By M. Isi Eromosele

The marketer’s watchword today is value. Customers are now demanding the right mixture of product/service quality, great service and timely delivery. These are the keys to performing well in any industry.

Value marketing strategy stresses real product performance and delivering on promises. Value is not about positioning and image peddling. It simply means providing a product or service that works as claimed, is accompanied by great service and is timely delivered.

The growing focus on value is the result of deep changes in the consumer marketplace. A new generation of consumers is more savvy and skeptical than their predecessors.

Today’s consumers want products that perform, sold by advertising that informs. They are concerned about intrinsic value, not simply buying to impress others.

Strategically, quality must emanate from the product offering itself and all the services that accompany it. Quality perspectives should be based on customer preferences, not on internal corporate evaluation.

The evolution of social media is having a profound effect on when and how quality of products and services provided by companies are determined. The consumer is now firmly in control of this process and will continue to remain so in the long-term.

Companies should strive to provide quality that wholesomely satisfies customers and provide levels of service that meets and possibly exceed their expectations. Quality means that companies should strive for excellence throughout their organizations.

Attaining sufficient levels of excellence and customer satisfaction often requires significant cultural change within organizations; change in decision-making processes, inter-functional relationships and the attitude of every staff member within the company.

Staff should be encouraged and rewarded for set objectives. Staff should be empowered to make decisions and instilled with the feeling that quality is everyone’s responsibility. Achieving total quality objectives requires teamwork and cooperation.

Organizationally, the single most important aspect of implementing a quality strategy is for the company to maintain a close liaison with its customers. There are three general approaches to improving quality performance: catching up | pulling ahead | leapfrogging.

Catching up requires restoring those areas where the company has fallen below given standard. Catching up is a defensive strategy that emphasizes being as good as the competition. Pulling ahead involves going beyond customer expectations or achieving superiority over the competition. Leapfrogging involves coming from behind and succeeding in getting ahead of the competition through providing quality products that meet customer demands.

Several benefits can accrue to businesses that offer superior perceived quality, including stronger customer loyalty, consistent repeat business, less vulnerability to price wars, ability to command higher relative price without any effect on market share, lower marketing costs and increased market share.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

Copyright Control © 2011 Oseme Group