Lean Marketing House » Value-Stream-Mapping

Start with Journey Mapping vs Value Stream Mapping

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Value Stream Mapping is process most consider an exercise for finding and removing waste. It is a foundational Lean Tool that typically gets introduced early in a Lean Transformation. A Systems2win Excel template is depicted below: In Sales and Marketing you will utilize a Value Stream Mapping process on a project by project basis but it is typically limited for an internal process. It is a difficult correlation for customer facing experiences and as a result seldom used. The preferred method of mapping the customer experience is through a journey map. I prefer two styles one just a basic Excel Template that is very similar to a typical Swim Lane chart commonly used in Lean.

From Smart Cities – A guide to using Customer Journey Mapping

Another being a more circular method demonstrated by the Lego Wheel. Lego uses tool called a ‘customer experience wheel’ to map an existing experience. “We understand what is and what is not important to the customer in that experience and then we design a ‘wow’ experience to improve it.” Though I like the wheel better I have not found a program that could make it easy for me to draw and distribute. The advantage of creating this map utilizing the Excel template is that you can easily add notes and drill down further down into a process by adding columns and rows. Drawing in Excel is rather easy once you understand how, Become Proficient Drawing with Excel in 30 minutes! and remember you can do MATH, CHARTS and everything else you already know about Excel. If you want more information on how to create a journey map below is an excellent slide show describing the process. If you want to learn more about Value stream Mapping, drawing in Excel or Swim Lanes, I would recommend downloading the trail templates at Systems2win.com.

The Journey Mapping Guidance Cabinet Office[1]

View more presentations from Gerald Power

A good post on discussing some of the pros and cons of different types of Journey Maps can be found at Visualizing the customer experience using customer experience journey maps. You may also want to consider viewing the Lean Marketing Game presentation. It is based on extending the journey map through out your organization.

Will Lean always internalize the customer?

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:20:00 +0000

I was in a recent LinkedIn discussion that referred to Sales and Marketing customer as being the internal organization and their role was to optimize the throughput of the observation. The sales and marketing role was further explained in the terms of takt time based on optimal production of the organization. The goal of sales is to keep the factory optimized?

I respectfully disagreed based on this reasoning.

You can (maybe) do that if you have excess demand. You can then try to improve efficiencies. However, most of us live in a world that supply exceeds demand. It is not about getting rid of waste. We have excess capacity. Tell me a company that won’t accept more prospects into their sales funnel or are refusing orders. In sales and marketing you have to drive revenue. I believe that the role of continuous improvement and Lean lies in this area versus the area of waste.

I have a problem understanding applying takt time in relation to sales and marketing. Theoretically, it sounds great but in actuality how does it apply with Takt Time= Net Available Time per Day / Customer Demand per Day. Who determines the acceptable and projected Takt Time for sales and marketing? Is customer demand determined by the capacity of the operations? Or is it by market share?

How can you have takt time without customer demand? Can an internal measurement be relevant to sales? If it is the measurement that we force sales to use, it is not a Lean process. We are pushing in lieu of pulling. Pull comes from the marketplace and is one of the principles of Lean. Holding sales and marketing to an internal measurement that has little if any meaning to the marketplace or the customer confuses me. The fundamental question could be what the marketplace demand is and what our percentage of that market is. That leads into the questions of retention and acquisition. Setting targets in those areas would drive the process of sales and marketing, innovation and hold operations accountable to a realistic level.

The metrics we have been traditional using are based on an economy with excess demand. Since we live an economy that has excess supply, fundamental beliefs must change. Sales and Marketing does need a process for improvement but it is one that must be created from the marketplace and I actually believe the principles of Lean are best suited for that journey.

Another wayward thought or the truth about Process Improvement in Marketing?

I came across a blog post by Brad Powers (a recent podcast guest) on the Harvard Business Review, How Marketing Can Lead Process Improvement. In reading the post the communication with customers seems to be orchestrated. As a result, the examples discussed seem archaic and more an extension of a command and control function than one of empowerment. It left me wondering if there are examples of sales and marketing teams that are being empowered.

Just calling something continuous improvement does not mean that it is. Continuous improvement is not a series of pilot tests and deployment. Rather it is empowering your workforce to practice it every day. In modern organizations it is the practice and the power of continuous improvement that is driving results. Factory workers, Software Programmers and Health Care professionals, to name just a few are being empowered as problem solvers and knowledge workers. I would think that the sales and marketing structure should be leading the way versus being the laggards.

There is not a more important function in sales and marketing than the ability to share and create knowledge with your customer. In the 3 examples given in Brad’s post, I see the key terms optimize, experiments, research versus words like cooperation, co-create, community and surprisingly “value”. I see that heads of marketing need to spend time with employees rather that interact with customers. What’s wrong with spending time directly with customers?

There are companies doing this. A good example is many of the gaming companies that interact regularly with their players. They are highly influenced by the top players and not only seek their opinions but join in and play with them. The players I have discussed this with are amazed at the access they have to top management. Other examples include SalesForce, BMW, Lego, Kraft and P & G.

