Can process improvement be used to improve top-line growth, or is it just limited to cost reduction?
Six Sigma can be used for both top and bottom line results. Top-line growth is the most interesting application of process improvement. In manufacturing, we add value to raw materials. Walk through a production plant, and you can see the value. It is tangible in the form of inventory. In marketing and sales, we add value to people in the market place (not just our own company). The value created is in someone’s head. This means helping people in the marketplace to move through the stages necessary to realize their problems and solutions and to take action. In general, the job of marketing and selling is to create a transition. You are trying to transition people who have never heard of your company, the problems you can solve, or the solutions you offer into people who are ready, willing, and able to spend their time and money with your company. When a sales process is properly designed, the value added can be measured in terms of the actions you are able to get people to take. In this
