Page 72 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Value Creation for Service Product 53

Quality (ASQ) defines quality as: “A subjective term for which each person has
his or her own definition. In technical usage, quality can have two meanings:
1. the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs. 2. a product or service free of deficiencies.”

The first meaning in this definition, “the characteristics of a product or service
that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” refers to customer
preferred performance and function. The second definition, “a product or
service free of deficiencies,” is definitely related to dependability and reli-
ability. In comparison to customer value, we can see that value is a much
broader concept. Only some aspects of value are related to quality.

Quality is also determined by personal opinion; it is largely subjective and
psychologically related. This is the meaning of “A subjective term for which
each person has his or her own definition” in the ASQ’s quality definition.
For example, a drug with a brand name may have exactly the same func-
tionality and the same manufacturing quality as a generic drug; however, a
substantial portion of consumers will still consider the drug with a brand
name to have higher quality. The overall customer opinion on the quality
level of a particular product or service is also called perceived quality. The
perceived quality level is a better indicator of the customer value. There are
primarily two components in perceived quality. One is the technical
component that relates to such factors as performance, functionality,
dependability, and defective level; the other is the psychological component
of quality, such as brand image.

3.2.2 The Versatility and Dynamics of Value
Since value is a matter of opinion, it may mean different things to different
people. We call this the versatility of value. Value may also change over
time with the change of people’s minds and lifestyles, and we call it the
dynamics of value.

The versatility of value reflects the fact that the marketplace consists of different
people; it is difficult to find even two people who have exactly the same opinion.
In marketing science, people can be divided into market segments. For a par-
ticular kind of product or service, the customers in each segment display similar
behaviors and opinions. Some products or services can only find customers in a
niche market, that is, a particular market segment. For example, a good state-of-
the-art computer engineering book can only be sold at university campuses and
to computer engineers; this book is useless to an animal trainer. Some products
or services can find customers in mass markets; for example, the products and