Social Media is here to stay, be ready by the 1st of the year!

The Duct Tape Marketing Social Media Pro Training program has just launched. This innovative coaching program uses coaching, strategy, feedback and accountability functions aligned with a full set of online tutorials and training to deliver the practical, tactical know how so important to the success of the small business. It is only available through the Duct Tape Marketing Community. Complete program content as delivered by Business901 can be found at http://beonlinelearnonline.com.

The program is designed and delivered in a logical sequential order with each session revealed on a week by week basis until all five sessions are revealed. The strategy behind this form of delivery is that it allows both you the customer as well as the coach to focus on the current lesson and progress logically through the program without becoming overwhelmed.

Each lesson begins with an overview presentation of the material, action steps at the end of the lesson and a group of support videos and training that relate to that lesson’s action steps

The Business901 offering includes a Ning style website that will offer members a platform to discuss Social Media questions and to follow certain conversations, blog post and join discussion groups that interest them. It will offer an added learning experience in a small community group. The content of the new site will be user driven and allow members to visit, comment and add their own content.

Why another website, Joe Dager of Business901 was asked; “We can communicate on other platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook but to learn how to efficiently utilize these platforms is a mystery to many. We realized that there will be "How to questions." As a result, we created an open source platform, so that we could participate in the conversations and add information when necessary but so could everyone else. It will be a membership site, one that organizations and people can use as a resource.” Dager added, "I will be adding content as I see what discussions are taking place and what type of questions that I am answering. It will be much like an classroom setting where you can learn from each other, it will just be online."

Why Duct Tape Marketing: John Jantsch, owner of the Duct Tape Marketing organization is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author. Duct Tape Marketing - The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" published by Thomas Nelson, with foreword by Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth and afterword by Guy Kawasaki. His Duct Tape Marketing Blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for small business and marketing and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site. His blog was also chosen as "Best Small Business Marketing Blog" in 2004, 2005 and 2006 by the readers of Marketing Sherpa.

Why http://Business901.com: Joe Dager, owner of Business901 is a Certified Duct Tape Marketing Coach which substantiates his knowledge of the Duct Tape Marketing Principles. He is well versed in Social Media which is confirmed by independent firms such as Alexa that rates the Business901 Website in the top .25% worldwide by Alexa. Hubspot, a popular grading service consistently grades the Business901 Website above 98% and the Business901 Twitter account above 99%.

 

Technorati Tags: duct tape marketing,social mediam Marketing,facebook,linkedin

Using Value Stream Mapping Software

There is a lot of dispute about Value Stream Mapping software, and whether it should be used or not used. Most Lean practitioners will tell you that early introduction into converting your Value Stream Map into a computer generated document will hurt the overall flow of the procedure and be a detriment to the brainstorming process. They prefer using post-it-notes or pinning paper to a wall. Allowing as many people to interact is the whole point. I have a tendency to agree with the statement. Participation, interactivity is the key. In fact, when I build a marketing calendar for a company, I do the same thing. Even taking advertisements, direct mail pieces, etc. and pin them to a wall.

It works great except…many times it seems that I am explaining the process along the line. I end up teaching what a Value Stream Map or even a Marketing Calendar is and the purpose, we are doing it. Sure, I know that should all be done before hand but do we? Do we take the time? Many lean practitioners work hard to help an organization to improve their Lean skills. This is a slow, difficult and often frustrating part of the process. Computer-supported Value Stream Mapping may help Lean practitioners be more effective in this respect. Creating a simple mapping process for them to input into the software and through the use of the help section, both written and video supported, would not hinder the mapping but facilitate the actual process in the Value Stream Mapping Process. Explanation of the key concepts and how they are used would make the best use of everyone's time.

When setting initial assignments, don't require that a map be drawn but have a procedure to check off that the different nomenclature was understood. This will give most individuals solid footing for the meeting. You may want to do a webinar on VSM to facilitate the mapping process. Use the tutorials embedded in the software as a basis of discussion. This way there will be a reference point for everyone afterwards.

A better way, for those with both the technical agility and a suitably equipped classroom, is to do "live" mapping and update the actual process constructed on the wall every 15 minutes or so. Having a reference point can be very handy when you are taking down a stray path. This would also enable a wider audience as actual attendance would not be required. Especially in supply chain applications, you could have numerous suppliers and/or downstream and upstream customers participating from a distant. Another feature is that you may choose to schedule times when different participants would be available. Mapping in real time, can be difficult and beyond the scope of many organizations. However, if it is possible, it gives you instant documentation for the entire organization and a basis for a process that I would refer to as a true Value Stream Management process.

