• Product Quality

• Product Quality

product quality Quality is one of the marketer's major positioning tools. Quality has two dimen­ The. ability of a product

sions ­ level and consistency. In developing a product, the marketer must first to perform its functions;

choose a quality level that will support the product's position in the target it includes the product's

market. Here, product quality stands for the ability of a product to perform its overall durability,

functions, it includes the product's overall durability, reliability, precision, ease of reliability, precision,

operation and repair, and other valued attributes. Although some of these attrib­ ease of operation and

repair, and other valued utes can be measured objectively, from a marketing point of view, quality should attributes.

be measured in terms of buyers' perceptions. Companies rarely try to offer the highest possible quality level ­ few customers want or can afford the high levels of be measured in terms of buyers' perceptions. Companies rarely try to offer the highest possible quality level ­ few customers want or can afford the high levels of

quality offered in products such as a Rolls­Royce, a Sub Zero refrigerator or a Rolex watch. Instead, companies choose a quality level that matches target market needs and the quality levels of competing products.

Beyond quality level, high quality can also mean consistently delivering the targeted level of quality to consumers. In this sense, quality means 'absence of defects or variation'.

During the past decade, a renewed emphasis on quality has spawned a global quality movement. Japanese firms have long practised 'total quality management' (TQM), an effort constantly to improve product and process quality in ever;'

phase of their operations. For more than 40 years, die Japanese have awarded the Demming prize (named after quality pioneer W. Edwards Demming) to companies that have achieved outstanding quality. In these 40 years, a focus on quality has turned Japan from a maker of knick­knacks into an economic powerhouse ­ and European and US companies are now being forced to respond. The result has been a global revolution affecting every facet of business. 3

To some companies, improving quality means using better quality control to reduce defects that annoy consumers. To others, it means making lofty speeches about die importance of quality and passing out lapel badges with quality slogans on them. But total quality management means much more than this. It requires a

total­company dedication to continuous quality improvement. Quality starts with

a strong eommitment by top management ­ many companies have now created 'total quality programmes' headed by vice­presidents or directors of quality. Then employees at all levels of the organization must be educated and motivated to put quality first.

Rather than catching and correcting defects after die fact, total quality management involves preventing defects before they occur, through better product design and improved manufacturing processes. Beyond simply reducing product defects, the ultimate goal of total quality is to improve customer value.

Some argue that total quality is not merely a manufacturing issue, but a powerful weapon for achieving 'total customer satisfaction'. This is possible if quality is

defined from the customers' perspective and if product defects are interpreted in terms of customer need and expectations (see Marketing Highlight 13.1).

Many companies have turned quality into a potent strategic weapon. Strategic quality involves gaining an edge over competitors by consistently offering products and services that better serve customers' needs and preferences for quality. As one expert proclaims: 'Quality is not simply a problem to be solved;

it is a eoinpetitive opportunity." 1 Others suggest, however, that quality has now

become a competitive necessity ­ only companies with the best quality will thrive.