A customer does not realize any value from your product/service till he uses it. When you view your product/service as an enabler of value creation versus the center of value than you can see how increasing knowledge flows between you and your customer is at the center of sales and marketing. Value is an input to your company not an output. There is only one person that determines the value of your organization and that is the customer. I think many continuous improvement methodologies have hijacked the term customer. It is not an internal person. The customer is the person that purchases and uses the product.

When viewing Lean and PDCA as a knowledge creation vehicle versus a waste reduction tool, Lean becomes applicable to sales and marketing. Without this understanding, I see little hope for Lean in the sales and marketing process.

Transferring your Value stream Map to a Kanban board

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 02:35:00 +0000

In this video, Alan Shalloway of Net Objectives describes the process of mapping a value stream to a Kanban board and why both are important in improving business-driven software development.

Alan does a nice job in the video simplifying the process of Value Stream Mapping for non-Lean organizations. He also coverts the map to a Kanban board. He provides the information in the simplest of terms. And I say simple in the highest degree of respect. It is an art to accomplish that.

Value Stream Mapping Customer Value

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Value Stream Mapping Customer Value can be difficult to say the least. Even getting your organization to decide on what the Customer Value’s can be challenging. This PowerPoint/Video highlights the 5 Cs of Driving Market Share as the method of choice to determine your Customer’s Value Stream. It also introduces the term Voice of Market versus Voice of Customer.

I hope after watching the video, you picked up on several key points. One, that your organization cannot determine customer value your customer is the only one that can do that. The other point is that Customer value is the best leading indicator of future market share.

The 5Cs of Driving Market Share is a program developed by Dr. Eric Reidenbach of the Six Sigma Marketing Institute. You can find out more about Dr. Reidenbach and the 5Cs at http://drivingmarketshare.com. 5 Cs is also part of the Marketing with Lean Program Series.

the Lean (Agile) Marketing Manifesto

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 03:35:00 +0000

In February 2001, 17 software developers met at a ski resort in Snowbird, Utah, to discuss lightweight development methods. They published the "Manifesto for Agile Software Development" to define the approach now known as agile software development.

I believe that Lean is the Future of Marketing and one of the main reasons is the development of Agile under the Lean umbrella. I thought using the Agile Manifesto as a basis for my own manifesto on Agile Marketing or Lean Marketing was a good start. For my effort in establishing a manifesto, I have used many of their terms described in the original Agile Manifesto.

We are uncovering better ways of developing marketing by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Content-rich material over elaborate promotion
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to customer needs change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Our highest priority is to deliver the customer content that he deems valuable to his decision making process.

Build Cross functional Sales/Marketing teams and giving them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
Cross-functional teams are created based on Customer markets and work together daily throughout the project.
Deliver sales/marketing/technical direct support as required to optimize the flow of value delivery.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to the customer is face-to-face conversation.
Facilitating a Customer’s Decision Making/Buying Process is the primary measure of progress.
Recognize and adapt to changing customer’s requirements.
Lean processes promote building customers that will repeat, become advocates and even co-creators in our development.
Continuous attention to content-rich material and technical excellence enhances the value stream.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from the customer use and feedback of product and our direct observation of the product in use.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

In Lean Marketing your goal is to deliver as much value as your customer (prospect) needs as quickly as possible in the most efficient manner possible. Agile systems allows for a framework for people to work together and improve communication through departments and with the customer. Part of this practice will help in understanding exactly what the customer needs to facilitate his decision making process but it will require teams to often wait till the “last responsible moment” to fulfill that requirement. You will have to respect your people, another foundation of Lean to enable such a system. This will minimize the waste and complexity associated with trying to cover all the bases. More importantly, it will provide greater clarity and increased value to the customer.

Value Stream Mapping your Sales Team

admin — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:15:00 +0000

In my Microsoft Newsletter this week, I received the following enticement:

Find, Keep, and Grow Customer Relationships with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Start Your 30-Day Free Trial Today!

Today, businesses are asked to do more with less. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online delivers exceptional value because it combines your everyday Microsoft Office applications with powerful CRM software accessed over the Internet to rapidly improve marketing, boost sales, and enrich customer service interactions. Try it now for 30 days!

I am trying it this week but what I wanted to share is a piece of the collateral information, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Power Couple. In this PDF, MSN highlighted the Customer Decision Making Process aka Mirror Marketing( Your Marketing Funnel from your Customer’s Perspective.) but extended the concept to show the process from several other points of view.

I have always been an advocate of seeking Sales and Marketing’s response to each of the customer’s decision steps but MSN (they are selling software), highlighted the technology enabler and a team response to the Customer Value Stream process. This simple exercise utilizing a high level Value Stream Map can really get your individual departments on the same page!

In my recent work, I have been advocating breaking down the Sales Silo and making Sales a team effort. In most organizations, I have been met with strong resistance to this concept. Most sales people look at as another silly initiative and most internal people see sales as a vehicle to customer data. As a result, sales resist and rightfully so preventing themselves from becoming an extended clerk. However, the approach really should be about how to increase face time with the customer. The #1 enabler of increased sales.

Create your own sales team by reviewing who responds to your Customer’s Value Stream Map. Start having a few meetings, similar to a daily standup meeting which may not be feasible. I would recommend at first error in having the meeting to often, just cut them short. In a spirit of true collaboration, don’t automatically exclude your customer from the team. This concept really could increase face time!