Lean Marketing Methodological Model, Marsketing.

Miguel Angel Ruiz SilvaAgencia Mars, Santiago in Chile

Abstract

We live in a highly changing and competitive world. Today, having a good product or service is not guarantee of sales. Enterpreneurs must not only compete with big enterprises but also with foreigner competitors offering theirs services. For this, marketing becomes an important source of sustainability for any brand. SME need to create efective marketing strategies for differentiation with the rest. This model looks for be agile and lean. It enables any enterprise of any kind create a marketing strategy in an easy and quick way without dying in the attempt.

Marketing, Agile Marketing, Lean Marketing, Marsketing, Mkt DIY

1. Introduction

New challenges emerge given the constant need of SME professionalization to compete in a changing and complex market.

Chilean SME provide the 85% of the employment but only the 17% of the GDP. This is not a positive relation because it means low incomes for these type of business.

Only 10% of the entrepreneurships survives two years after their start and the premise on the general model is the problem is not centered on the business ideas but their poor marketing.

Today, having a great product it’s not guarantee of good sales. Then the enterprises won’t achieve their objetives without a correct and effective marketing strategy.

1.1. Lean Concept

The concept known as Lean Thinking emerges from the Toyota Way Model and it was originated on the Deep thinking of W. Edward Deming. He was an USA statistician, university profesor, text autor, consultant and difussor of the total quality concept. He worked as statistician consultant for the USA Census Bureau before the second world war. During this period he discovered the process statistic control methods created by Walter A. Shewhart.

In Japan was paying lot of attention on the Shewhart techniques unlike the USA. Post second world war Japan, as part of its reconstruction efforts, was looking for an expert to teach statistical control. In 1950, the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited Deming to impart conferences on these topics (he knew Japan very well). Between june and august of 1950, Deming forms hundreds of engenners, directives and students on process statistical control.

Deming proposed 14 points as a fundation for the industry transformation. These 14 poinst apply on any place like small organizations, big enterprises, services o manufacturing. They can be applied inside an enterprise division and their providers in the same way.

These 14 principles are: Purpose constancy Everybody wins

Quality from the start Never buy guided by the price or brand Continuous improvement Train skills at work Implement leadership Eliminate fear Bring down barriers Eliminate slogans Better ways oriented method Allowing to be proud of my own work Instituting a self-improvement and continuous education program Senior management commitment with the transformation

1.2. Lean Manufacturing

This is a model focused on the flow creation for giving maximum valueto the customers using minimal resources. In other words, lean processes.

1.3. Pilars Model

The Toyota Way management model has been conceptualized as a system focused on value generation. It can be obtained with tow pillars:

Process continuous improvement (Kaizen) People respect

Five principles are asociated to these pillars:1. The challenge of constructing, sustain and confront a long term visión with courage and creativity.2. Kaizen: Contonuously improving business operation, always fighting for the innovation and the

evolutions.3. Genchi Genbutsu: always go to the source for finding the facts and taking correct decisions for

building concensus and achieving objectives expeditiously.4. Respect: respect others and environment, construct trust and take the responsability.5. Team work: estimulate personal and professional growing, maximize personal and team performance.

1.4. Neuromarketing

From the premise of enterprises are not selling goods and services but dreams, emotions, experiences, among other things, it must be identified what really it is being sold. The neuroscience has advanced a lot in the last 15 years and today it can understand the human mind in a better way, in these case, the consumer mind. Many studies demonstrate brain it’s not very rational and making decisions are ruled to a large degree by emotions and further by the instincts.

Fig. 1. Triune Brain Theory.

The brain is divided (for learning uses) in three clusters: cortex, limbic and reptile. The cortex brain is the rational one: it has the reason, it’s functional, it uses the logic and the analytics, and the words process happens in it. The limbic brains is the emotional one: it has the emotions, the memories and it is in charge of sensations, kinetics and color processing. The reptile brain is the primitive one: it has the instincts, the survival, the reproduction and it is in charge of defense and protection.

“This is the most powerfull for selling because only acts”… this is the principle of the neurosales.

Then, the marketing activation or action must be more intelligent like the neuromarketing that uses the mind principles for giving people what really they want.

Fig. 2. Creating Stimuli.