It should already be apparent that handling mapping can be a very different experience than is had when using the traditional method of post-it-notes. Value Steam Mapping represents information more densely and makes more information immediately available to the mind. It supports a wider range of interaction, which is ultimately what we are after. That said, these are the early days in computer supported mapping.  For now, there needs to be a balance, but it is changing. I predict that since it is not a technology issue but a policy constraint that it soon will be common place. If not, you may be the like an accountant dealing with a system of ledgers and manual entries and Turbo-Tax has largely replaced that group.

P.S. I market Value Stream Mapping Software on my Site.

Related Blog: Why would you use Value Stream Mapping?

 

Technorati Tags: Value stream Mapping,VSM,Policy constraint,Marketing Calendar,Mapping Software,Lean

Ever hear of the term Value Stream Marketing?

Neither have I, until I did a search and typed Value Stream Marketing instead of Value Stream Mapping. It was completely accidental, but it was exactly what I was thinking. If you think about it, do you have a value stream map for your customers? I am not just talking about a map showing the process of what you do, but a process on what value the customer receives from each stage of your marketing.

It’s a different concept that I believe is imperative to the future of marketing. Think of the touch points you have with a customer. Is each one of them creating value? As we walk through the process in the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass, we create a value stream. When your customer moves from one stage to the next stage, is it value driven? Is he receiving more bang for his buck? If he doesn’t, he may decide to jettison you right there. The stakes are being raised, and you have to deliver.

My E-book on applying the Theory of Constraints to the Marketing Hourglass is a good example on how one part of the marketing process may be limiting your overall revenue. If you find that constraint what would you do with it? How would you improve it? I would first start examining what got the person there to begin with and then increase the value of your offering based on the previous offer. If you are not getting enough referrals or repeat customers, think about an offer you could create that would add additional value to them. Give them something that they can simply not refuse. What would shake them up a bit? 

Related Information:

Ebook: Using the Theory of Constraints to improve your Marketing Hourglass

Value stream Mapping

Designers, Marketers THINK BIG

The Eagles always understood!

Technorati Tags: Value Stream Mapping,Marketing,Duct Tape Marketing

Value Stream Mapping – Finding your Customer’s Need

Focusing on the customer NEED is essential to the success of any marketing. We should all recognize this idea. However, do we really embrace this idea? Do we really believe that such an effort can drive our marketing and improve the chance of a sell?

It is important that we understand and are able to express what is critical in satisfying that need. Starting out in the Value Stream Mapping process we first create a Current State Map. I use the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass as a template in creating a current state map for each marketing segment. After the Current State Map is created, we must analyze this process. We must do this to ensure that we are working on the right things from the customer's perspective.

This is where we will start finding the true waste in our marketing process. Should we be happy with 2% direct mail returns or accepting the fact that we need to be in front of a customer 7 to 9 times before we get action. We need to ask whether we are making assumptions about what customers need. We need to ask our customers what they need and whether this is properly communicated throughout each stage of our marketing process.

An organization exists only to provide value to a customer. Are we supplying value in each phase of our marketing process? If you cannot, see how to re-create that phase in the process or it may be one that you need to stop. Everything you do should create value. If you do, your customers are much more likely to stay engaged.

In my Marketing your Black Belt Webinar, I discuss the lack of clarity as the #1 reason that professional service firms lose jobs. I also believe that your “fuzziness” may directly relate to a customer becoming disengaged.  Having clearly defined outcomes based on a customers need will prevent that and reduce your variation in the process. 

What does variation have to do with the marketing process? Variation creates uncertainty or a lack of clarity. The reason that you may be losing jobs. The lack of confidence in the ability of your marketing processes to deliver on your customer needs. Variation reduces the chances for the customer to trust you.

The simplicity of a single flexible marketing model will create clarity for your customers, staff and as a result better execution. Utilizing a process, you also will spend your time on your customer’s need versus continuously managing the process.

Shameless plug: The Ultimate Marketing System

Shameless plug: The Ultimate Marketing System

Why do The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™ crumble?

Get Rid of Your Marketing Vision Statement and Address the NEED!

Technorati Tags: Value Stream Map,Duct Tape Marketing,Lean,Variation,Marketing

SOCIAL MEDIA IS HERE TO STAY, BE READY BY THE 1ST OF THE YEAR!

