Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for improving opportunities and processes. Historically, manufacturers have used Six Sigma as a framework to increase performance and decrease process variations. As you might have guessed, this improved a lot of areas including profits, employee morale, and quality of products or services.
In recent years, the Six Sigma framework has been adopted by other industries and adapted to their needs. And as we do, marketers also hopped on the Six Sigma bandwagon!
When applied to digital marketing, Six Sigma allows marketers to see problems through the eyes of customers and improve upon existing process problems.
The problem-solving approach that drives Six Sigma is referred to as the DMAIC, a five-phase method: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control.
Along with the DMAIC method, there are various Six Sigma certification levels, referred to as “belts” (yes, exactly like martial arts belts), that marketers have adapted to help categorise problems based on their complexity and how much effort is required to solve them.
In this article, we’ll cover quick wins that you can start implementing in your digital marketing efforts based on project complexity.
Balancing Strategy with Quick Wins
Quick wins are opportunities for fast success that require minimum effort but offer significant benefits. These opportunities provide a foundation to build on, generating further and quicker victories that align with your long-term objectives.
Quick wins are categorised into three levels: Black Belt Projects, Green Belt Projects, and Yellow Belt Projects.
Black Belt Projects
Black Belt Projects are highly complex business problems. These projects tend to be more labour-intensive and require higher-order data collection and analysis tools to solve. These problems are worth looking into because they offer astounding business benefits once they are done and dusted.
Black Belt Projects could take up to six months (or more) to complete. An example is a poor, outdated website that doesn’t have the proper structure, lacks quality and is confusing to users.
The solution? A custom website re-design and large-scale search engine optimisation (SEO). But before you can execute the re-design and implement SEO, you’ll need a website audit to analyse page performance and identify what needs to be changed.
This will not only provide a visually-appealing website but also attract quality traffic, boost conversion rates and drive revenue.
Green Belt Projects
Green Belt Projects are moderately complex business problems. You’ll need to leverage the DMAIC method to identify the cause of the problems and figure out a solution to each of those problems for significant business benefits.
These projects could take up to four to six months to complete. An example is a lack of social media presence that contributes to poor customer engagement and brand loyalty.
The solution? Build a robust social media strategy that includes business goals, target audience insights, competitive analysis, and a social media audit. From there, you can start creating content that is optimised for the social media platforms that you choose and is tailored to your target audience.
Growing a social media presence is vital to making authentic connections with audiences. Authenticity builds trust and over time, trust increases consumer receptiveness and drives sales.
Yellow Belt Projects
Yellow Belt Projects are less complex business problems. They are what we like to call low-hanging fruits. These should be quick to solve with simple data analyses and can be completed within a few weeks.
An example is a low-performing landing page that isn’t converting leads. The solution? Analyse landing page performance by looking at key metrics like page views, bounce rate, traffic source and conversion rate. You’ll also need to review the page structure, content relevance and quality, and your calls to action.
Use your findings to optimise elements on the landing page to improve performance, convert leads and maximise returns.
Take Advantage of Opportunities
Start implementing Six Sigma quick wins in your digital marketing projects and improve upon existing process problems. And take advantage of these opportunities to build a foundation and generate quicker wins that align with your long-term, strategic business goals.
At DGA, we are passionate about helping businesses grow and thrive. Visit our Digital Services page to find out what solutions we can provide.
If you want to learn more about how you can leverage Six Sigma quick wins or need a helping hand in growing your business, our team is only an email or a phone call away!
