Viral Marketing Tips

Viral marketing is a technique that is used by many people, yet it is still relatively unknown. Many people hear the words "viral marketing" or "viral traffic", and think that it has something to do with a virus. Fortunately, viral marketing and viral traffic have nothing to do with people spreading viruses via email, etc.

Viral marketing is simply defined. It is any strategy that is implemented to encourage people to pass on a marketing message to others; which in turn creates the potential for growth and more people seeing your message. Viral marketing also increases targeted traffic.

The only way viral marketing is similar to a virus is in the way it can expand and replicate at a very quick pace. This can cause for viral traffic to pick up, and your marketing message to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time.

Before you begin a strategy to increase viral traffic or targeted traffic you must understand that some strategies work better than others. But if you put the proper amount of research into your viral traffic strategy you will increase your odds of coming up with a successful program. There are a couple of important tips that you should keep in mind when trying to increase viral traffic, they are as follows:

1. The most important aspect to remember when trying to increase viral or targeted traffic is to give something away for free. Everybody likes free stuff, and if you are giving something away that people like there is a better chance that your recipients will pass on your marketing message. The word free alone will increase your viral traffic. As far as how long it will take to increase traffic is not as easy to determine. Some viral marketing programs take off right away, where as others build slowly. It all depends on your strategy, and what you are giving away.

2. To increase viral traffic you must also make sure that your message is easily transferable from one person to the next. You will never increase your viral traffic if you have to depend on somebody else to pass along your information. It should be automatically done via email, websites, or even software downloads. The bottom line is that you need to make sure your viral marketing message is concise, to the point, and easily transferable




3. Before putting a strategy in place to increase viral traffic you will want to make sure that you can handle the traffic and requests that come along with it. This goes along with doing your research before starting. If you cannot handle the new viral traffic, all your hard work will mean nothing in the end.

4. One of the easiest ways to increase viral traffic is to use existing networks. In other words, implement your strategy to touch base with people who will be interested, and therefore pass your information onto other people in their network. This will ensure that you get a good group of targeted traffic to take notice of your project. You need to be giving away your free gifts to people that will use them, so targeted traffic is very important. By working within a network you will have a better chance of driving up targeted traffic, which will help your strategy spread.

5. Do not rely on yourself to do all of the work when it comes to attempting to increase viral traffic. Even though you will be putting the overall strategy into effect, you should still be able to use other resources to increase targeted traffic. Affiliate programs and press releases are two great ways to increase targeted traffic without having to put in too much work.

Overall, viral marketing is a great way to get exposure and increase profit. If your strategy does a good job of bringing in targeted traffic there is no reason that you should not be able to accomplish the goals that you have set forth.

Internet Home Base Business Review

About a year ago I lost my job due to circumstances beyond my control. It was a big ugly corporate story that I won't bother to get into right now. Let's say that it was probably the best thing to happen to me. I was tired, and mentally burnt to a crisp. If you saw 'Office Space', you know where I'm coming from. I was in an unrewarding job, and just a slave to 'The Man'. When the office was closed I was afraid of the future. How would I find a job? Will I lose my car? Wait a tic...why should I rely on someone else to support me? I need to take care of myself.

When I lost my job I began to notice all of the 'make money on the internet' ebooks for sale. Maybe they were beginning to boom, or maybe I just had more time to notice. I'm a very skeptical person. I would look at many of the different programs out there, but I would never buy one. I always felt like someone was out to separate me from my money. After a few weeks my bank account was getting thinner, and I had to do something. I purchased one program, and it helped....well for awhile. I read the book a few times before putting it to use. I really saw the value of the program when I went to put it in use. Many of the websites that were mentioned in the book were no longer in use, and the systems that were mentioned were just out of date. Yeah, I got burned. I was frustrated, and put the whole internet home business on the back burner. I always felt there was a way to make it work, but didn't quite know how.

Fast forward a few months, and I was talking to a friend about my internet based misfortunes. He laughed because he was trying the same thing, but didn't want anyone to know about it. He felt like a fool for trying, but if it worked out he would be financially set. I asked him what he was using. He mentioned the Rich Jerk program. Great, a pompous guy telling me how much more money he has than me. Just what I need. He told me that things were working out for him. He wasn't making a killing...yet, but his income was growing each month. Ok, so I'd give it one more crack. Misery love company, right? A long story short....I'm not miserable. The Rich Jerk program really gave me some useful information that I could use right away. They even built a website for me...FOR FREE! Yup, I didn't even have to mess around with any HTML code. I just told them what I wanted and I was off to making some cash. The last time that I checked they brought back the free website offer, but it's for a limited time. This is the real deal.

