Marketing experts often preach about the latest and greatest marketing strategies, but there is one strategy that can provide tremendous external benefits and can only be implemented internally – quality. Quality of your product, service, and communication can greatly impact your business.
The Definition of Quality is “a distinctive attribute of something, or the standard measured against something of a similar kind.” Quality needs to be defined by the end use, as what one customer perceives as quality may differ from another. It is important to identify the quality attributes that your customers consider when buying your product or service.
All in the Q
Many years ago, I was being educated on quality, and how it doesn’t always mean “the best.” We were looking at engine oils and compared a monograde oil to a synthetic multi-grade oil.
By comparison, the synthetic oil had for more attributes that beat the monograde oil. It could handle a wider range of temperatures, could be in the engine longer and lubricated the engine better. However, when compared in a particular application, an old VW Beetle, the monograde oil had one attribute that the synthetic oil did not have which made it better.
See an old Beetle engine did not use a modern oil filter. It required any contaminants to fall to the bottom of the engine where it was strained out. The synthetic oil was designed to hold contaminants until it was pumped through a separate filter. If we used synthetic oil in a beetle, we would destroy the engine. (There are many other pros and cons but for the purposes of this I’m going to leave it there)
This shows us that quality needs to be defined by the end use. You wouldn’t use monograde oil in a modern BMW either.
Knowing this, it is important for you to define what your customers consider to be quality attributes when buying your product or service.
Give P’s a chance
The 4 P’s of marketing, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, along with the additional 3 for services, People, Processes, and Physical Evidence, should be considered when defining the quality attributes that meet customer expectations.
Start by making a list of what attributes in each P, your customer will think meets their quality expectations. Something like this;
- Product: Cup of coffee
- Hot
- Strong
- With milk
- No sugar
- Price: R35
- Place: In a local mall, near the entrance
- Promotion: Loyalty rewards, special occasions, attractive colours on cup
- People: Friendly staff, well trained barista
- Processes: Easy to order and pay
- Physical Evidence: A tasty cup of coffee
Quality is not just about price; it is also about the entire customer experience, including the staff and physical environment. Customers perceive a cup of coffee as poor quality when it is presented in a horrible cup, even if it is great coffee and is more expensive. Conversely, they perceive an average cup of coffee at an average price served by above-average staff as higher quality.
Also read: Who are you REALLY Competing against?
The Why
Repeat business is cheaper to obtain than new business, and meeting customer quality expectations can lead to repeat business, positive referrals, recommendations, and reviews. Positive reviews can create a positive buzz in the area for your business, leading to more customers.
To unpack WHY this works, we can look at how people make purchasing decisions.
- Recognise the need
- Search for information to solve the need
- Evaluate the information
- Make the purchase
- Post purchase evaluation
Their experience in the post purchase evaluation will become the information used to evaluate a repeat buy. It can also become the information given to potential new customers in the form of referrals, recommendations, and reviews.
In summary, it is important to ensure that your marketing strategy includes meeting the quality expectations of your customers. By doing so, not only can you retain existing customers but also attract new ones through positive referrals and recommendations.
Here’s a quick story;
I was in a new coffee shop talking to the owner. She said she was running ads and getting no visible result. (There are many reasons why but that’s not important for this story) The shop was quiet, and she told me that lunch was her worst time of the day.
She had considered dropping her prices so low that she would not have been making much profit. This is never good because without profit, you may as well close up shop.
A week later I went to visit at lunchtime and the shop was full. Someone made a favourable review on a local Facebook group, and people responded. Because the experience was so good, more people commented about theirs and it created a positive buzz in the area for her.
Most people reading this will be professionals at their field, but not marketing. If you do anything to grow your business, make sure your marketing strategy includes meeting the quality expectations of your customers.
They will come back and are likely to bring a friend too…