2. Lean Marketing Model: Marsketing

2.1. Entreprenuers are martians

If a martians came to earth to give a message to the human kind, the first thing to do is communicate the message to a valid interlocutor, then the interlocutor contrasts the message with the image the Martina projects and finally determining if the message is real through the self experiences.

The SME are martians in a fast changing world and reach their target people in some way. The must achieve a correlation between theirs message and image and finally seduce them with an excellent service experience for accomplish a mutual benefit.

This model is considered Lean because it seeks eliminate fat from its processes of marketing strategies creation focusing on three fundamental pillar thats seeks adding brand value and connecting with the customer.

Fig. 3. Marsketing Model

2.2. The Comunication

Business idea must be connected to the target customer in an effective way, connecting a story/narration/message with the consumer, breaking the ice and reaching his emotions, and more important, his instinct.

This story mus be transmitted and known by the people of our interest, ergo, the clients. It must be identified who they are, where they are, what are their likings, the sharing values, in the same way Simon Sinek says in his Golden Circle model.

Before start to think about communicating with the client, it must be communicated in the organization and look for necesary answers to understand who they are, what they do, and most important, why they do what they do and what they believe in.

After remembering, or definitely, rethinking who they are, we must remember the brand story or narration. It has to go back to the idea fundamentals for discovering its essence. It has to be looked what the life stories shaped the brand, what need or problem the founder saw for creating the enterprise.

For a profitable business exists it must be defined a clear and specific market. The massive product and service era is in extinction and increasingly products must point to a specific segments known as niches.

It must be defined what type of client is pointed and asking who we are selling for adapt the communication to consumer language. It’s recommended the segmentation be the more transversal posible, not limited to the demographic variable but the idea it’s to look for segmentations by values, ideals and emotions. Even though this look more subjective, finally these are factors that determine the product purchase.

The observation will be always an useful tool for study the real behaviour of the target client… what they see, like, buy and asking why they buy what they buy. This can be done in a store, local, office or webstore.

Another way for knowing who the clients are is using the tool called emphaty map used to understand the consumer.

Fig. 4. Empathy Map.

The methodology looks for writing on post-it the team thoughts about the client. The main idea is introducing in the consumer mind and think like him. Then it must be expose what locations this person frequents and what communication media consumes the client.

For knowing where the client is, it must be identified what places he goes and communication channels he uses. It will be known what channels are the most effective for sending the message, tale or story.

Identified the channels the target client constantly uses, it will be have a variety of places where to communicate the message. Now it must be choosen the places the brand will use according budget and knowledge.

Having a story, a client and a cannel the message can be communicated. For ending this pillar, the communication must be fluid and in both directions. The brand must be opened for receiving feedback.

2.3. The Image

With the enterprise essence, the brand image must be designed in a positive and effective way to the audience. Furthermore it must have a correlation with the communication.

The coherence between the brand different presentation channels must be look for, creating an unique and powerful image syncronized with the business idea, brand values and the message sent to the clients.

The image finality is to have a clear and correlated presentation with the communication. A high percentage of the brain is dedicated to the visual aspects. That is why the importance of a good presentation on the products physical and digital spaces. They must be attractive and seductive for the clients on visual, aestethic and ergonomic aspects.

In branding, brand architectures are created and designing a brand is very important for a SME. Previously we talked about identity, values and enterprise essence and all these topics must be reflecte don

the brand image. Then the first stage of this pillar is creating an image with a coherent design.

The first is the naming or the name creation. The name is fundamental for any type of enterprise because dertermines the brand identity. A clear and known example is Starbucks. The first Starbucks store, enterprise dedicated exclusively to ground coffee and coffee machines in the beginning, was located in Seatle, city with a maritime tradition and one of the principal ports of the country. That why they looked for a name typical from the seas and adopted the name of one of the characters of the Moby Dick novel (icon of the maritime novels) called Starbucks, a quaker for the Nantucket island.

The second is the corporate identity achieved through the design of visual elements that accomplish the brand identification.

The branding differentiates 3 types of elements: symbol, logo and communicative name:The symbol is an expression through a graphics or a designed image. In the Starbucks example, they used

the icon of the sea stories, the mermaid. Then they looked for iconic images representign the mermaids in the popular culture until the image actually known.

