On the path to build your brand, there are always new developments that force you to consider whether you should stay the course or make an adjustment. But how do you know when it’s time to make a pivot? And what can you do to make sure you stay aligned with your core brand strategy principles?
This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food & Bev Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva sits down with Alan Goodman, a Six Sigma Black belt, Instructional Chair for the Quality Engineering and Technology Department at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, as well as the founder of A Goodman’s Desserts. In other words, the perfect person to talk to about making a pivot and improving efficiency to deliver value using Lean principles.
The Lean Framework
“Lean is a methodology, or principle, that can be used anywhere,” Alan says, “it can be used at home, it can be used in any industry,” it’s even being used in the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process. Alan’s wife, also a Six Sigma Black Belt, even used Lean principles to plan their wedding.
Lean begins with gaining a deep understanding of who your customers are and what they need. Look at the themes in customer comments and reviews, for example. Listen to your customers. Next, you need to consider how you could change your business model: your sales channel, your product offerings, your distribution to better meet those needs over time.
Alan shared these Lean Principles to get started:
- Create a process map: a list of each step of your processes. This is about getting everything out of your head and documented on paper so you can look at it.
- Follow the 5 S’s: Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. With your processes down on paper, this is about refining them and maximizing them.
- Ask the Five Whys: Use this line of questioning to get to the root cause of the problem. For example…Why doesn’t your car start? The battery is dead. Why is the battery dead? The alternator isn’t working. Why is the alternator not working? The alternator belt has broken. Why is the alternator belt broken? It was used for too long without being replaced. Why wasn’t the alternator belt replaced? Because we didn’t follow the service schedule (root cause).
- Examine the 8 Wastes: Looking at these eight areas of common wastes in your business can improve defects, overproduction, waiting, motion, inventory, transportation, extra processing, and unused talent.
Listen to the full episode for more information, as Alan really breaks down the specifics of each step and how he uses them in his own baking business as well as in the courses he teaches.
Visit Alan’s website for details on his upcoming webinar to really dig into how you can use Lean Principles to help you pivot and add value efficiently in your business, which staying true to your vision for building your brand.
Now, let’s go shake up shopping carts!
In This Episode:
- How Alan got started baking desserts.
- How you can use the Lean Framework for just about anything, from vaccine distribution to wedding planning.
- Why listening to your customers is so important.
- Where to look for customer feedback.
- How to map your processes so you can look at them.
- 4 Lean Principles that will help you today by examining and refining your business processes.
Resources: