Marketing with A3 – Declining Workshop Attendance (left side)

Many times when creating an A3 (11” x 17” paper size) it is just easier to use a couple of 8 ½ x 11 pieces of paper. What I really like about it, is that it separates the planning side from the Do-Check-Action side. (Sample A3). It is also very symbolic. Even if someone jumps to implementation, we can put it on a post-it-note and place it aside. Below is an example of the left side of a problem solving A3.

Marketing with A3
A3 Problem Solving Report

Control #: 10-2300

Team: Workshop Marketing Team Date: 4/15/10

Title/Theme: A3PS – Declining Workshop Attendance

Background/Definition: In the past, we have averaged 80% capacity in workshop attendance. The past several years we have noticed a significant decline in attendance to only 50% capacity. We have tried increased PR, advertising and new social media ventures. Without an increase in attendance, we will have to either reduce the program size or cut one of the cities from the program.

Breakdown the Problem:

Breaking down the problem, we separated the different conferences by location (when is by city/event) and looked at the greatest decreases using the 4Ws. We found that our greatest area of concern was the Austin show – the A3 workshop – attended by service people that we acquire primarily through our existing database. Since Gemba was the process flow of the database, we reviewed that value stream and actually found no significant difference in the way the Austin workshop was handled versus the other workshops. However, there was a significant lack of inquiries from the mailings.

Target: Service Database for the Austin workshop needs to be increased by 50%

Determine Cause/Analysis:

Since Austin was the original workshop and had been well attended for many years the database lacked the segmentation that the others had and also a much lower percentage (50%) of healthcare professionals incorporated in it. That made are original target assumption misleading. It was not an increase needed in the database but better control and creating a better mix of the database.

Root Cause was determined and we are ready for the other side (page) of the A3. In practice this is a great time for a break. Strategically placing you breaks in the development of your A3 is important. If this is close to the end of the day, tell everyone to go home or try playing a few ping pong matches. Whatever you do, create a break and disengage from the conversation completely. Another time for a short break was after you set the target and before root cause analysis. Following my own advice the other side of the A3 will be posted tomorrow.