IF YOU WANT TO BE ONLINE,

YOU NEED TO LEARN ONLINE

Social media is all the rage and it’s here to stay. Maybe you’ve heard about it; maybe you’ve embraced it. Ultimately, it’s important that you understand how to use and integrate social media. Need help sorting it all out? This innovative coaching program uses coaching, strategy, feedback and accountability functions aligned with a full set of online tutorials and training to deliver the practical, tactical know how so important to the success of the small business.

 

If you want Social Media to WORK

YOU have to participate

You have to learn HOW

Find out how you can become proficient

Special 1-time offer

Technorati Tags: FaceBook,LinkedIn,Social Media,Twitter,Web 2.0

Implementing Lean - As fast as a Pit Crew?

At the recent AME Conference, Performance Instruction and Training offered sessions that allowed you to experience their unique style of learning. The concepts PIP teaches motorsports pit crews to conduct sub 13-second pit-stops relate to your business and drive home the concepts of lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement. You were able to join the session and try your luck. This video depicts this pit crews first attempt. They received training between each session, and at the end they were rewarded with a sub 18-second performance.

I was first impressed by the concept of a pit crew’s performance by Jim Lewis, the author of the Story of a Lean Journey. He used this analogy several times discussing quick changeover, value stream mapping and 5S. The basic point of the exercise was that at best, we would take a minimum of 20 minutes to change a tire at home. A NASCAR team and as you saw in the video something less than a NASCAR team could do it in less than 20 seconds. Proper training, the right resources, tools and a willingness to improve is what it will take to achieve some remarkable differences within your organization.

Jim’s book was a fictitious story of Allison Manufacturing Services Lean Journey as seen through the eyes of their Lean consultant. Jim did an excellent job of depicting the cultural change that took place within the company and how it was accomplished. It was such a pleasant read, that I completed it in one night that was extended into some early morning hours. The next day, I continued reviewing the book to understand the charts and mapping process he used in the book. If you are considering a Lean Journey, this book may be an excellent starting point. After reading this, consider if your company is working at the 20 minute level(you are out of business if you are), or if you are taking 35 seconds? Can you get it down to 18 or 16 or maybe, 13 seconds?

P.S. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim at the AME Conference and we were able to discuss his book and how he integrated Lean practices within other organizations. Jim is highly sought after consultant and can be found on the web at The Center for Lean Learning.

Technorati Tags: Lean Journey,Lean Transformation,AME Conference,Value Stream Mapping

Most Marketing Systems are Out of Control.

Most Marketing systems are out of control. They have not been managed with understanding of the process speed and the effect of the flow on the process. As a result, performance has to be sub-standard.  My marketing has too many variables to define my Value Stream! Can you afford to say that?

Depending on your industry, marketing can be anywhere between 5 to 30% of your total expenses. In most operations that I am familiar with it runs in the neighborhood of 5 to 10%.  It is not uncommon to find labor at a similar amount. Would you accept the same amount of variability in your workforce? If you have variability in your marketing, why not cut the budget? Increasing it only will increase the variability. On the other hand, if you have low capacity you have little variation. Is that the problem you want to have?

Variation in demand and in processing time will have a major impact on your total process lead time.  If you are functioning close to your optimum level, customers in your value stream, and you get a sudden rush of opportunities, the opportunities will be severally minimized by just variation alone.

How do you minimize variation and get a handle on the process? It has to do with segmentation. If you have not segmented your list properly, you have tremendous variation and the numbers you are looking at and companies run on numbers, are skewed. You must segment until you can get a handle on variation. It does not mean you have to segment to, there is none. You have to segment until you can start to minimize the variation that is incurring. You must conquer complexity to start narrowly defining your problem.

 

Related Posts:

Value Stream Mapping for Marketing

Lean your Marketing thru Segmentation

If you control it well, it flows well!

Following the Customer’s Need in your Value Stream Map

Technorati Tags: Lean,Lean Six Sigma,Marketing

Greater Marketing segmentation = Increase Revenue

Today’s products and services reflect greater marketing segmentation. As you know, I use the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass as The Pillar of the Lean Marketing House but there is no universal terminology, it is just convenient to stay with one message because even as you segment your list you still have to recognize the marketing process into stages such as Know, Like, Trust, Trial and Buy.

As you segment, each segment will include fewer customers. However, it should enable you to identify the individual stages more effectively or determine your material and information flow needed in each step. It will also allow you to define waste and create better value for your customer. In fact, this is basically the definition of Value Stream Mapping.

