The power of Kata differs than most Lean thinking. Most efforts with Lean in Sales and Marketing focuses on the use of the “Why” question; solving problems and offering solutions. Kata focuses on the “What” creating situational awareness. At the basic level (Why) and what I might call the commodity trap, we still need to solve the problem. More importantly, we need to understand our customers desired outcomes, the job that needs to be done.
Marketing Katas have come about from my work as a Lean practitioner specializing in Service Design and Sales and Marketing. During this time, I have developed a process of using Kata in my marketing as the basic way I become involved with clients. Unless you have developed a standard practice, marketing is not anything more that an experiment. Kata is a way of doing. A way of developing structured practice routines. We use Kata to develop our Marketing/Sales Experiments (campaigns seem like I am going to war), Digital Marketing Practices, and a host of other marketing efforts. As marketing has become more and more digital, having a structured routine before automation is imperative. Adhering to the USA Principle (Understand-Simplify-Automate)
At a higher-level, the practice of the Marketing Kata allows us to create powerful outcome-based brands and discover markets for disruptive technology. It positions us to solve something else, an unmet need. This comes from a series of “What” questions that are more powerful than the 5 Why’s.
The Best Sales Question is not Why, it is What
Most of us including myself was introduced to Kata through Mike Rother’s work documented in the book, Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results.
Join us at the Lean Marketing Lab and learn how to extend your sales and marketing to include the practice of Kata.