| The Marketing Function and Problem Prevention in Product Development |
| Include Marketing Systematically in Your Product Development
At PDSS, our focus has always been on applying the discipline of Six Sigma tools to Product Development to enable growth and innovation and to avoid problems. We recognized early on that the marketing and sales functions were integral to successful product development, even as our main focus was on the technical aspects of development. This month's article is adapted from the book, Six Sigma for Marketing Processes by Creveling, Hambleton & McCarthy. Published in 2006, the book was part of the effort to get the word out...that even the creative marketing and sales types can benefit from process discipline to prevent problems and stimulate growth!
Marketing-All About Growth & Preventing Problems
Business leaders often hold marketing and sales accountable for driving revenue growth--the panacea for most business ills. They want these teams to improve their accuracy and abilities to reach their goals. Marketing executives seek new ideas to bolster their success rate. Applying a process approach and the discipline of Six Sigma tools (under the guiding steps of the Product Development and support processes, not the 5-step problem-solving process, also known as DMAIC) to the marketing function is one possible solution.
Marketing as a Process - hope is not a plan but planning gives us hope!
Marketing professionals may think that their creativity is suppressed by using the tools and structure associated with well-defined processes. Marketing functions are perceived as project- or activity-based. Following "procedures" seems slow, routine and burdensome. Marketers may consider statistical analysis to dampen spontaneity and innovation. But our experience suggests that the opposite is true. A process approach to marketing makes room for innovation and creativity to occur. In fact, it often stimulates and channels it to higher levels. Furthermore, it averts rework, ensures completeness, and reinforces quality standards.
In PDSS' model, the enterprise marketing function is divided into 3 processes, each comprising 4 phases, as follows:
Strategic: Portfolio Definition and Development
1. Identify markets, their segments, and the opportunities they offer
2. Define portfolio requirements and product portfolio architectural alternatives
3. Evaluate portfolio alternatives against competitive portfolios, by offering
4. Activate the ranked projects and provide appropriate resources to them
Tactical: Product Commercialization
1. Understand the market opportunity and specific customer requirements translated into product or service requirements.
2. Analyze customer preferences against the value proposition
3. Plan the linkage between the value chain process details (the value chain includes marketing and sales) to successfully communicate and launch the product concept from the business case.
4. Launch the product according to a well-defined launch control plan
Operational: Post-Launch Product Line Management
1. Launch the product through its introductory period, as in the final phase of the Product Commercialization process
2. Manage the product through its steady-state marketing and sales processes
3. Adapt the marketing and sales tasks and tools as changes are required
4. Discontinue the product with discipline to sustain brand loyalty
Within a business enterprise, the strategic and tactical marketing processes are internally focused; hence, they are considered inbound marketing. Although data from external sources is critical to successful portfolio definition and development and product commercialization, the output of those processes is for internal problem avoidance and use. The operational processes of post-launch product marketing, sales, services and support are customer-oriented, outbound marketing. Here problem prevention continues, as well as pro-active contingency planning to "adapt" to leading indicators in our post-launch environments. It's a good thing to only have a very few reactive DMAIC emergency projects! It will never be zero, but the fewer the better.
Problem Prevention by Working Together
In addition to the rigor of the tool-task-deliverable requirements to complete each of the phases in the above processes, this approach encourages, and in some cases, requires, that the marketing and sales teams work closely with the technical and financial teams to bring a product to market and then sustain it. When all are working together, using a common language and common goals, it can't help but improve the results! |
Is there a topic you'd like us to write about? Have a question? We appreciate your feedback and suggestions! Simply "reply-to" this email. Thank you!
Sincerely, | |
Carol Biesemeyer
Business Manager and Newsletter Editor Product Development Systems & Solutions Inc. |