As a result of this exercise, you will change the shape of your Pillar. You should be able to shorten your cycle in some and as a result decrease your expenditure in the marketing process. Others, on the other hand, may be lengthened and a total different approach may have to be utilized. A good example of this may be in the pursuit of a governmental contract. The point to be taken is that there is nothing wrong with either situation, what is wrong is treating each segment the same.

The key ingredient to get started is developing the NEED statement for each marketing segment or Pillar. The statement should clearly define your CUSTOMER’S CORE PROBLEM and your ability to solve that problem. Defining this alone will provide clarity throughout the various stages in your marketing process. The NEED statement is a living document that will evolve as your product/service and the customer’s use of it changes. Further development of this statement should include limits on cost and time to keep your Pillar within boundaries that you are able to manage.

The point of defining the Need Statement is to succeed at developing a manageable process. We want the resulting marketing phases (Know, Like, Trust..etc.) to meet our customer’s needs, at the right time and at the right cost. It must do this in a way that maximizes our investment in the process. Marketing can be a complex and often risky process and in today’s world it mandates speedy development. The Lean Marketing process is geared to provide a framework and specific tools for efficiently and predictably reaching goals.

Related Posts:

Following the Customer’s Need in your Value Stream Map

 The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House

Value Stream Mapping for Marketing

Get Rid of Your Marketing Vision Statement and Address the NEED!

Why do The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™ crumble?

Applying the Marketing Hourglass: The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House

Technorati Tags: Lean Marketing,Duct Tape Marketing,Lean Marketing House,Pillars

Speed may be the biggest Determent to your Marketing Success

The company that gets to the customer first, the company that releases the product first, the company that slides in and closes the sale while you are still waiting to get the final specifications, all demonstrate how important speed is to your marketing success.

Speed is much, much more than the ability to run your customer through your marketing cycle. it is an integral part of building a marketing system that responds to customers needs. Having built in trigger points to help you identify your customers readiness to proceed to the next stage in your Marketing Hourglass is imperative. I discussed handing the baton off in an earlier post and how many times that gets dropped from one stage to the next. It is similar to an athlete starting the season off and building his “speed” back up. Or a student taking the same test after summer break and scoring lower. These things happen because of the lack of activity during the non –value added time that you have identified in your Value Stream Mapping Process.

The lack of speed in your marketing process equates to the lack of engagement that you have with your customer. This can be one of the most effective uses of social media and a good content marketing strategy. The engagement of your customer is driven by the needs they identify with your product. Here are some examples of items that may help in decreasing that non-value added time.

1.  Attempting to late or to early to move a customer to the next stage.

2.  Not building upon the previous stage by starting with different content. You effectively lose the momentum that was built by the earlier stage. 

3.  Reinforce the previous stage. Creating the linkages between stages is extremely important. It is a great time for a warm-up.

4.  Make sure the customer is on the right airplane. You have been there, even if it is embarrassing when the stewardess says this plane is headed to Detroit, and you are not going there: you are getting off. If a customer is not ready for this stage give him a graceful exit and provide them an opportunity to get off, or you may lose him forever.

5.  Make a better offer. Each stage should create a better offer than the previous. You have a more qualified customer at this stage so treat them that way.

6.  Create interactive platforms or trials that the customer can use or interact with to solve some of their problems. This happens quite frequently in the construction business when someone leases a bulldozer to a contractor or online with free downloadable software.

7. A superior call to action, an offer that cannot be refused to go the next stage.

Even with these improvements, without a marketing system in place to monitor results and improve upon them, you will fall behind. Speed is not automation. Automation can be a component of developing speed but don’t mistake the use of automation. People even in the online society we have created. They still want conversation and personal connection surrounding the product and especially the service they may purchase. They want a live body behind the curtain or in our case the Marketing Hourglass. 

Technorati Tags: Marketing Speed,Marketing Cycle,Duct Tape Marketing,Marketing Hourglass,The Pillars,Lean

Related Information:

Improve your Marketing Cycle, Increase your Revenue

Have you listed all your delivery processes? What did you learn?

Is your Value Stream Mapping backwards?

Start Fixing Marketing Mistakes with a Process

Determining your Customer Perspective – Can you retain this customer?

This is part 3 of a 3 part series on Determining your customer perspective.

Can you retain this customer?

