate and the ability to adapt means the ability to survive. If companies decide to wait until they have the perfect product or service, they are giving their competitors the opportunity to get ahead of the game.

The truth is that chasing perfection slows down the process and in an increasingly dynamic world, you can’t afford to waste time. It is better to launch a product or a service and then build on it, rather than waiting on a faultlessness that might never come.

Being the first to market often means leadership. If you come in second place you might be perceived as a follower, and followers can’t charge premium prices or get to the top of the industry that easily.

Speed doesn’t mean low quality

There’s something decision-makers need to keep in mind: speed doesn’t mean low quality. While speed to market might compromise perfection, it shouldn’t affect the value of your product or service.

Even though your first attempt might not be flawless, you need to set specific standards and then improve from there with each new try. Your business structure and your work processes need to be efficient if you are looking to ensure both, speed and value.

Speed is useless without quality and to achieve a balance between them, you need to make sure that your business has the following conditions:

Without these, the waters will be difficult to navigate.

And what happens with the risk?

If you are wondering if speed over perfection presents any risk, the answer is yes, but in perspective they are minimal. At least compared to the benefits.

Even though mistakes can happen when you are working in fast-mode, the reality is that most of them are easily correctable.

As long as you maintain your basic quality standards, Speed over perfection gives you the chance to test your products or services in the real world, listen to the client’s opinion and adjust accordingly. This modus operandi also allows you to solve the customer’s issues the first time around, which develops in a deeper-closer relationship.

Speed allows constant improvement and immediate feedback, so your brand can keep growing and learning on the go.

The fast-moving branding world is highly competitive and demands brands to act quickly, to take risks and to learn by doing, not just thinking. Business opportunities won’t wait. If there’s a choice between speed and perfection, the decision is clear: always choose speed.

Francisco Serrano is the President and CEO of 121 (one to one), a global branding partner for Fortune 500 companies that is disrupting the industry with their speed, creativity and competitive prices. He is also the author of Brain-Ding, sharing practical and effective ways to create an effective marketing plan for your business (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

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