Your Marketing Process Must Address Every Step

Your Marketing Process Must Address Every Step

Six Sigma is about process control. It is not about stifling creativity, but facilitating and channeling it effectively.

Almost all marketing functions involve processes intended to influence a purchase decision. Let’s explore a common marketing communications channel – product packaging.

Most marketers of retail products consider packaging to be an integral part of the marketing arsenal. Bringing that packaging to life on a shelf requires a process. Here are some of the elements:

Graphics design. The package usually must conform to some overall guidelines that preserve and promote the brand identity, perhaps including color, font, etc.

Packaging specifications. The package must survive shipment and still look good on the shelf.

Product features and benefits. Most packaging will list the product selling points in a manner consistent with the brand and company messages.

Labeling. Labeling requirements may include weight, UPC codes, certificate of origin, etc. Food packaging may require a nutrition disclosure label.

While this is only a brief listing of elements involved in a retail package, it helps to illustrate the many processes and sub-processes involved.

Each of the processes above presents a chance for error.

One simple example involves the bar code. I was involved with a new product for one of the largest retailers in the world. We checked that the code numbers printed directly below the actual vertical bar codes on the packaging were correct. However, we did not use a scanning device to see if the numbers matched the bar code itself.

In fact, the bar codes did not match the numbers – incurring a large cost to re-mark the packages.

This is a good example of what can go wrong when a process does not undergo Six Sigma scrutiny to ensure quality. We should have started with the most basic of all Six Sigma mantras – understanding the process and all of the elements that constitute its successful conclusion. In this case, a strong understanding of the bar code development process would have helped avoid the costly redesign.