Do you really look at this as a consideration when developing your marketing segments and the value you place on acquiring a certain type of customer? Most of us look at repeat and referral strategies across the board for every segment. Though, I would not disagree that we should have a strategy for each but consider the segment or that type of customer that you acquire that always seems to give you the benefit of the doubt or refer business to you. Should you not be biased in how you allocate your resources to that segment? Would it not be beneficial to offer certain incentives to that segment? Is this not the measure that most determines the profitability of the customer? My first question to most new clients: Do you have customers that refer you, and why? That is the strongest indicator on the health of the brand.

A great book on the subject is The Ultimate Question by Fred Reichheld. The Net Promoter website is a great place to start. To calculate your company's Net Promoter Score (NPS), take the percentage of customers who are Promoters and subtract the percentage who are Detractors.

When John Jantsch author of Duct Tape Marketing, talks about the Marketing Hourglass, he says, “The top half indeed resembles the funnel concept, but the expanding bottom half, to my way of thinking, adds the necessary focus on the total customer experience that ultimately leads to referrals and marketing momentum.”

Just considering these statements above you can see why I feel so strongly that you need to consider throughout the entire marketing process your ability to maintain and build that customer into a repeat/referral customer. The initial sale should be nothing more than allow your best advocates to experience the entire brand! If you have segmented your marketing channels into: Who you want as a customer (part 1) and Who wants you? (Part 2), the next logical step is, Who will repeat and refer?

Losing customers is the clearest possible sign that customers see a reduced stream of value from the company. It is simply the strongest indicator that a brand is in trouble, even if you are replacing the lost customers with new customers. New customers typically cost more to acquire having to go through, the entire hourglass and older customers are working in the bottom half of the hourglass. Since that is true, repeat customers tend to produce greater cash flow and profits than newer ones. Referral customers are also more profitable because they typically enter the hourglass not at the top but at a much lower stage.

Ask yourself, does retention and referrals matter? Put numbers to it. How much does it cost to obtain new customers, to retain old customers? Consider, do the repeat/referral customers have different purchasing patterns? What makes a repeat customer attract other customers?

How would you go about in gaining a repeat customer? I believe customers evaluate you based on three areas: Value for the price, Quality, Service. If you provide metrics that are very responsive to these areas and continuously educate to receive input from your customer base, you will go a long way in retaining clients. However, these measurement metrics must not be at the expense of your customers’ time and resources.

You should consider ways of making them a part of your operations, service, sales and marketing processes. As an example, you may notice less frequent contact or payments extending. Look at these as signs to engage your customer. Building quality measurement systems into your process may be the most important ingredient in your marketing hourglass.

Related Posts:

Determining your Customer Perspective – Who do you want?

Determining your Customer Perspective – Can you satisfy these customer segments?

The Eagles always understood!

Referral Machine Guide

Technorati Tags: Buyer persona,Duct-Tape-Marketing,Net-promoter-Score,Referral,Repeat,Target Market

The very best thing about organizing and systemizing your marketing is that you now have more tools at your disposal to understand and facilitate not manipulate your customer’s efforts.  I use the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass as an example, but there are other similar methods and maybe a system of your own that would work as well. One of the tools, I found quite useful after working with the hourglass is the use of Cycle time.  A Value Stream Map is quite useful in visualizing and providing calculations for cycle time.

Before I go into the explanation, the question should probably be: Who Cares? Throughput or decreasing your Marketing Cycle time can have very beneficial results. If you put customers through the cycle quicker it will more than likely increase revenue. If it takes 1 person 60 days in a normal cycle time, and you reduce it to 30, you should be able to double sales for any given period. It may also reduce expenses as there would be less people in the cycle at any given period. So increasing throughput is good.

If you look at the chart below, you will see the cycle time depicted in a value stream map. The blocks represent our value added marketing efforts. The empty spaces the non-value added time or waste. I am not going to be so naive and say that you can remove all that non-value added time and close a sale in 3 days. The point that I am delivering is that: you must learn how to mange the non-value time more effectively. Most companies deliver good presentations, advertise and get good PR. Where they fall short is handing the baton from one stage to the next. Non-activity turns marketing rotten. Even with good (refrigeration) techniques our leads may go stone cold.

