I recently needed to have a hot water expansion tank installed in my house. The first plumber who came to mind is widely advertised on local radio. The company’s online reviews suggest that they do good work, but one added that they are expensive—and it’s probably because they have radio ads running at all hours.

Remember that, from a quality management perspective:
• Anything that doesn’t add value to the supply chain is waste. Its cost must be reflected by higher prices, lower wages, lower profits, or a combination of these things.
• Anything that annoys the customer, such as ads that are invasive and can’t be skipped, is of negative value and utility, and contributes to poor quality.

Traditional advertising costs a supply chain’s stakeholders money, but it doesn’t add value or utility. It’s actually a holdover from times when, if you didn’t advertise in your local newspaper, nobody outside your neighborhood would even know your business existed. People were, and are, free to discard the classified advertising section unread, but prior to the internet they had to read it if they needed something.

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