Quality In Search by Matt LeVeque is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.semoe.com.
Nov
2
Online Marketing ‘Catchball’: Deployment Strategy & Knowledge Exchange
November 2, 2007 |
Over the past few weeks both Industry Week Magazine and iSixSigma.com have published articles on the Japanese strategic planning methodology called Hoshin Kanri also known as Hoshin planning. Hoshin planning is a six step process for setting long term (3-5 years) management goals and objectives. Long term goals are linked to lower-level daily activities and kept in control by a regular review process. The success of this type of strategic planning is based largely on having a solid Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) process cycle in place.
For the most part the Online Marketing industry is not ready for Hoshin just like I suggest that it’s not ready for a full blown Six Sigma initiative. However, there is a step within the Hoshin process called ‘catchball’ which I think makes a lot of sense for knowledge exchange between the various online marketing channels. As described by Bob Page at PlanBase Inc, catchball is
“a communication process in which parties engage in a series of information exchanges about the means for achieving a particular objective. The purpose for the exchange is to build consensus around the best approach for achieving an objective. Catchball is based on the belief that the best approach will evolve from the back and forth exchange of information between the person who is responsible for achieving the objective and the persons who will be most influential in achieving it. The secondary benefit from using catchball is a higher degree of commitment to achieve the objective.”
In terms of it’s application within an Online Marketing department or agency, catchball is an important process to consider for enhancing the exchange of ideas between decision makers and the more task oriented team members. Decision makers/ managers within a department responsible for SEM would have the responsibility of planning the implementation of Paid Search. With catchball, once an outline of the plan is drafted, the plan would be ‘tossed’ to the lower-level Paid Search expert for review and comments, then tossed back to the strategic manager for additional review and comments. This process of tossing ideas back and forth happens until consensus on the best approach for the client is met. The benefit in this process is that all parties, from the bottom-up, are engaged in the planning.
Additionally, the exchange of ideas in the spirit of catchball can also occur between departments responsible for various online marketing channels such as SEO, Paid Search, Affiliate Marketing and Social Media. If the fit is right for the client, a deployment strategy and exchange of ideas between online marketing channels in this fashion is by far the most productive and adds the most value. For example, a thorough analysis of top performing paid search keywords or a review of search query reports could be applied to benefit affiliate marketing keyword bidding or content writing for SEO. Alternatively, tossing ideas back and forth between SEO and Paid Search could help identify landing page content to test in ad creatives and keyword bidding.
The cultural benefit to applying a catchball mentality is that by keeping everyone on the team engaged in the process and the ideas flowing freely between online marketing channels, you begin to develop a learning organization. Organizational learning allows a company or an agency to adapt to market changes and trends and grow in the process. And, in some cases, help to influence the direction of an industry. Without the ability to learn and adapt as an organization lends itself to stagnation and possible failure.
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[...] Deployment Strategy and Knowledge Exchange by Matt LeVeque - “The cultural benefit to applying a catchball mentality is that by keeping everyone on the team engaged in the process and the ideas flowing freely between online marketing channels, you begin to develop a learning organization” [...]