Taking a look at the chart, the first thing you may notice is the time span differs for certain parts of the process. If you can make an effort to understand the customer's process during this time, significant gains may be made. Your actual processing time is insignificant in marketing. It is the lead time between the processes that are important. Consider, for example, if we would increase the offer to transfer from the Trust stage to the Trial Stage. Or maybe, you have noticed that quicker conversions happen when they attend a webinar. What would happen if we paid them to come to the Webinar? You may find out segmenting your process halfway through the cycle would allow customers to better understand the results that they may gain from your product. Many of your features and benefits may be confusing certain prospects that don’t care for them anyway.

Total cycle time can be improved. It seldom can be done without more feedback loops in your system. Speed is important in the buying process. Develop process blitzes to reduce these non-value times. Go to Gemba or the customer’s place of work and find out what happens during this time. See what is stopping him from moving forward. It may be an internal constraint within their company. However, the constraint may be yours. Your responsiveness to the customers latest needs and the ability to focus your resources with enough but not too much material providing better clarity. He needs this to make a more rapid decision.

Create a vision of shorter cycle time, greater segmentation of your customers, it will enable you to do fewer actions in the cycle and much quicker. “It not the big that ate the small. It’s the fast that eat the slow” – Jason Jennings. Cycle times need to be addresses and improved. What methods are you using to accomplish this?  

Related Blog Post

Improve throughput, cut your customers in half!

Using the Theory of Constraints to improve your Marketing Hourglass

The Eagles always understood!

Technorati Tags: Duct Tape Marketing,Marketing Hourglass,Value Stream Mapping,Cycle Time,Lean

Business Plan Mistakes

Affiliate Post of the Week: Business Plan Mistakes

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Often you may hear about what a business plan consists of. While including the necessary items is very important, you also want to make sure you don't commit any of the following common business plan mistakes:

1. Putting it off: Don't wait to write a plan until you absolutely have to. Too many businesses make business plans only when they have no choice in the matter. Unless the bank or the investors want a plan, there is no plan.

Don't wait to write your plan until you think you'll have enough time. "There's not enough time for a plan," business people say. "I can't plan. I'm too busy getting things done." The busier you are, the more you need to plan. If you are always putting out fires, you should build firebreaks or a sprinkler system. You can lose the whole forest for paying too much attention to the individual burning trees.

2. Cash flow casualness: Cash flow is more important than sales, profits, or anything else in the business plan, but most people think in terms of profits instead of cash. When you and your friends imagine a new business, you think of what it would cost to make the product, what you could sell it for, and what the profits per unit might be. We are trained to think of business as sales minus costs and expenses, which equal profits. Unfortunately, we don't spend the profits in a business. We spend cash. So understanding cash flow is critical. If you have only one table in your business plan, make it the cash flow table.

3. Idea inflation: Plans don't sell new business ideas to investors. People do. The plan, though necessary, is only a way to present information. Investors invest in people, not ideas.

Don't overestimate the importance of the idea, particularly the importance of the uniqueness of the idea. You don't need a great idea to start a business; you need time, money, perseverance, common sense, and so forth. Very few successful businesses are based entirely on new ideas. A new idea is much harder to sell than an existing one, because people don't understand a new idea and they are often unsure if it will work.

4. Fear and dread.

Doing a business plan isn't as hard as you think. You don't have to write a doctoral thesis or a novel. There are good books to help, many advisors among the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), business schools, and there is software available to help you (such as Business Plan Pro, and others).

5. Spongy, vague goals: Leave out the vague and the meaningless babble of business phrases (such as "being the best") because they are simply hype. Remember that the objective of a plan is its results, and for results, you need tracking and follow up. You need specific dates, management responsibilities, budgets, and milestones. Then you can follow up. No matter how well thought out or brilliantly presented, it means nothing unless it produces results.

6. One size fits all: Tailor your business plan to its real business purpose. Business plans can be different things: they are often just sales documents to sell an idea for a new business. They can be detailed action plans, financial plans, marketing plans, and even personnel plans. They can be used to start a business, or just run a business better.

7. Diluted priorities: Remember, strategy is focus. A priority list with 3-4 items is focus. A priority list with 20 items is something else, certainly not strategic, and rarely if ever effective. The more items on the list, the less the importance of each.

8. Hockey-stick shaped growth projections: Have projections that are conservative so you can defend them. When in doubt, be less optimistic.

Source: bplans.com

Technorati Tags: Business Plan,Marketing,Marketing Plan,Palo Alto Software,Planning

AME Conference Marketing Lesson

This week I attended the AME Conference held in Covington, KY. I have to say it was one of the best conferences that I have attended in a long time, with a great mix of workshops, seminars and plant tours. They also paid particular attention to their vendors making sure all their needs were met. It was very impressive how the AME Staff and even the President of AME stopped by the booth daily to check on how things were going and if there was anything needed.