After some time I began to talk to more people about different internet home businesses. I've heard the horror and the success stories. I did notice a trend to the stories. The same three sites were mentioned, so I began to check them out a bit more. They are all very good, but certain types of people tend to excel with the different programs. It's just a matter of finding the one that is right for you. I've broken down the three best work from home bussiness on my website to make your searching easier. Take a look around and decide for yourself. I doubt you will find a better listing with out all of the marketing filler.

http://www.nomorerainydays.com

Avoid these advertising mistakes at all costs!

People have taken a number of approaches trying to do their own advertising ranging from silly all the way to insulting. These people choose there approach for various reasons. Some were ignorant about advertising and marketing while others were acting on incorrect information - usually in the form of cliches such as "sex sells." If you're in doubt, I can assure you that unless your business is in Nevada, sex does not sell. If you're going to handle your own advertising, here are a few things to avoid:

Pictures that have nothing to do with your product or service - If your company is in the carpet cleaning business there is no reason to have a picture of a baby. No one is going to say "What a cute baby, I think I want this company to clean my carpets." The same goes for pictures of sexy people (male or female) in provocative poses and little clothing.

Cheesy headlines - I actually saw an ad with a headline that said "We might be able to afford a bigger ad if you'd buy something from us." Yes, this will probably get someone's attention, but do you want to be remembered as the company that is having financial problems?

Illegible fonts - Most people will not take the time to decipher your ad when it is written in brush script, in which case, even the most persuasive copy is rendered useless. You want to use simple, clean fonts for headlines and body copy. Save the artistic fonts for accents and things of that nature.

On Networking Groups

Online networking web sites. Are they really networking and are they really working?

They have been springing up all over. They are based on contact management. They are direct in messaging, emailing, and even in the six degrees of separation. They go by many different names and have various methods of finding people. The problem with these sites is that they are not really networking. Do you disagree?

To be effective in networking requires building a relationship with another person. This is difficult to do through messages and email. If you have ever had a discussion with a person through email or instant messaging, I would like to ask if you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to actually pick up the phone to find out what a person was really talking about?

In relationships conversation is extremely important. The communication is key. The thing that we may not really pay attention to is the importance of tonal inflection in the voice and the added benefits of body language in expressing ourselves. These are the things that online networking is lacking.

Since the most important aspect of having a relationship with another person is based in trust, it is difficult to develop trust in someone that you have never seen nor heard. It is even more difficult to get a person to do business with you without some type of face to face contact.<




With this in mind, will these web sites last or are they merely a passing craze? Are they popular simply because we are looking for success in any way that it might come to us? Time will tell.

It is my advice that if you are looking for new contacts, step away from the desk and out into the community. Online networking is less effective for getting business than it is putting your resume online to get a job. All of the people are faceless and voiceless and no one really wants to do business with an email. Or do they? With the thousands of people out there who are selling what you need, including those in your own community, how do you decide what to buy? My guess is that you end up buying most premium products and services from someone that you have met in person, even if it is just a clerk in a store. I am of course excluding buying products through an online store.

So then what is the future of online networking? You are in control of it. Please take a moment and send me your opinion of online networking. Please be sure to tell me if you have ever gotten any business from it exclusively. I am guessing that you probably haven't and you probably won't.

Success on the Internet - 3 Crucial Steps

There are at least 3 important steps to a successful plan when working on the internet. These 3 steps can be applied to just about any plan, and when coupled with the right amount of determination and perseverance, will result in success! But remember, you must persevere through the dry spells and difficult times. Everyone has hard times and this is just a fact of life. The key is to keep working toward your goal and never give up.

Three Important Steps

1) Develop the Right Philosophy.

The first point is to develop the right philosophy. How you approach your business (and life) will determine your success or failure. Try to always be growing and expanding your horizons in some way. You might want to think about continuing your education or contributing to your local community in some way. (Make sure to set-aside enough money for personal development.)

Success University has a faculty of over 50 of the best personal development coaches available. Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Dennis Waitley are but a few of the coaches. The tuition is very reasonable.

Most successful people do not blindly follow someone else. They learn, evaluate, and make the necessary adjustments in their approach to career and life. Excellence is the goal, and continuous training and instruction are a very important part of the process.

As you continue to grow and develop, be sure to find other individuals who can help in the process. Good mentors are hard to come by, but indespensable when it comes to personal growth.

2) Decide What You 'Really" Want.

Determine your true inner desire and then do it! If you don't really desire to accomplish what it is you are currently doing, when the difficult times arrive you will simply quit.

