Marketing Katas have come about from my work as a Lean practitioner specializing in Service Design, 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 other marketing efforts. As marketing has become increasingly digital, having a structured routine before automation is imperative. Adhering to the USA Principle (Understand-Simplify-Automate)
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.
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. Join us at the Lean Marketing Lab and learn how to extend your sales and marketing to include the practice of Kata.
A few things about me:
My work recently has been in SaaS discipline working with organizations in the Business Development area and onboarding external groups such as affiliate, re-sellers and developing reward programs. I have also managed and worked closely with sales and marketing teams and even been in that department for some. I have become highly proficient in building and implementing Business, Marketing, and Project Plans with an emphasis on simplicity and execution. Creating an experience in combining core business strengths into a brand strategy along with Lean Startup and Business Model Generation Techniques.
A few areas of interest:
- Started a manufacturing company with 2 file cabinets and created a 5 million dollar company in 3-years, sold it in 5-years to my largest distributor.
- Took over a 1.6 million dollar manufacturing company and left 6-years later when it was at 12 million and paid out 6 to 7-figure profits on an annual basis.
- Worked for a SaaS company in Precision Ag that has grown 3-fold in the 18 months I have been associated with it in the capacity of Business Development.
- Worked with IT Companies, E-commerce, and several other Cloud-based companies.
- Developed and implemented workflow engagements for lead generation, support platforms (like Zen Desk) and onboarding user programs.
- Worked with various Professional Services, including Information Technology, Microsoft Partners, Real Estate, Financial, Quality, Agriculture, Automotive, Medical, and others.