My favorite workshop was presented by Dan Fayer of PAS Technologies. He spelled out a formula for Lean Implementation Success that PAS used in the turnaround of that company. Bob Weiner, CEO of PAS and Tom Deforge of Lean Value Solutions have been on my podcast recently so I knew the general story before attending. Dan, however, put some real meat to the Lean Transformation and filled in the X’s and Y’s. If AME makes any part of this seminar, slidedeck or audio available, grab it!

The most interesting sideline to the conference was the masterful job that AME did in marketing their next convention. What a lesson for others. John Jantsch explains the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass:

Many marketers have been taught the concept of the marketing funnel. The idea being that you bring leads into the top of the large opening in a funnel and push the ones that become customers through the small end. The problem I’ve always had with that is all the focus is on the chase. I happen to think that real payoff in marketing comes from expanding and focusing your thinking on how to turn a lead into an advocate for your business. Long ago I started using the concept of the marketing hourglass. The top half indeed resembles the funnel concept, but the expanding bottom half, to my way of thinking, adds the necessary focus on the total customer experience that ultimately leads to referrals and marketing momentum.

The relationship to that concept was demonstrated at the AME Conference. The attendees and exhibitors have been thru the hourglass and now in the bottom half. Not to sound too clinical but they were the Buyers of the program. The next step in the funnel is the Repeat stage. AME started marketing the next conference in Baltimore immediately after you signed up for this one. In fact, they offered steep discounts before and during the show if you would commit before this convention ended for both attendees and exhibitors. During the show, there was a booth for information about Baltimore, numerous promotions and AME personnel wore Baltimore Oriole jerseys for most of the show. It was simply one of the best jobs of managing the Repeat stage in the hourglass that I have seen. The AME personnel understand the cost of gaining a new attendee and passed that savings on to their “Repeat” buyers.

The next part of the Marketing Hourglass is the Referral phase. I have not seen how AME will be handling all of that. However, I did see them, collecting and asking for referrals. I can’t wait to see it!

P.S. I was there as a result of an invitation from Systems2win.

Related Information:

The Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass makes up The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House.

E-books: Discussion of A Lean Transformation & Lean Value Solutions

Category: Marketing Funnel

Podcast:

Lean Value Solutions Podcast

PAS Technologies CEO, Bob Weiner discusses a Lean Transformation

Technorati Tags: Lean,AME,Systems2win,Manufacturing Excellence,Duct Tape Marketing

Have you taken the path of your customer?

One of my steps in working with a client is that I like to put together their Marketing calendar to understand what they have on the table, events, conferences, advertisement, flyers, etc. They usually have some type of marketing in place, and we are looking at improving the system not dismantling it. After the marketing calendar has been constructed, I start moving, sometimes  just the post-it-notes from a chronological order to a marketing flow stream based on the customers' viewpoint.  We could even call it an assessment, but in initially I am just on a fact finding mission, in Lean terms = Current State Map. The next step in the process is diagramming this current state map and in Duct Tape Marketing terms, their Marketing Hourglass.

However, this week the procedure took a strange turn. I completed the process but I happen to know one of the client’s customer very well. So, after constructing this hour glass with the new client, I was able to sit down with his customer and my friend and map the process from the customers' point of view. Voice of Customer seems to an over-used word in our Industry but this was one of my best experiences. We actually pulled the clients file from the customers file cabinet, reviewed the folders on his computer including e-mails and bookmarks. I then laid out all the marketing material that had accumulated, highlighted and even taking note of the bent corners in the catalog. This was all followed by an interview.

Of course, my sample size of 1 is not a good indicator. The key to this process was the awaking to the client and myself on what the customer valued and what his procedure was in making the decision. His process was simply different. We talk about going to Gemba and walking the walk from the customers' point of view, but do you? How much non-effective marketing could you save by doing this? How much effecting marketing could you implement?
 

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Another word for Marketing – How about Voice of the Customer?

Technorati Tags: Duct Tape Marketing,Marketing Calendar,Marketing Hourglass,Value stream Mapping

Marketing needs Six Sigma Methodology to Improve

Understanding Variation - The Key to Managing Chaos by Donald Wheeler is a book I recently re-read. I had remembered it and thought it had some good points. Not for the depth of analysis, most Black Belts will not find it too challenging, but for the examples and flavor of the writing. This book was originally published in 1993.

