Unique Six Sigma Marketing Methods

A unique Six Sigma marketing method was created for each of the three areas: strategic, tactical, and operational. The method to guide marketing's strategic work is called IDEA. The approach for tactical work is called UAPL. The method to direct marketing's operational work is called LMAD. Each method has a chapter devoted to it, detailing its unique combination of tools-tasks-deliverables.

The strategic marketing process environment has the following four distinct phases, known as the IDEA process for portfolio renewal and refresh:

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 ranked and resourced individual commercialization projects.

The tactical marketing process environment has the following four distinct phases, defined as the

UAPL process for specific product and/or service commercialization projects:

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 (including marketing and sales) to successfully communicate and launch the product (or service) concept as defined in a maturing business case.

4. Launch: Prepare the new product (or service) under a rigorously defined launch control plan.

The operational marketing process environment has the following four distinct phases. This process is called the LMAD process for managing the portfolio of launched products and/or services across the value chain:

1. Launch the offering through its introductory period into the market according to the launch control plan of the prior process.

2. Manage the offering in the steady-state marketing and sales processes.

3. Adapt the marketing and sales tasks and tools as "noises" require change.

4. Discontinue the offering with discipline to sustain brand loyalty.

Each of these processes features distinct phases in which sets of tasks are completed. Each task can be enabled by one or more tools, methods, or best practices that give high confidence that the marketing team will develop the right data to meet the task requirements for each phase of work. A Gate Review at the end of a phase is commonly used to assess the results and define potential risks (see Figure 1.4 ). Marketing executives and professionals find phase-gate reviews an important part of risk management and decision-making. In the post-launch environment, gates are replaced by key milestone reviews because you are in an ongoing process arenaunlike portfolio renewal or commercialization processes, which have a strictly defined end date.

Continue reading here: Tactical Marketing Process Commercialization

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