Shinola, Ford And More: Detroit's Hottest Shops Teach Us Why Quality Matters

Students learn it as they pore over tiny stitches and elaborate patterns in the Detroit Garment Group's Industrial sewing program.

Shinola workers know it as they painstakingly hand assemble aspirational time pieces in a 30,000 foot space at the College for Creative Studies.

Auto workers know it when they sweat over manufacturing details on factory floors across metro Detroit, making sure every electrical connection is in place, every nut and bolt firmly intact, all the powerful pistons and gears working in seamless tandem before their product makes its way to your driveway.

Quality matters.

And quality maintains consumer trust in a brand over generations.

"We know there's not just history in Detroit, there is a future. It's why we are here. Making an investment in skill, at scale. Creating a community that will thrive through excellence of craft and pride of work. Where we will reclaim the making of things that are made well. And define American luxury through American quality," Shinola says on its website.

According to business.com, quality matters to brands for five essential reasons.

• It builds trust.
• It humanizes a company and helps consumers connect with the brand.
• It fuels word of mouth and social media mentions.
• It drives repeat  business.
• It produces a better return on investment.

"Perfecting product quality has numerous benefits for any company. The positive correlation between product quality and sales should be reason enough to make quality a top priority in a business strategy. The trust, credibility, and loyalty that comes from happy customers builds repeat sales and ignites positive recommendations about a product that helps a company reach new audiences,"  business.com writes.

Education and ongoing training are clearly essential to producing these results, as is rewarding employees and being considerate of them, creating top-notch customer service, and focusing on quality inside and out, top to bottom in the organization.

"By forming (the industrial sewing program), we can ensure consistent, high-quality training for industrial sewing, pattern making and sewing machine repair throughout the state of Michigan," says DGG Founder and President Karen Buscemi in a press release.

They're not alone. Quality, as we know, is always the best business plan.