Separate the expected from the exceptional

Quality assurance builds trust and credibility in enterprise marketing

The concept of “quality assurance,” or QA, first emerged in the manufacturing sector after World War II and, in the current post-industrial Information Age, has evolved to be a critical function in the process of software testing.

QA has also come to be important in the context of marketing. Technology product marketers in today’s highly competitive landscape are finding that partnering with an agency where meticulousness matters can be a real differentiator in marketing efforts.

Wherever it appears, QA is about preventing mistakes and defects. It’s a methodology for getting it right so that the goals and full potential of a project can be achieved.

“The race for Quality has no finish line,” according to Peter Drucker, the influential thinker on modern management. The pursuit of excellence means playing the long game and takes time. That’s why the mantra of any serious QA effort is “consistency,” which is much easier to say than achieve.

Trustworthy quality is not accidental

More’s the reason that product marketers should expect, even demand, that rigorous QA be part of the service they receive from their marketing agency. Dependable and comprehensive QA is critical to your having confidence in the strategic, creative, and production work being done on your behalf—and to receiving full value for your investment.

“QA is about getting it right so that the goals and full potential of a project can be achieved.”

For starters, each and every asset that your agency puts its name on and delivers to you, from Day One, should not only be error-free in respect of copy and design, but also consistent with your organization’s style guide and on-brand according to your messaging framework and marketing plan.  

This isn’t an issue of the occasional typo slipping through: that’s only the beginning and a sure sign of greater trouble ahead. QA requires vigilance for both the small things and the big things—accuracy and informed attention to all that matters, from fact-checking for proper names, titles, and product names to alignment on standards for diversity & inclusion and accessibility.

Ultimately, it’s about trust and credibility—an agency’s attention to detail and what its reputation is built on. It signals an agency that’s thinking several moves ahead, separating the expected from the exceptional to strategically meet your needs and those of your customers.   

A practice to apply early and often

It’s also important to expect that QA is critical throughout the creative process—not just at the very end. Cutting corners is the enemy of QA; simply proofreading an asset once just before it’s shipped to you as final isn’t good enough and doesn’t stand to incrementally improve the work through its entire development and refinement.

“Imagine partnering with an agency that dedicates resources for QA to make excellence in delivery for you a top priority”

Still, the final QA check in an advanced program may have a punch list of more than 50 separate items. In such a program, all of your comments and revisions across every project workflow and deliverable must be systematically documented and tracked through to resolution. That means never having to ask why a change you requested wasn’t made.

Is your agency delivering for you on QA? If not, imagine partnering with an agency that does understand the importance and the challenges—and dedicates resources for a QA discipline to make excellence in delivery for you a top priority.

At Sappington, QA is Job Zero. It’s an end-to-end practice for us that’s built-in, not bolted-on, bringing consistently positive, measurable outcomes for our clients and adding value to all our work.  

A Quality Mindset is a core cultural value here, and the Sappington QA program is one of the ways we show we care and apply the human touch that sets us apart. We’re fully committed and deeply serious about QA because we believe it’s decisive and necessary in our work to help you win hearts, minds, and market share.

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