As a publisher, you are responsible for producing a quality product at all levels: writing, editing, design, printing, customer service and marketing (pricing, promotion and distribution). Poor quality – whether in product and service – can destroy a publishing venture over time. Negative word-of-mouth communication whether in person, in blogs, on discussion groups and forums, or through social media spreads quickly and is difficult to overcome. While you cannot control what others say about you on these media, you can control the source of their pleasure or discontent by maintaining high levels of product and service quality. Here are Ten Aspects of Product and Service Quality.
- Perceived quality is subjective when prospective customers evaluate cover design, content, promotion and potential benefits of use
- Perceived quality is objective when prospective customers compare price, editing, printing, size and comparable features among competitive products
- When customers are unhappy with a product they can use social media to quickly spread the word about their displeasure
- As the publisher you are responsible for stressing quality among all functions so employees become passionate about producing a quality product
- Employees reflect quality in an organization from the way the phone is answered to the way customers’ complaints are handled
- Instill collective pride in “ownership” among employees with a consistent message of quality in internal communication
- Refresh your external communication periodically and emphasize customer benefits in your promotion
- Cost control is important, but reduce costs without lowering your standards of quality
- Your attention to quality is reflected in all your interactions with prospects and customers whether in person (trade shows, personal selling, seminars, networking) or trough a medium such as your website, blog, social media, press releases, advertising or sales promotion
- When negotiating large-quantity sales with experienced corporate buyers, they will assess the quality of your product and proposal by the way you handle yourself as a sales professional, including your preparation, presentation and desire to produce an equitable outcome for both parties
Brian Jud is the Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS – www.bookapss.org– formerly SPAN) and author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books. Contact Brian at brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com and twitter @bookmarketing
