Explain the Concept of Perceived Quality

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The Answer is Consumers often judge the quality of a product or service on the basis of a variety of informational cues that they associate with the product. Some of these cues are intrinsic to the product (or service); others are extrinsic, such as price, store image, service environment, brand image and promotional message. In the absence of actual experience with a product, consumers often 'evaluate' quality on the basis of extrinsic cues, cues that are external to the product itself. Either singly or together, these intrinsic cues and extrinsic cues provide the basis for perceptions of product and service quality.
It is more difficult for consumers to evaluate the quality of services than the quality of goods. This is because services have the following characteristics: intangibility, variability, the fact that they are simultaneously produced and consumed, and their perishability. When 'evaluating' a service, a consumer is more likely to base their judgment on extrinsic cues such as price, image, service environment and promotional messages as with services, an actual experience with the product is absent. In addition to this, when evaluating a service, a consumer may also rely on surrogate cues which are extrinsic cues that signal quality.
Examples of perceiving the quality of a product can include the following:
-Consumers might judge the flavour of ice-cream or cake by colour cues or the quality of laundry detergent may be determined by the colour of the product or its packaging.
-The size of packaging may influence the perceived quality of a product, for example, popcorn is perceived to be of better quality when packaged in larger packages.
Examples of perceiving the quality of a service can include:
-When evaluating a doctor's services, the quality of the reception area and consulting room furnishings, the number of framed degrees on the wall, the pleasantness of the receptionist and the professionalism of the nurse all contribute to the consumer's overall evaluation of service quality.

Explain the Concept of Perceived Quality

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