Perception is reality. In the business world, the driving force is not quality, but the perception of quality. This is a concept overturned in his work Approach by the consultant Al Ries.
Although it is true that total quality alone does not generate victory in the markets, we must not for this reason fail to consider that without it it is impossible to participate in said competition, especially when it comes to high-level products and services.
Just as an athlete needs at least a good physical and mental state to be able to participate in the Olympic Games, having to register a minimum mark, depending on reaching the podium on special factors that make a difference, companies need a minimum level of quality and productivity to participate in the fight for the markets, depending on the market share you conquer and the benefits you obtain from your strategic and tactical actions in marketing.
Al Ries in the chapter "The quality axiom" of the aforementioned work commits serious errors of appreciation. Just as many engineers believe that productivity alone can beat the competition, Al Ries thinks that it all comes down to a fight by companies for the minds of consumers.
Al Ries gives rise to a very frequent thinking error in entrepreneurs, believing that quality is reduced to the final quality of a product or service, leaving aside whether this quality was obtained the first time or not.
To put it another way, many companies require significant inspection costs, high reprocessing costs, and extensive waste.
These high costs, added to the longer reprocessing times, and the greater needs for safety inventories, generate unproductivities and higher costs, thereby reducing profit margins and consequently profitability levels. In such a way, products that can be considered by specialists as high quality, may be due to the failure of internal processes at a higher cost than their competitors.
In the ratio of quality in relation to price, the value of the product or service is marked, therefore a product of lower final quality but with a much lower price than that of the competitors ends up generating greater added value for the customer, which is what finally counts.
Al Ries wonders if "does quality make you a leader or does leadership instill a perception of quality?" Stating that "history seems to be in favor of this second explanation." Although consumers see the power of the brand as a guarantee of quality, it must also be affirmed that this brand was built on the basis of quality, and commits companies to perfect and improve their internal processes day by day. BankBoston is not only a brand, it is also a high level service, Mercedes Benz is not only the result of a perception, it is a product of the highest level. Perception counts to the extent that consumers see in it a greater commitment of the company in defense of its brand. An unknown company or brand has little to lose,The same is not the case with a famous brand from which consumers expect not only quality, but every day a greater and better service.
Hence the need and commitment of such companies to continuous improvement of their products, services and internal processes.
This other emphasize the importance of achieving a quality level of 6 sigma has for the producers of parts, spare parts or supplies. It is essential that the parts can be assembled without inconvenience in such a way as to make a high level of productivity feasible for the final producer, this being essential in the case of automated and / or robotic processes.
When we talk about total quality, we are not only referring to the final product, but to the quality of each and every one of the parts, elements, activities and processes of the organization, which implies lower costs, greater customer satisfaction and the end user, but constantly generate high value pre-sale and post-sale services.
The perception is not to doubt it is very important, but it is useless to have a company only with an excellent perception of its products or services, if it is not compensated with a good profitability for its investors and quality of work for its operators.
Staying with a greater market share implies the need to generate products or services with greater added value, for which both the perception and the costs incurred to make it feasible count.
From all this, it is clear more than ever the need for a holistic vision by managers and consultants. Viewing the company and its processes in a partial way not only threatens the proper functioning of the system, but also tends to generate an unbalanced and unrealistic vision.
Bibliography
Focus - The future of your business depends on it. Al Ries. McGraw Hill Publishing House. 1996. Chapter 7 - “The axiom of quality”. Pages 71/80.
Competitiveness through productivity. Erik Hörnell. Financial Times / Folio. 1994.
