Lean has been an accepted practice in manufacturing for over 20 years. It also has become an accepted practice in Supply chain, Office Environments, and Healthcare. In marketing, people shy away from processes like Lean, Six Sigma, and Project Management but there is so much to gain. What makes Lean so practical to get started with is the tool set that comes with it. However, that tool set comes with some terms that make it seem initially difficult. However, 99% of Lean definitions and teachings can be applied to marketing with little modification.

Most of marketing is in processing, similar to a lean office. So a process can be identified and improved upon. But what are you processing? It’s the flow you work on and so in marketing, the items that you are processing are prospects, customers, or data. Now, don’t get sensitive that we are getting to clinical. We are looking at improvements in the marketing process and relying on some great information that is already written. This how we adapt to it:

1. There is usually a lot of opportunity for process improvement. Most Marketing people haven’t even heard of many Lean concepts, so initially there is a lot of low-hanging fruit
2. In Lean manufacturing, we consider inventory as the thing being process, in marketing we can think of that as customers, prospects and even data (CPD) that is needed to be provided.
3. Information flow still refers to the information needed to trigger scheduling of the CPD.
4. There is only one value stream per marketing segment or sales channel and it is not uncommon to have multiple marketing segments. In fact, it is encouraged.
5. It is difficult for people to grasp the concepts of cross-functional value stream optimization and that is best for another conversation. But your marketing segments will cross pollinate each other and that is expected. Initially, it is best to think of them as separate entities go to higher level at a later date.
6. Marketing environments need a more liberal definition of “value add”. Many marketing processes do not perform a single step that a CPD would label as “value add” – so the traditional definition is somewhat limited.
7. Batch size is more related to time than to process volume. So load leveling would be implemented after your marketing segments cross pollination has occurred.
8. The Demand Unit of Measure is sometimes less obvious. For example, the Demand UOM might be leads processed, or the number of people attending an event. Buffer and safety resources are going to be expressed in terms of Cross-training and departmental borrowing, CPD that agree (in advance) to accept delay to allow load leveling, contingency plans and automation.
9. In marketing, everyone’s job requires them to think, but it is a challenge to untangle shared responsibilities making pull-based or Kanban more valuable but more difficult.
10. Don’t invent your own vocabulary; you will make it a LOT easier on your people if you teach them the same Lean definitions that are used in every Lean book that has ever been printed instead of trying to translate for them by inventing your own vocabulary. Vocabulary is only the beginning of the “reasons that Lean won’t work here” that office workers can be masters of inventing.

Just like any manufacturing environment, if you don’t have an executive-level Change Agent who knows enough to see through excuses, and has enough political “juice” to make things happen, and is committed enough to use that juice to jolt people into action – then there is no reason to even start ANY process improvement project – because without strong, committed leadership, anything you try to do will be destined to fail.

Suggested Readings for Lean Office:

• Value Stream Management for the Lean Office – by Don Tapping and Tom Shuker
  Subtitle: Eight Steps to Planning, Mapping, and Sustaining Lean Improvements in Administrative Areas
• Lean Office principles guidelines and videos are available on at Sytems2win.com
• The Kaizen Event Planner – by Karen Martin and Mike Osterling
  Subtitle: Achieving Rapid Improvement in Office, Service, and Technical Environments
• The Complete Lean Enterprise – by Beau Keyte and Drew Locher
  Subtitle: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes

About Business901: Business901.com provides direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma marketing and the Duct Tape Marketing System. Business901 has designed their services and product offerings so that they are implementable systems that work in the real, not enough time, not enough people world we operate in. We provide tools that simplify the marketing process, not complicate it. Joe Dager, President of Business901 is a Duct Tape Marketing Certified coach and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.