Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Implementing and
Controlling Marketing
Plans: Evolution and
Revolution
Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002552 Chapter 19
As we’ve seen on previous occasions throughout this book, even people with the
best intentions sometimes lapse into a production orientation. When the pressure
is on to get a job done, they forget about satisfying the customer—let alone con-
sider working together! When the product manager is screaming for a budget report,
the accountant may view a customer’s concerns about a billing error as something
a salesperson can smooth over—alone.There are many different ways to improve implementation in each of the four Ps
decision areas, but here we will focus on total quality management, which you can
use to improve anyimplementation effort. With total quality management ( TQM),
everyone in the organization is concerned about quality, throughout all of the firm’s
activities, to better serve customer needs.
In Chapter 9 we explained that product quality means the ability of a product
to satisfy a customer’s needs or requirements. Now we’ll expand that idea and think
about the quality of the whole marketing mix and how it is implemented—to meet
customer requirements.Most of the early attention in quality management focused on reducing defects
in goods produced in factories. Reliable goods are important, but there’s usually a
lot more to marketing implementation than that. Yet if we start by considering prod-
uct defects, you’ll see how the total quality management idea has evolved and how
it applies to implementing a marketing program.
At one time most firms assumed defects were an inevitable part of mass produc-
tion. They assumed the cost of replacing defective parts or goods was just a cost of
doing business—an insignificant one compared to the advantages of mass produc-
tion. However, many firms were forced to rethink this assumption when Japanese
producers of cars, electronics, and cameras showed that defects weren’t inevitable.
And their success in taking customers away from established competitors made it
clear that the cost of defects wasn’t just the cost of replacement!Customers want the paint on
their new Toyota Tundra to be
free from any scratches and that
requires attention to
implementation details. Factory
workers take off their jewelry,
wear shirts with rubber buttons,
and use belts with special
buckles that leave no metal
exposed.
Total quality
management meets
customer requirements
Total quality
management is not just
for factories
Building Quality into the Implementation Effort