Readers of my blog have read my explanations of the Lean Marketing House and how your Marketing Channels determine your number of pillars and the size of each. You can suffice with just one pillar if it is big enough and strong enough to hold up the roof but the other day I realized that I had forgotten to describe what I will now call the Forgotten Pillar. Continuous Learning in the Lean Marketing House means the Ultimate Marketing System. This is a term coined by Duct Tape Marketing and actually includes their workbook and CD’s explaining their system. Most marketing plans and systems fail if adequate training is not provided.
Lean Six Sigma Practitioners always realize that the training is what makes the processes work. 
Without, old habits stay the same and new habits are never developed. Nor are these new habits expanded to the greatest extent. It happens in marketing too. Marketing that works today is all about authenticity, customer touch points and the connection of those touch points. You have to be everywhere, but you also have to be you. Perfect marketing is less important because people really are seeking you. Even from an organization viewpoint, they are expecting a human and personal experience.
How do you go about creating this new wave of marketing in your organization? My advice is that you have to create a continuous learning cycle within your company. This is best done by starting out with a learning system, a structured program and a Marketing coach. This is self-serving to say the least, but it is what I truly believe.
I use the Duct Tape Marketing System as the learning system and the structured program to get someone started. I am not going to go through the entire program, you can do that here, but it will set you on the road to success and provide a foundation for you to build from. Without going through these necessary steps, you will never fully defined your marketing needs and just continue to respond to the marketing idea of the week. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I get weekly a call from an Ad Rep telling me about the next greatest deal. Please take note: It’s not about the money, it’s about the target!
Now, the coach is pretty important. I am not going to talk about that even Tiger Woods has a coach, you to keep you on track, hold you accountable and all that garbage. I am going to discuss about someone that has been there done that in the real world. I am also going to mention another cliché: Talk the talk and walk the walk. I can only talk for myself, but I will put myself up against any other coach in the sense that I walk my system. I believe in the Duct Tape Marketing philosophies. I practice them. If you think that is not true, just look at my Tag cloud on the left. Look at my Alexa score, Hubspot rating and Twitter feeds. They are better than the vast majority of corporations and certainly better than 99.5% of other coaches and consultants. Why is that? I simply follow the practices that John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing has taught me. Have I added a few tricks of my own? Certainly – Authenticity, Personalization, Differentiation and building your Core Message is what I have learned in my Continuous Learning cycle. What can you gain from that expereince? You will simply short-circuit your learning curve by having a coach on board!
Do you have Continuous Learning going on in your Marketing?