Have you been receiving some negative feedback lately? People are buying your products, but the reviews all say similar things. They like the idea of the products – and they work – but the quality is lacking. Either things break easily or the products just don’t feel high-quality.
As a business owner, what can you do in this situation? Unless there are some dramatically terrible product problems, a full recall is unnecessary. Instead, you should go back to the drawing board and work on version 2.0 of your product, improving the quality. Here’s how you can do that:
Switch to a better supplier
Where do you get the components for your products from? In many cases, switching to a better supplier can immediately enhance the quality of your items. One common scenario is when your supplier acts as a middle-man. You may them for materials, but they get these from elsewhere. Here, you have less control over the quality of the items you’re receiving, which can lead to lower-quality products on your end.
Instead, try to go directly to the manufacturer. For instance, if you’re selling cars, purchase the chassis directly from the precision engineer fabrication company that makes it, rather than a third-party seller. If you’re producing clothing, get the entire item made by one supplier instead of ordering fabric from one place, then getting it printed at another, etc. You get the point; switching to a more direct supplier gives you more control over the quality during production.
Invest in more robust testing
Often, poor-quality products are the result of a rushed testing process. Testing is critical for understanding where your products perform well, and where they might be lacking. For example, if you sell trainers, testing could show that the sole wears down after constant daily use for two weeks straight. If you only tested them for one week of wear, you’d miss this.
Invest in more robust and thorough testing, with a keen eye on some of the areas your product is failing in. How will you know what these areas are? Well, that’s discussed in the final point!
Get detailed customer feedback
Reviews can only tell half the story. Sure, they give you an idea of how well your product performs and what people think about it. But, you need to speak directly to your target audience and customers, understanding what they dislike about the items.
What are the main issues? Let’s say you sell office chairs. Ask for feedback from customers and they can tell you more intricate details. They might reveal that the back support is terrible or the seats tend to squeak or break easily when reclined. From here, you can improve product development to tackle these issues and focus on them during testing. The same goes for any product; find out what’s wrong with it and then improve on this.
Don’t let one bad product get you down. Yes, it can be a bit of a PR nightmare, but with some good brand management, you’ll make it through. Focus on improving the product and bouncing back – if you succeed, it’s arguably even better. You become a business that listens to complaints and acts on them, rather than just churning out the same subpar products over and over again.
