Product Quality - Explained
What is Product Quality?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 17th, 2024
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What is Product Quality?
As marketers, we design products with the goal of meeting customer needs. A key attribute or characteristic of our products, whether they are goods or services or a combination thereof, is the quality of that product.
What does product quality really mean?
Product quality is the extent to which a good service or combination thereof solves a problem or meets a need. For a product to have any real value, it has to have some kind of quality or, hopefully, a high level of quality. In other words it needs to actually solve a problem for the consumer or meet a need. By doing that our product can be a source of value.
Just being different or being new doesn't make a product. It doesn't give a product quality, so we really have to focus on solving a problem or meeting a need for our product to deliver value and to have some high level of quality.
What are the Dimensions of Quality?
The dimensions of quality (how quality is determined) includes the following:
- Performance: Primary product characteristics, such as the brightness of the picture
- Features: Secondary characteristics, added features, such as remote control
- Conformance: Meeting specifications or industry standards, workmanship
- Reliability: Consistency of performance over time, average time of the unit to fail
- Durability: Useful life, includes repair
- Service: Resolution of problems and complaints, ease of repair
- Response: Human – to – human interface, such as the courtesy of the dealer
- Aesthetics: Sensory characteristics, such as exterior finish
- Reputation: Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first
What are the Steps Involved in Quality Planning?
The following are the important steps for quality planning:
- Establishing quality goals.
- Identifying customers.
- Discovering customer needs.
- Developing product features.
- Developing process features.
- Establishing process controls and transferring to operations.
Related Topics
- What is a Product?
- What Types of Product are There?
- Durable Goods
- How are Goods Different from Services?
- What Components do Products Include?
- What is Product Quality?
- Perceived Value of a Product
- Why is Product Packaging Important?
- White Label Product
- What is Product Warranty?
- Innovation Adoption Curve
- Product Life Cycle