Continuous improvement and marketing

In the vast web of marketing, one constant remains inescapable: continuous improvement.

As in all aspects of life, marketing offers fertile ground for improvement, and it makes sense to explore it through the lens of Lean Six Sigma, a toolbox integrated into our approach.

Building marketing foundations, including creating a robust brand, perfecting communication tools, and optimizing a high-performance website, is often perceived as an arduous journey.

As a result, when we set up these infrastructures, many people exclaim: “Phew! That’s it, I can move on!” only to put these efforts into the shadows of oblivion for a couple of years.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone 🙂

However, this approach can be counterproductive. Marketing is not limited to specific tools; it extends to all areas of your business: positioning, merchandising, pricing strategy, product/service, promotional tactics, communications, customer and employee experience and much more. Marketing tools are just an extension of these elements.

So, how do you develop a culture of continuous improvement in marketing without becoming overwhelmed by an endless to-do list?

At Maïeutyk, our approach is based on the principles of Lean Six Sigma. But what exactly is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma is a quality-oriented management method combining Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles. Lean focuses on eliminating process waste, while Six Sigma aims to reduce variability and improve quality. Together, they form a formidable efficiency duo to deliver maximum customer value.

The two key concepts of continuous improvement to integrate into your marketing are:

• The Voice of the Customer establishes links between your teams and customers through concrete actions to increase their satisfaction. Integrating a Voice of the Customer program increases your chances of retaining satisfied customers by guaranteeing continuous improvement of your services to meet their needs better.
• Mapping key processes, or in the case of marketing, the customer journey. Before starting a customer journey, clearly defining your customer profile or persona is essential. Next, we can begin mapping the customer’s buying process.

This mapping becomes your guide in the marketing continuous improvement process, helping you to identify areas within the organization where you can increase customer value while minimizing current inefficiencies. In other words, this is where Lean Six Sigma comes into its own. It offers a systematic structure for analyzing processes, identifying sources of waste, and applying measurable improvements.

However, while simple in its philosophy, this approach can prove complex when immersed in your own processes. Ideally, you map out your customer journey in a cocreation workshop to ingest the vision of all departments in the organization. Moreover, it’s often ideal to have an external facilitator to lead this meeting.

In short, integrating Lean Six Sigma into your daily marketing routine becomes a pragmatic and iterative process. It’s a methodology and a corporate philosophy aimed at operational excellence while placing the customer at the heart of every action.

By transforming the marketing vision into a series of measurable and adjustable processes, a continuous improvement approach offers companies a significant return on investment by implementing practices that promote sustainable growth and ever-higher customer satisfaction.

That said, thanks to our expertise, the Maïeutyk team offers you the opportunity to guide and support you throughout adopting a cocreation and continuous improvement approach to marketing, enabling you to gain a real competitive edge.

Are you wondering about your customer’s buying process and what improvements you could make? Take our free diagnostic ! You’ll have a clear picture of your marketing in just a few minutes.