The price is not the only one

Still, there are truths on earth that are timeless, but require explanation, because when we stare somewhere in the depths of knowledge, we do not see the truths that lie on the surface.

The American company AT&T, before it was split up, was a cable manufacturer. Among its customers was Nippon Telegraph and Telephone of Japan. Before shipping the next batch of cable, AT&T checked the products against the detailed specifications drawn up by the Japanese. They did it the same way they had done it a hundred times for these and other customers. But when the shipment arrived at its destination, the Japanese officially announced that they would no longer work with their supplier.

When asked to explain their decision, the Japanese formulated a clear, but meaningless for the Americans response:

“Your products are not beautiful!”

The Americans were stunned. They fulfilled all the conditions of the contract. They were especially impressed by the fact that the cable was intended to be laid underground - no one would have seen it anyway. As a matter of fact, I think that the reason why the product was not attractive was because the Americans relied on "no one will see".

But for the Japanese, the appearance of a product is one of the archetypes of quality and, ultimately, soul. How to explain clearly... As far as cables are concerned, there is such an empirical formula in automation and microelectronics:

“If an electronic circuit is beautiful, it works!”

For NTT, the ugly appearance of the cable indicated that AT&T had not put its heart into its production. The lack of beauty, of course, does not explain anything, but it also does not convince us that it works, and thus makes us worry and recheck, which is not convenient, costly, and administratively difficult (as applied to underground work), despite all the commercial benefits.

“In order to not make the mistake of misjudging the consumer qualities of products, you need to understand your customer”

In the case of the Japanese, one only had to look at their calligraphy, the exquisite tea-drinking ceremony, the care with which the table is set and the food is served. In the case of other consumers, look at the care taken in designing their logo, the order in their warehouse, the washed discs of their multi-ton trucks, or the letterheads in their mail correspondence. That said...

No matter how functional and utilitarian a product is, the consumer always buys a little more - confidence, respect from the vendor, ownership of something innovative and progressive that's packed into the product. To deny this for the consumer obviously leads to a reduction of the value of the purchase for them. Consciously or unconsciously!

And little is enough:

• the sample “on-display” should be no better than what the customer gets;
• packaging details may take a little or a lot into the cost of production, but they are considerably less worth than the lost profits and possibilities;
• relationship details are part of the value of the product;
• the buying process, if you will, is part of the value of the product, explaining why your product needs to sell and can be bought for more;

These are the plain truths that lie on the surface. For some reason, however, many manufacturers think otherwise, just like these Americans at AT&T. Their quality archetype is well reflected in Nike's slogan, "Just do it." That is, keep it simple, just do it, and then they'll take it from there.