Managing Quality Control: How can your Small Business benefit?

Quality control isn’t just for large manufacturers and global corporations; small businesses should also incorporate these practices into their operations. Total quality management (TQM) can address everything from the product being delivered to a customer to the way customers are spoken to during complaints.

Small businesses that lack a quality control strategy are missing out on an opportunity for increased success. Here’s how managing quality control can benefit your small business.

Systems Management

Having proper systems management tools and protocols in place ensures the quality of the customer experience. Systems monitoring can identify if any access points are experiencing downtime, such as an online shopping cart crashing due to unprecedented traffic – a useful tool, in this case, would be Loggly. By having logging in place and having a working understanding of monitoring, small businesses can identify the cause of a problem, determine a solution, and prevent it from occurring again.

Systems management is a form of quality control that protects the customer journey. The easier it is to navigate from finding the product or service they want to processing payment, the higher your conversion rate will be.

Create and Document Process Standardization

Small businesses– even those run by a single person– can benefit from process standardization as a form of quality control. By implementing repeated steps, product or service creation becomes habitual. The mitigation of variables improves consistency and quality over time.

In addition to putting these standards in place, it’s essential that small business owners document them. This helps maintain consistency as the business expands and employees are brought into the fold or if someone must step in for the business owner in the event of an emergency. This is a proactive approach to protecting the business and the customers.

Manage Supplier Relations

The goods and services a business uses to create their goods or services impacts the final quality of the offering. Finding the right suppliers and managing those relationships ensures that the final product being presented to the customer is sourced from the highest-quality provider available.

Take time to shop around and find a supplier that fits both quality and budget needs. In other words, don’t sacrifice quality to save a few dollars; it’s better to pay a bit more for supplies than to manage customer complaints, product replacement, and a poor reputation down the road.

Create Checkpoints During the Process

Having checkpoints put in place ties into having standardized processes outlined. While the pros of standardization outweigh the cons, one of the challenges it creates is monotony. Monotony through following the same process again and again results in complacency, or easily-prevented mistakes caused by a lack of focus or attention to detail.

Create checkpoints throughout the process to check on quality. This methodology can be used in both product and service-based businesses. Ensure that all checkpoints are passed before moving onto the next steps. This will benefit the business by ensuring that any issues are caught before time is wasted and prevents having to backtrack and course correct.

Prioritize Employee Engagement

Employee morale and engagement plays a significant role in quality control. An employee who feels valued and empowered will be more committed to delivering a quality product or service to the customer. This creates a positive experience for both the customer and the business as a whole.

Give employees a platform and the confidence to ask questions, make suggestions, and share their concerns. Focus on treating employees well and boosting productivity by focusing on skills training and employee care.

Quality Matters

Small businesses that prioritize quality control management will receive better reviews from customers, encouraging prospects to commit to a sale. It will also encourage repeat customers and create a positive working culture. This creates an upward spiral of success.