Why Your Company Needs Its Own Definition of Quality

At my company, we define quality as doing what we say we’ll do. That’s it.

Many vendors in our industry make promises they don’t keep, so this quality statement makes sense for us. It tells our clients what to expect and sets a high standard for our employees and managers.

A clear definition of quality at your company should be the driving force behind everything you do. Because whether you intentionally define this concept, an unspoken standard of quality will affect your business.

If you haven’t thought of a catchphrase that defines what high-quality service means for your company, you’re missing out on the opportunity to increase client satisfaction across the board.

The Problem With Unspoken Expectations

If you don’t take the time to define what quality means for your company, your clients will define it (or lack thereof) for you.

A client’s expectations are set during the sales process. For service-based companies, the client usually provides a description of the work to be done, and the company creates a proposal for completing the project. For product-focused businesses, the company presents the product it promises to deliver, and the customer purchases that product.

The value of any exchange is your company’s ability to deliver a service or product that meets or exceeds clients’ expectations. Your clients may not fully understand or be able to articulate what they want or expect — until they don’t receive it.

If you can’t anticipate and meet those unspoken expectations, you won’t be able to deliver a satisfactory product.

How to Define What Quality Means to Your Company

To ensure you’re meeting — and hopefully exceeding — your clients’ expectations, you need to nail down what quality means for your company. Basically, this definition should be a clear promise to your clients to deliver valuable goods or services.

1.  Decide what defines quality in your industry. Think about other companies in your industry and where they fail to meet expectations. Now evaluate your product or service. What makes your company unique? What do you do exceptionally well?

That gap between what other companies fail to do well and where your company excels is what you should be selling to your clients.

2.   Find out what your clients expect to receive. Establish clear expectations for what your clients will get from your business. For service contracts, make sure you take the time to agree with your clients and employees on the work to be completed. Get buy-in from both groups, and clearly define the goals and objectives for each project. Remember: Meeting expectations is the first step toward establishing your company’s value.

3.   Make sure your team is prepared. Your employees are the key to ensuring you deliver what you promised, so they have to be able to meet expectations. Encourage your employees to apply your definition of quality to every step in the process, from responding to client emails to actually delivering your product or service.

4.   Find a catchphrase. It sounds cheesy, but boiling your definition of quality down to a catchy sentence or two will help everyone (including your clients) remember it.

Throughout my career, I’ve used one slogan to define my idea of quality work when leading teams building hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure: “Once a task has begun, never quit until it’s done. Be the task large or small, do it right or not at all.”

5.   Get client feedback. Check in with your clients on a consistent basis to ensure they’re satisfied with your product or service. If they’re not happy, probe for deeper insights, and work to make it right.

Always Avoid Empty Promises

Applying a standard definition of quality has worked for my business, but just remember: Any promise to your customers will fall flat unless you deliver.

Meeting your commitments usually boils down to the mundane day-to-day operations and ensuring quality interactions with your clients. For us, this means setting milestones and keeping our clients informed about our progress. It also requires an endless checklist for our employees: Did we check the software thoroughly? Did we email the details as promised? Did we ask the right questions?

Your company may be the best in the industry, but labels and slogans mean very little to your clients. They will judge you based on the results you deliver. If you can get the details right and consistently meet expectations, your business will be in a position to achieve long-term success.