Poor Quality? Just Improve Your Warranty!

A small electronics manufacturer has a problem - marketing wants to set a high price point for a new product release, but quality is poor - they know they will have a lot of defects.

In a marketing group, they ask for advice. Should we set the price low, and then increase it? Or set it high now, knowing that it's not really worth it? The advice from their marketing peers? Set the high price but give a good warranty; that'll eliminate any customer concerns.

Aaaaarrgghh! No, no, NO!

What about the nuisance to the customer and the cascading chain of costs and problems the customers will face when these units fail? The product is shipped internationally, and incorporated into other products, that are installed in remote locations. Offering a warranty only addresses a tiny part of the customers' costs and suffering.

What about the financial costs of repair, replacements, shipping, expediting, fire fighting and reputation damage? Sure, you'll offer a "convenient" return or replacement policy, but customers just want it to work. There are other suppliers...

What about the damage to your employees' morale, knowing that they're shipping crap, that their production systems are not capable of making good product?

This marketing group is thinking only about how to sell it, not about what's truly good for the customer, or the company as a whole.

Why not fix the quality problems, fix the system? If you don't know how, get help!