Why Product Quality Trumps Marketing

March 8, 2007 at 2:48 pm · Filed under communicating, connecting

The timing was perfect. I heard a powerful reminder at a PR lecture recently though I didn’t know how much I needed to hear it. Upon introducing myself to the woman sitting next to me, I found out she wrote marketing copy like me, so we chatted about marketing strategies until she became exasperated and exclaimed, “But what about product? All anyone talks about is marketing!” 

Wow, that freed me up to swing the emphasis away from my marketing goals. I felt an unexpected wave of relief, like a weight had been lifted. Ironically, my marketing vision was getting clearer and I felt grounded.

Her statement was what I’d learned about marketing but from a different angle. She just made me re-evaluate basics, where the needs of the consumer and client are not forgotten. They are the audience that hears how a product benefits them directly. They don’t want to hear about the organization’s mission or how the manufacturer’s favorite features about the product would be good for them, but how the product is relevant to their experience. 

And it isn’t just copywriters that need to be mindful of this focus but everyone whose job it is to move that product forward – store salesmen, telemarketers, advertisers, everyone.

Different perspectives are always good, even when they don’t reassure us, and this one did. I know there will always be folks who say, “Well, if your product were really good, you wouldn’t have to work so hard to let people know about it.” And I know they don’t realize that product success is a strategic process in which marketing and advertising play a key role. Branding and sales don’t flow unconditionally from what we write and say about a product. Not long term.

Products speak for themselves. When the product is excellent, it leads to the consumer or client’s successful experience with that product which reinforces its value. 

The point is not to disregard marketing but to put the emphasis on the responsibility of creating a quality product. Quality is the best marketing tool around.

Tiffany’s didn’t get where it is today because of its classic window displays, its signature gift wrapping of pretty little turquoise boxes tied with white satin ribbon, or even the appeal of gemstones ( http://www.tiffany.com ).  The bottom line has to be craftsmanship and quality of gems.

Freddo is something so dreamy and magical it gets into the sensual. You could call this response subjective but experience is everything to the consumer. This chain of ice cream shoppes in Argentina became known for its quality because the ice cream is so satisyingly good. I discovered Freddo while visiting my daughter in Buenos Aires. After two minutes of winnowing down the frosty exotic flavors in the case to two – hazelnut and a deliciously purply plum – I chose hazlenut and the first bite was so heavenly, I closed my eyes, dropped my jaw (risking losing that precious bite in my mouth) and told her it was not only the best ice cream I’d ever ‘experienced,’ but also one of the best items in any conceivable category! The taste, the allure and my bliss were unforgettable and I’m not even an ice cream addict.

Whenever quality and excellence are elusive, you know it when you see it or taste it or feel it. It is convincing, pleasurable and satisfying. It creates certainty.

I use ‘product’ here but I could use ‘services’ just as easily. Top-notch service delivery is the product of many businesses and organizations but, even when it isn’t, isn’t customer service what makes a telecom or software company? And isn’t a product only as good as the service the company provides? And in the case of a nonprofit or educational institution, the programming it delivers?

What about quality program delivery in Outward Bound? (The North Carolina school is a favorite of mine: http://www.ncobs.org .) The programming of these experiential education courses enables students to perceive and realize greater possibility. I loved the quote of the program director before my course in 1987. In speaking about the fear that often accompanies risk-taking she said, “It’s OK to have butterflies; you just need to get them flying in the same direction.” We students relaxed because she addressed our needs and helped us feel normal and accepted. Even though we knew some of the challenges would be tough, it’s harder when that rock face or whitewater or lightning bolt at midnight on the rainy ridge is staring you in the face. Because Outward Bound met us where we were and coached us along so expertly, we were able to push ourselves beyond our fear and have a significant experience.

In the small town of Clarkston, GA, a soccer coach addresses the needs of refugee children through quality leadership, programming and service delivery. The team calls itself The Fugees and the coach is Luma Mufleh, a Smith graduate from Jordan. She is transforming a town in which the Mayor decreed that only baseball be allowed. By communicating clearly and honestly in her heartfelt mission to instill hope and teach skills, she is changing the lives of not only the children, but their families and the community as well. ( See the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/us/21fugees.htmlex=1327035600&en=a213425fdcd1892f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ). Movie rights have been bought to the story so there will be no end to the good that this one woman can influence. Private schools have been getting involved in fundraising and rounding up used equipment for the players. (If you have used cleats or funds to contribute, go to: http://www.fugeesfamily.org/. )

Sometimes a quality service is rather quiet to the mainstream because the sponsoring nonprofit organization has chosen to concentrate its efforts on service delivery and creating resources for that end. Then what we notice instead of visible ads is that the organization is satisfying a huge need in the community. But we know that need alone doesn’t ensure quality or success. In the case of The Marcus Institute ( http://www.marcus.org ), which aids children with learning and developmental disabilities, if the service it offered through programming weren’t superior and the children’s condition not improved (their success being the product), it wouldn’t have such a strong reputation and word would not have gotten out about its effectiveness. It is often said that it is one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. I witnessed their inspiring results on a tour hosted by my friend Paula Bevington, who is head of development. We’d already ‘met’ the kids in a video that showed their condition before treament so when we peeked in their classrooms we could see marked improvement. And when I heard one of the parents telling how she hadn’t known where to find help for her child until a passer-by at a rest stop on a Florida highway told her about the institute, I thought, “Thank heavens, she found this place,” and “What would I have done if it were my child?” Then I thought how normal all this was because how many times do we not pay attention to a quality product because we don’t think we’ll ever need it, and then it’s exactly what we need in an emergency.  

Even long time top products change. The story of Maytag has been classic for decades, so much so that it was a shock to hear it had been bought out by its competitor Whirlpool. The quality advertising created a quality brand but none of it would have been possible has there not been a quality product. Consumers will expect the same product and service. A brand doesn’t remain strong without a strong product and without making sure that product suits the needs of today’s consumers. 

Quality needs to be transparent in production, delivery and experience, no matter the industry. And in the relationships that are created in the process because systems are only as good as the people that drive them. Quality results come from hard work and tenacity, from focusing on the consumer’s needs, not the message the manufacturer, the retailer or the nonprofit agency thinks they should get across. 

Put quality first and your product will speak for itself, in its own right, with word of mouth leading your marketing charge. 

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