Do You Have A Reputation for Quality

Remember playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors?” The basics of the game consist of each player shaking a fist a number of times (priming) and then extending the same hand in a fist (rock), out flat (paper), or with the index and middle fingers extended (scissors). Each of these is referred to as a throw, and which one wins is dependent upon the opponent’s throw.

 

· Paper wins against Rock (paper covers rock)

· Rock wins against Scissors (rock smashing scissors)

· Scissors wins against Paper (scissors cut paper)

 

Under close examination many organizations may find they are using a rock, paper, scissors customer experience strategy. You know - prime the market with new product features, throw out interruption based communications hoping to rock your prospects with repeat broadcast ads, cover your defects with stopgap fixes, and then cut your development time so you can do it again - only faster.

 

Your new product features might be on target, and your ad spend capable of rocking the market; however, your customers may still cut-out your business faster than you can scream “don’t run with scissors” if poor quality impacts their experience. Research shows that your reputation for quality affects sales in three ways. It will:

 

1. Reinforce the confidence of previous customers.

2. Win new customers.

3. Induce customers of competing brands to switch.

 

The cost of quality may seem high, but the cost of poor quality is still higher. If you take steps to protect your reputation for quality you will be sure to win no matter what your competition is throwing.

 

This article was provided by Alan See.

Alan is Vice President of Marketing at The Berry Network, a specialized marketing agency and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Berry Network supports over 400 regional and national clients with comprehensive local search marketing programs.