Q&A with Scott Fuson (Dow Corning)

 

 

MarketingNPV (MNPV): What's it like to be responsible for marketing within a Six Sigma company?

Scott Fuson: Six Sigma works for marketing in a lot of different ways. First of all it brings the voice of the customer to the company. It's a terrific starting point because it brings marketing to all corners of the company without actually saying the word "marketing."

The second thing that it does is give us discipline in setting strategic improvement goals for all levels of the company. For example, in our executive committee we use Six Sigma methods to set objectives. Our Marketing Excellence group has done the same thing, as have other parts of the company.

The third contribution is true improvement in our marketing processes. We use the tools in every facet of performing our daily jobs. The big difference is that before, someone might do something really terrific, but then change jobs or position and the great work would fade away. Six Sigma makes those improvements sustainable; they don't go away because they are built right into the process.

MNPV: Does it really impact your strategy or more the way you execute?

Fuson: Our business is capital intensive. For many years we viewed ourselves as a manufacturing company and so typically our strategy would be built on optimizing capital resources. Well Six Sigma has completely changed that and driven us towards a marketing model. We use Six Sigma to help identify and define three or four key priorities each year, all of which share the same metrics around growth, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Those priorities drive everything that we do.

Getting the voice of the customer into the strategy was the plan from Day 1 by the top management of the company. I sit on the company's Six Sigma steering committee, and the one thing we struggle with a little bit is when you have a back-office project — something that is deeply internal to the organization — the questions need to be asked, "Who is the customer? Where did you get your information?" And early on in our Six Sigma evolution the answer many times was "Internal clients." Well, that is not what the whole thing is about. We had to get beyond that quickly.

I don't care if it's marketing or finance or manufacturing. I just like the voice of the customer coming out of the company from all perspectives. So I'm hesitant to really to put a ribbon on top of the package and say it's a marketing thing. This is a customer thing and a company thing, and it's going to grow our business.

MNPV: Is your staff on board with Six Sigma?

Fuson: Yes and no. We have had some mindset challenges that we have overcome over time because something gets implemented and then grows the business or reduces the cost so people can see the value. We have been into it for about four to five years now. It takes time because you have to have sales, customer service, and marketing participate actively, and it's a big time commitment. Getting the time commitment can be a bit challenging when people are trying to hit their target goals.

Fortunately we built Six Sigma into the infrastructure in the company. It is our methodology, not a T-shirts and coffee mug program. It has to be woven into everything we do.

The cultural implications are interesting, too, because our debates have progressed beyond my end-view of the world vs. yours. Now we let the facts and data and the voice of the customer do the talking. It's the trump card of everything. It's undeniable.

That has also reinvented how we sell. The old sales model was "I own the customer and I am the gatekeeper and I will control access to the customer." What we have done now is to bring the whole back office to the customer. We are now totally integrated to help customers solve problems and not push products. That forces more people from more parts of the company to have contact with the customer.

MNPV: Does the rigid measurement focus ever impinge upon creativity?

Fuson: I like to think it's a little bit like the game of basketball. Without the rules of the game, there would be almost no creativity. Within that discipline, the creativity is wide open so it gets you to focus your creativity on the things the customer wants. It gets really fun. Six Sigma actually forces you to get outside the company where you can see all sorts of things that are different and unique that will meet the needs of the customer. That helps inspire the intuitive side in a disciplined approach.

MNPV: In hindsight, would you have done anything different in implementing Six Sigma into marketing?

Fuson: One thing that we have learned to do is adapt and adjust as we go along. We change very quickly. It's part of our culture.

Another is in asking for time commitments. If we ask for time commitments of 20% or 30% from marketing sales professionals, we get resistance that in hindsight is meaningless anxiety. You don't need a rigid 25%. You just need input and participation to try to get the benefit of their experience and perspective into the project.

MNPV: What advice would you give other marketing executives who might be struggling to get the most out of Six Sigma?

The first thing I would say is get it to your customers, fast. I'm not talking about teaching them Six Sigma per se, but actually going in and applying the methods with your customers because it really gives you a lot of credibility in terms of the discipline and the measurements. The relevant metrics to your customers are where they save their money or grow their business.

Some people might perceive that as high risk, but if you really understand it and know it well, exposing people from your back office to the customer creates new avenues for growth.