The logo is the enterpirse name that can be expressed by letters, abreviations, númbers, acronym. In the exmaple, the logo was constructed base don Starbucks coffee (originally was Starbucks coffee, tea and spices).

The communicative name (or fantasy name) is the client recognizes, usually different to the legal one. In the example, the fantasy name is Starbucks Coffee or just Starbucks and the legal one, Starbucks Coffee Chile S.A. (for Chile).

From this, it follows two characteristics of special concern: the typo and colors that identify the brand. A lot of experts on the field say typo and colors have their own spirit and communicate to the brain imperceptible messages through conscious mind (neocortex) instead of the strong ones through the subconscious and the unconscious (limbic and reptile brains). So here is their vital importance.

A simpler and economic way to determine this it is to gather the team and collaborators and think in your enterprise or business as an only one person, describing it with all of its characteristics on a paper sheet.

If the brand essence and identity and client tastes and preferences are achieved, the correct image architecture can be created with clarity and effectiveness.

This will allow the further positioning that engage communication with the service experience and finally a brand loyalty. This brings a preference safety in front of the market competitors.

“If it’s not unique is part of the mainstream, if it’s part of the mainstream it will die with the mainstream.”The next step is designing the business idea. A lot of experts talk about in the center of life and human

experience is the design that shows the world in differents points of view, therefore all and each one of our beliefs must be transformed in actions.

As the brand image architecture was created, now the efforts must be concentrated on designing and bringing down ideas on paper.

If a name, symbol, colors and typo was chosen we are ready for designing the corporate image with all these elements. This visual design will allow identify the brand with naturality, thanks to the unique image. Now having a unique and coherent corporate image, this must be adapted for the diferent communication channels, stores, offices, web, social media, colaborators uniforms, etcetera. The idea is to generate coherence.

For having a correct image at stores and offices, all must be clean and ordered. If it not occurs all the efforts could be useless because the little details. The deatails are important because nobody likes eating in a dirty or poor organized store. It is rare to enter in a store that shows saturated showcases with products or a disordered office. These things don’t give the correct image and they can blow away all the marketing efforts.

2.4. Goods or products.

First, it must be check over if the product fulfill the client needs and wishes. Its vital to understang what it is important to someone and for someone else not. Then, what does it give the value to the client? The product must be functional.

The packaging is very important. It depends finally on the product the needs what the packaging is fullfilling like protecting the content, facilitate manipulation and inform the manipulation conditions.

It must accomplish functionality. If a packaging or container don’t protect the content, regardless beauty, it won’t be effective. It must facilitate manipulation with organic and ergonomic designs.

The design fulfill an important role in the product differentation. This starts for the external image.Seth Godin, writer of the Purple Cows, dictates a metaphor that can be shared. Generally, the cows are

boring just everyone has seen one. They don’t have anything new, the same colors, sounds, smells and at certain point of time seeing the landscape they are simply invisibles to the everyone eyes because they don’t have any new to show. But, what will iy happen if we see a purple cow, the attention of any person will be totally captured by the out of the ordinary cow.

Last is the POR material (Point of Purchase). These materials are used at POS and they correspond to the implements for promoting the brand.

The POS must be understand as strategic outposts inside the business. At POS is finally where the transactions are generated allowing the entry of money. They are fundamental and the 70% of the purchase decisions occurs there.

At POS must be considered its location that must be visible and by hand, the fitments must be creative and the merchandising must have the same corporate image than the brand.

Thinking that the POP material is for the client, the tastes of the business owner must be differentiated from the clients tastes, they are not always the same. But if a business want to be successful, the final word is given to the client.

The intangible products like software must have a physical manifestation for an easier connection with the client. It must be tangible for the brain.

2.5. Services

In services the case is different because normally they don’t have a physical manifestation. But a physical concept can be designed, i. e. every professional advice must be registered on a inform and it must be given with the corporate image and in a atractive way.

2.6. The Experiencie

With the business know-how, taking the business strengths and using the critical success factors it must be generated an experience strategy for the client. The goods and services must totally satisfy the needs and wishes giving a satisfaction experience. The human being buys for different kinds of need, normally by an emptyness feeling or fear. The client experience seeing the communications, the brand, buying and enjoying the product must be unique.

