Nobody goes into business to fail. But, sadly, so many businesses and brands do.
If you want to be successful, you need a good product idea and marketing plan. And you need to develop a solid distribution network.
But sometimes companies come up with great strategies and still fail. And far too often, the cause of their downfall is something totally avoidable… Inconsistent quality.
Inconsistent quality will destroy your business. It’ll buy you a front row ticket to sit back and watch as you lose sales to competitors. You’ll gasp in horror as your company goes down in flames and gets relegated to the annals of history.
So what do you do to avoid inconsistent quality?
There’s one major key. Do this one thing and you’ll keep your factories in check. You’ll produce great, consistent quality and see positive ROI. What’s the key?
Well, you need to always, I repeat, always have third-party inspectors do quality inspections before shipment.
Please Don’t Make This Totally Avoidable Mistake
It’s easy to get complacent about quality inspections, but this is one of the worst mistakes you can make when building a brand.
Regular quality inspections help you ensure that your product quality is consistent. And customers like consistency. They want to know what they’re getting for their money.
If you buy a pair of shoes from a brand you’ve never tried, your first experience forms an opinion of the company in your mind.
Let’s say you have a positive experience. The shoes are comfortable. They look great. And you’re happy you spent the money on them. So, you decide that next time you’ll buy shoes from that brand again.
But the second time, the stitching falls apart. The insole gets lumpy. You hate the shoes and all you want to do is throw them in the trash. They were so good the first time! What happened?
Are you ever going to buy from that brand again? I don’t think so.
Watch Out! Bad News Spreads Faster Now Than it Ever Has
With the prevalence of social media, news spreads more quickly than ever.
It used to be that brands had a one way conversation with their customers on the channels they controlled. They’d say, “Look at how great our products are!” And people would believe them.
But now, people complain about shoddy products in an instant on your Facebook page… Right there in front of all your potential customers!
“The product I bought fell apart the second I bought it! Your brand produces the worst garbage I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Is that really what you want customers to see when they land on your page?
And how about those less-than-five-star reviews?
Too many bad reviews on Amazon or other sales channels will devastate your sales numbers. You’d better be close to perfect or you’re in for some trouble.
“I couldn’t be more disappointed with the quality of this product. I tried putting it together and Tab A didn’t even fit into Slot B.”
Oh boy. Your brand is in some hot water now.
But Remember, Good News Spreads Faster Too
By the same token, good product quality will help you accelerate your success.
When people buy a good product it gets them excited. If their experience is positive they’ll share it with their friends, family and social network.
Just imagine people on Instagram taking pictures of themselves with your product.
“I love this awesome product I got from #YOURBRAND. I take it with me everywhere I go!”
“How did I ever get by without #YOURBRAND?”
People trust the recommendations of their friends way more than they’ll ever trust you and what you say about yourself. Making good quality products will help you win fans. And those raving fans will turn into free advertising that you never even asked for.
4 Ways Consistent Quality Will Help Improve Your ROI
There are a few ways consistent good quality can help your company to be more profitable:
#1 By Lowering Your Advertising Costs
The better your quality is, the more repeat customers you’ll get. And if those happy people recommend your brand to others, you’ll earn sales left and right without more advertising.
#2 By Helping You Justify Higher Prices
The better your quality is, the higher the prices you can charge. Your reputation will enable you to get paid for the value you’re providing and earn more revenue.
#3 By Lowering Your Customer Support Costs
The fewer complaints you have, the less you need to spend on customer support. All those satisfied customers are too busy enjoying your product to need help.
#4 By Bringing Down Production Costs
Over time you can bring down your production costs with the learnings you get from your quality inspections. You can use them to inform improvements in your production process and future product development.
Quality Inspections are a Must if You Want Your Brand to be Successful
It’s clear that if you want to build a strong brand and improve ROI, you need to have good, consistent quality.
And doing regular quality inspections before shipment will help you achieve that.
Your investment in quality inspections will help you to develop a better reputation. It will generate more word of mouth advertising for your company. And it will help you save money and become more profitable in the long run.
So, please remember to always do third-party quality inspections… Your success depends on it.
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