Product Quality Strategies

Introduction

Quality is all about ‘meeting your customers requirements’. Providing customers with what they want, and when they want it.  Quality plays a central role in the success of the product. When consumers make a purchase decisions, they base their quality decisions on a number of factors.

Factors Affecting Quality Factors

1. Brand Quality - The selection of the product by the consumer maybe influenced by the brand name. The customer may decide to select a brand based on its history or reputation it has within the market. Companies like Apple or Samsung have a reputation of producing quality, durable phones and as a result they lead in the market.
2. Product Features - The incorporation of different features may may help consumer develop a quality perception about the product. Many consumers will weight up the number of features, the types of features and the benefit they offer them and compare it with similar competitors to decide if the product is of the quality they expect.
3. Appearance and Finish - The design, the finish of the product, they way the product looks and the way the finish aims to enhance the "kudos" of the target audience helps the consumer decide on the purchase of the product and thus these points may help develop a quality perception of the product encouraging them to purchase.
4. Product Endorsements - If a product is endorsed by a  celebrity the quality perception of it suddenly changes. Consumers may believe that if the product is "good" for the celebrity then the quality of the product is good for them.

Tangible Quality Features

Overall the quality of the product is based on a number of factors. Yes it involves having good quality materials, but quality also involves creating a perception about the product and the quality it offers.

Examples Of Tangible Quality Features

• Reliability
• Performance
• Durability and strength
• Appearance and Finish
• Longevity

Examples Of Intangible Quality Features

• Product reputation
• Celebrity Endorsement
• Public image of the product, brand or company producing it
• The product is viewed as an exclusive item, difficult for most people to access or buy

Conclusion

Quality affects the success of a product and consumers perception's of products. Quality is made up of tangible quality features that can be seen or measured and intangible features that can be measured but influence consumer perceptions.