People don’t buy goods and services but experiences, new emotions, feelings, dreams, memories. This must be used for increasing the happiness and satisfactions of the clients.

With this pillar we seek differentation and the client satisfaction. It’s good to remember that a happy and satisfied client will be more open to pay out larger amounts of money because the trust factor will be installed in his brain.

With the service experience and an investigation over the clients it can be detected lacks on services. Thisis simplier and it not requires much effort. Another possibility is having a mistery shopper that tests the service. This could be useful for knowing how much positive is the experience using the service or product, purchasing on a store and the well served the clients are by the executives or sellers.

A case when the experience is fundamental: going to a restaurant is a experience from the store location, the table, ambient, to the music. But the most notorious is the waiter service. If the attention it’s not fast and the waiting takes more than 30 minutes or if the order takes more than 45 minutes affects the satisfaction level. If the service is bad or they are bad-mannered, the client is less disposed for returning to this restaurant eventhough the food is exquisite.

The treatment and user experience is a key factor in the success of any industry. Everyone wants well treated and the correct things will be done in a prudent time. If the expectations won’t be achieved a person can be replaced by another one with better performance.

The greatest restaurants and hotels in the world have very high service policies. The most common is that all the employees must smile. Every time a person is atended regardless location and hour they will always atended with a smile. These experience is so powerful that the satisfaction indexes are very good and it always is highlighted that the collaborators are smiling. Is this policy expensive to apply?

Then identify the falencies in the shopping experience, atention, restraint, among others.See how with your market knowledge can suffocate these points of insatisfaction. You will see the detection

it’s not very complicated and the solutions is easier. Normally, the solutions requires a human commitment that every person is disposed to pay.

Four different processes can be identified in the experience: our products and services, the sales, the internal process involving a client and client attention. Products and Services: they must be tested constantly. Are they really satisfying the needs of the clients? If

not, an investigation must be performed about the client needs. Sales: people like to buy, specially a certain gender but not always the buy experience is satisfactory. Some

process are tedious and bureaucratic, they have too many procedures. The sale process must be reviewed but in the client point of view. Then their buy processes can be inspected looking for failure critical points and their sales force can be trained. This is vital for achieving a project objectives: agile sale processes must be looked for a satisfactory shopping experience to the public, stop trying to sell more and start to sell better.

Processes: it must to be known to look for enterprise internal processes that affect directly the client and impact their satisfaction, looking for effect over the client happiness. Questioning, what must the client do before and after buying us? Some enterprises ask for requisites or documents for contract a service. Are they all necesary? Can the process be expedited? If an effective and agile way is looked for redesigning these procedures, the project life will be easier.

Client attention: this a critical factor of differentation, how the client is atended. These experience is determinant, people don’t go where it’s bad treated, people don’t visit uncomfortable palces, shoppers don’t buy where they don’t be considered.

Culture and society evolves and today they are changing more faster than ever in history and it’s not posible enterprises can’t adjust to these cchanges. Who don’t change ends extincted. Who don’t evolve with his environment it’s out of the game and it will be ending obsolete.

Then, two process exist for those already buyed the brand. These are: Post-sale is totally necesary if you want have feedback about your products and services. Besides the general

strategy, it can be known the use of the product or the advance on the giving services. It’s important to note a good post-sale shows a concern about the client and this generates loyalty.

The restraint in the business world not always work well. Sometimes services are not functioning or they are bad implemented, the product fails or it is being misused and it’s necesary a contention plan (yes, they are as important as an evacuation plan of an building on fire but here you must don’t give up). This plan must look for solving client problems not creating new.

It’s a critical point to créate plans for these two cases, writing down what must be said, how to act, what must not be said. Finally these must be communicated to the departamento in charge.

These two points after a sale are vital for generating a direct and close bond with people who buy a determinated brand. Always it’s good to be aware that clients are people too that feel and think like everyone.

3. Applying and measuring.

Once having all the tasks to do, the next procedure is to prioritize what must be do in the first place, measuring activities on the short, mid and long term. Then measure advances with indicators and people responsable of any typical.

Acknowledges

On these lines, I give thanks to Phd Felisa Córdoba for her trust on my project, to Angélica Segura for her edition and company and to Rodrigo Ojeda for the translation to english. Wihtout you this would not be posible.