Marketing needs to do a better job of using statistics and especially variation. When I start talking numbers to people, and what they mean, I get looked at like someone that is just trying to complicate a creative process. Improvement is about numbers. Measurement is about numbers. The truth is, marketing is about numbers. So why not employ more of the Six Sigma methodology? I understand that achieving the quality that Six Sigma represents may be difficult but the principles and tools should, nevertheless be utilized.

Your present marketing data more than likely is flawed and ineffective. Comparing one number to another is just ineffective. Comparison is limited because numbers are subject to variation and without variation taken into account the data is distorted.

Don Wheeler starts his book by saying that comparing numbers to specifications will not lead to improvement. Specifications are the Voice of the Customer. The specification approach will not reveal insights into how the process works and as a result will not tell you where you are, how you got there and how or what to improve to get out of it.

Defining this a bit: Voice of the Customer defines what you want. Voice of the Process defines what you will get from the system. Management job is to bring Voice of Customer in alignment with Voice of the Process.

Don uses examples of Control Charts,X-Charts, XmR Charts and a few other graphs. He does a nice job of mixing practical stories and making a statistical book as easy of a read that it can be. He sums up one story by saying:

1. Optimization of the parts does not equal optimization of the whole.
2. Traditional cost accountings can hide or miss the essential figures.
3. Analysis by osmosis is very ineffective.
4. Graphs communicate the data better than the tables.
5. It is dangerous to confuse a target value with the voice of the process.

Can you start using proper data in your marketing process? The book recommends starting tomorrow by:

1. Begin to collect the right data
2. Insist upon interpreting within their context
3. Filter out the noise before considering any value as a potential signal
4. Cease to ask for explanations of noise
5. Understand that no matter how the results may stack up against the specifications, a process which displays statistical control is
   performing as consistently as possible.
6. Always distinguish between Voice of Custom and Voice of Process.
7. Help others take action on assignable causes.

P.S. I typically find that most companies are not ready to start a Six Sigma project because of the lack of measurement in their processes. Having the working knowledge of Black Belt can greatly enhance getting started down the path. It is a journey and depending upon the scope of the project, one not to hastily jump into.

BTW: I recommend reading the book first.

Related Posts:

Another word for Marketing - How about Voice of the Customer?

If you are going to Improve, you have to know your math

Six Sigma Marketing

Technorati Tags: Six Sigma,Methodology,Marketing,Black Belt,Voice of Customer

Power of Visual Thinking in your Visual Workplace

If you follow my blog you know the respect I have for the David Armano and the Logic & Emotion Blog. He had a great blog post on the power of visual thinking and also shared this slideshow presentation. A clear demonstration of visual thinking.

An excerpt from their Blog Post…The Value of Visual Thinking

Educating
So what's the value of visual thinking for business? For starters it can help educate, especially if you are launching a new product, initiative or idea.

Communicating
It doesn't matter if we're talking about consumers or employees — attention is becoming scarce. If you want to communicate something, you need to capture attention and communicate your point quickly.

Training
In the design of business, visual thinking will be key in the design of new processes, systems, and structures. Expect to see the mapping of ecosystems, flows, org charts, social systems and data visualization.

The Value of Visual Thinking in Social Business

View more documents from David Armano.

I think Visual Thinking is a powerful tool. For evidence, look at the tools I surround myself with, Value Stream Mapping, The Lean Marketing House and Mindmaps. I believe it is the most effective way to learn. As David said in his last paragraph of the blog cited above: “We're not all visual thinkers (though we all have the potential). However, we are all visual learners. Don't believe me? Simply pay a visit to any grade school and you'll see evidence of it everywhere. "A is for Apple," showing both the letter and a picture of an apple next to it. The cognitive recognition of the image often happens first."

I have an upcoming podcast with Gwendolyn Galsworth of the Visual Workplace. She is author of the book, Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking, a Shingo Prize Winner. Gwendolyn has a fall webinar series on Implementing a Visual Workplace. The next webinar is this Thursday, November 5th. She begins her book by stating: “The technologies of the visual workplace represent a comprehensive strategy for installing vital information as close to the point of use as possible.” Now, when you think of a visual workplace are you on the same page? If not, maybe you should take a look at her book,Visual Workplace, Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace?

 

Technorati Tags: Visual Thinking,Visual Workplace,David Armano,Value Stream Mapping