What is the purpose of specifications? Compare complex versus simple specifications.

What is the purpose of specifications? Compare complex versus simple specifications. Provide an example of each and explain your reasoning.

Specification is a statement of the specific needs that a customer has for a product, service or a system which the vendor needs to satisfy (“What is a specification (spec)? definition and meaning”, 2016). Specifications come in written form usually with a product or other merchandize. The customers have the opportunity to read the specifications and compare it with what the customer requires. If the specifications correspond to the customer needs, the purchase is made, if they don’t, the customer may look for another product. This suggests that specifications have a larger role when a decision to make a purchase is made. This is why the marketers may use specifications in their marketing campaigns so that the customers become aware of them and opt to buy the products.

Specifications may be targeted at two broader buyers (Stone & Cooke):

1. Specifications for Specialists: These specifications may not be understood by ordinary people. These could be a set of technical specifications that only experts would understand and need to understand. These specification are mostly related to what the product is made of and other detailed information.
2. Specification for Non-Specialists: These specifications are addresses at people who do not want to get into technicalities and want to make a simple purchasing decision. These specifications are not that complex and hard to understand for the majority of people.

There are two types of specifications. Complex and simple specifications. Both are described in the following.

Complex Specifications

Complex specifications are detailed specifications let the seller know the exact requirements of the buyer. For example if a person wants to buy a laptop and is expecting to run heavy software on it, he/she would need to know and convey complex specification about the laptop to the sales person. The complex specification about the laptop would be the make and speed of the processor, the amount of RAM installed and how much it can be extended, the technology used in the development of the RAM. What is the battery time and life? The LED technology utilized in the monitor and what is the VGA quality.

Simple Specifications

Simple specifications are generally used by non-specialized customers. For them, the sales person might simply need to know some basic specification information and would be able to offer a product or a range of products. For example if a customer comers to a sales person and ask I need a laptop with a 14” monitor and 4 GB Ram, dual core processor. It would be easy for the sales person to offer a range of computer from different makes.