There are thousands of products and services out there, but how do you define what is a good and reliable product or service? You probably came to the conclusion it was the quality of the product or service that helped shape your perception of it. So how does a company determine the quality of its products and services? More than likely, they have a dedicated team to ensure their products and services meet customer expectations and standards. This is where the Quality Assurance department, QA for short, comes into play.
QA's responsibilities are to test and ensure that products and services are meeting customer needs and expectations. This sounds like a good approach for any company to take if they want to maintain their reputation of providing high-quality products and services to their customers. But unfortunately, there are some companies who do not consider Quality Assurance as a vital component of their business growth. Many do not see the value in spending money on testing, nor do they take the risks seriously, simply because they have never run into any problems before.
If a business is content with its current financial position and not concerned about future prosperity or loss of market share and customers, then a QA department is seen as an unnecessary burden. Unless you have a one-of-a-kind product (niche), poor quality will cause customers to look somewhere else, and that in turn means lost revenue for the company, not to mention damage to their reputation. This is one of the main reasons why having a QA team is vital to a company’s future.
Better to be Safe than Sorry
The purpose of QA is to provide better intel on a product and/or service. This helps determine how much risk a company faces if they ship their product and/or service. QA performs tests to ensure products produced by a company are of high quality. Testing can help companies save millions on damages and even legal action. It can also avoid additional costs and time to fix a product that is already available to the market (think of automobile recalls). Testing isn’t a formality, it is a business analysis tool.
You want some solid testing for a lot of the same reasons you want good automobile insurance: it is a simple, cost-effective step toward avoiding any number of basic, potentially expensive problems down the road. It’s about statistics and risk management. There are many benefits of having quality products and services:
- Increase in sales
- Good business reputation
- Advantage over competitors’ products and/or services
- Options to charge a higher price than competitors with lower-quality products
- Reduction in overall business costs due to less wastage and rectifications
It Goes Both Ways
Not only is QA important in delivering high-quality products and/or services, but it is also vital to a company internally. Having a well-implemented QA process can be a source of pride for a company and its employees. If the company publicizes having an impressive and competent QA program, this can reinforce its reputation as a high-quality supplier to its customers and strengthens employee commitment. It can also increase employee morale, which in turn is reflected in their work.
A good QA team helps establish a strong company reputation and ensures that it is successful by providing excellent products, which in turn provides pride and satisfaction within the company itself.
We have a dedicated quality assurance team at LaneTerralever that ensures we always deliver consistent, high-quality work. Want to learn more about our QA team? Contact us!
