Value has become the marketers watchword. Today customers are demanding the right combination of product quality, good service and timely delivery. These are the keys to performing well in our marketing practice.
Value marketing strategy stresses real product performance and delivery on promises. Value marketing means providing a product that works as claimed, is accompanied by descent service and is delivered on time.
There are three generic approaches to practicing value marketing and thereby improving quality performance.
1. Catching up : This involves restoring those aspects about which the firm has been behind standard. Catching up is a defensive strategy where the emphasis is either to be as good as the competition ore to barely meat market requirements.
2. Pulling ahead : Pulling ahead which means going further than the customer asks or achieving superiority over the competition, provides a firm competitive advantage that may lead to greater profitability. Thus, it makes sense to resist the temptation to focus on just catching up and to find a way to make a sustainable move to pull ahead.
3. Leapfrogging : This involves coming from behind and getting ahead of the competition through providing a quality product in keeping with customers demands.
