Opinion Sparkling quality a global nextmark?
Indian industry is married to quality processes,but not to perceptible quality in the customers hand that Japanese and Korean companies deliver
Indian industry is married to quality processes,but not to perceptible quality in the customers hand that Japanese and Korean companies deliver. Implementing quality process engineering is a hygiene factor that delivers no competitive edge. Unless the societys state of mind is driven by the consciousness of quality supremacy,no quality system will fall in place for Indian brands to meet the challenge of global competition. Quality in customer hand first creates trust; in long-term usage,it becomes believable. Its totally non-visible,a hidden factor. The customer experiences this quality at the discretion of the enterprise providing it.
In workshops for Indian companies,whenever Ive tried to expose the hidden quality factor that creates customer trust and loyalty,Ive confronted a wall called quality process. R&D engineers,marketing,customer service and top management revere ISO,TQM,Deming or Six Sigma quality which translate to working in a system that brings discipline and defect-free processes. But when every company follows the same system in a category,does it create differentiation that the customer receives?
Some of my professional friends whove undergone my training sessions and are now working expatriates in Germany and Korea,have called me to endorse this quality spark that customers want. Theyve said theyre actually experiencing what they couldnt appreciate in India. Realising the value of quality as the rational factor for a customer to confidently and repeatedly buy a brand,theyve said,Developed society is highly differentiated. Products are matched minutely to specific customer unstated needs. Their ecosystem is driven by quality that world-class products and technologies compete in. Another comment was,Pent-up demand is huge in India,and low price is the driving factor. Indian industrial development has accordingly been based on need,not experience or expression. Products are considered okay when they satisfy the basic intended purpose.
Neither manufacturer nor employees easily understand or focus on the hidden rational quality. They call Mercedes,BMW,Louis Vuitton,Mont Blanc among others as costly lifestyle and status brands,but never ask how theyve become so recognised globally. No education or training system has apprised them of the invention,innovation and sustaining quality guaranteed on the lifecycle of these products. Ive never heard anyone here talk about the many trials,failures,tests and customer clinics these brands have undergone. They admire the brands only from visible glamorous advertisements.
That tells me that Indias cultural experience ignores the grid of quality excellence. In general,saris sell on weaving style and folkloric designs from different states. Sari shops give no guarantee on color as they say theres no single,processed cleaning system. Consumers happily street-shop beautifully designed footwear at amazingly low prices. They dont bother with quality,just design and color. In jewellery,weight of gold is the first check,next is design. Rarely do women focus on the clasps robustness which is intrinsic to quality. Will Indian brands sustain the future when global brands fiercely compete in India with sparkling quality,affordable price? My long European society experience has taught me the importance of hidden quality thats their cultural phenomenon. On curious probing,I always got the answer that keeping historical records meticulously creates the grid of benchmarking with the best. It established that Mozart remains the master music composer of all time,whereas George Stephenson is respected for his invention of the steam locomotive,although thats since been bettered with the worlds fastest train running at 302.8mph.
It works well for me is the functional factor of a customer delivery. Functionality is the prime criterion of a selling proposition. Human society development always happened with excellence of functional upliftment,e.g. from stone lithography copy to carbon copy to cyclostyling to photocopy to digital scan reproduction shows functional upliftment where better technology easily makes the old obsolete.
The key factor is rational,which Ive found very difficult to make people here understand. Rational means non-visible quality support for emotive and functional attributes to sustain product longevity,e.g. in the hospitality industry,if a hotel uses sophisticated German sanitaryware but maintenance is poor,you have to close your nose to get rid of the stink. This totally bypasses the rational factor in the service industry,and mitigates the heavy spend on sanitaryware to look good.
I dont believe people regularly buy a product or service based on emotion through its ad or sophisticated presentation. Customer believability for repeat purchase lies on sparkling quality thats non-visible. Quality is the assurance of the products functionality during its lifecycle. So you need to define QCW (quality customer wants) specific to your brand.
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com
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