It's a fact of life! Thousands of dollars are lost by people who invest in ill-suited programs which they soon quit. The inner desire and the "real" interest were not there in the first place




Always remember...to be successful you must first determine your true inner desire. Identify what it is that you really want in your career and life. The answers to these questions will lead you to success.

Always make sure you are committed to achieving what you desire. A lack of commitment is a sure way to insure you spend money without sufficient return on your investment. You always want a positive cash flow within 3 months of starting your business.

3) Take Action.

Do your homework, but by all means step out and do something. Not just anything,mind you...you can actually be busy and not accomplish anything.

Everything you do either takes you closer to, or farther away from your desired result.

Clearly see your target and take a straight line approach to reaching your target. Little diversions can be deadly to your business. While you are doing mindless tasks someone else is taking consistent action.

Consistent action in the right direction will produce results. It is the law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. In other words, you get what you deserve not what you need. Plant enough seeds and you will find growth. Ask enough people and someone will join or buy what you are offering.

Never leave the sight of a goal without taking action.

I look forward to seeing YOU at the top!

Bob Blessinger is a Director with Success University. http://bbb.successuniversity.com/new He is dedicated to personal and professional development and coaches hundreds to success on an ongoing basis

How To Gauge Your Ad Campaign?

The success of ad campaigns are not easy to gauge since you don't have any formula to help you in computing just how much of your postcards for example, has been converted into dollars. However, you may always apply trial and error methods but even this will not provide you with the exact figure of how much you have earned from your ad campaign. The trial and error method will only provide you with a rough estimate of how much returns in terms of sales your ad campaign has brought your business.

Some may tell you that you can assess or monitor your sales by the number of new customers that your business is getting everyday. But just how many business owners really do this? Probably very few and only those with very small businesses wherein their customers are composed of a couple of number of friends, relatives, neighbors that the business owner really gets in contact with most of the time. So just how would a business owner knew that the customers are new? There really is no way of telling unless of course the business owner religiously checks on her surveillance camera and take note of not so familiar faces that enters his establishment. Let's face it; it's very hard to remember every single customer that enters a store.

And so just how are you to gauge whether your ad campaign did work or not? Here's how: In every ad campaign you have a certain product or service that you wish to promote and so obviously an increase in the sales of that certain product or service will tell you that your ad campaign was successful. Now if the opposite happens, it only signifies that you ought to think of other ad campaign alternative to help you in promoting your products and services.




Another way is to compare your sales before, during and after your ad campaign. However, don't expect that you have an outright result because there are some ad drives that really take quite sometime before result can be achieved. One way of an effective ad campaign is one where a business offers discounted items attached to some of their highly saleable products are great in enticing customers to take hold of products and services a business is offering.

There are also some businesses that held raffle promos wherein they give away cars for prices. What they usually do is to place a bracket on every purchase of their customers. Telling customers that the higher the amount of purchase the more the quantity of raffle tickets given. And since most customers want to win the price they tend to purchase more to earn more tickets. This kind of ad campaign is generally employed by malls and other big businesses.

Lastly, before setting on any advertising or promotional expedition try to have a concrete and concise goal of what you want to achieve. It is important so that you will be guided not only in your choice of ad campaign but also to direct all your endeavors towards your goal.

Jobs Available Online

In the past, applying for a job meant looking through the classified ads in the local paper. The advent of the internet has created various job sites online making it easier for someone to apply for work in another state and in even in another country.

It has made the world a smaller place with everything at one's fingertip and just a click away. Most job sites will require a person to open an account, fill in certain information and deposit a resume.

These sites usually ask for pertinent information such as the person's name, age, address, contact number and social security number.

Other information that will be requested are educational background. Some companies prefer someone with a degree in a certain field or a licensed professional to do the job or perhaps a person who possesses a master's degree.

Employment history is also another thing that has to be mentioned. This includes the job description and highlights that you have experienced during your career.

With the information provided, some of these sites offer a service with a fee that will match your qualifications with jobs that are available and enable you to apply for that position. Some even promise to make your resume stand out over other applicants giving that person more priority over others but even that is a not a guarantee that one will get the job.




One also has to mention the salary the person is receiving both in the current and previous jobs as this is matched with the job the individual wants and the salary one desires.

These sites offer various jobs to people. It caters to professionals and teenagers who want to work either for full time, part time or on a per project basis.

Applying online is not only done through job sites. A lot of companies have websites that have a section on careers which one can access and check what openings are available. One simply has to go through the process of also giving certain information that is asked for and uploading one's resume.

The first impression employers or headhunters look at is one's resume. Given that many people apply, this usually takes these people a short period of time to review and screen certain applicants before going to the next phase of being scheduled and called for an interview.

There are many jobs available in the market. It just takes a little effort on one's part to sit down in front of a computer and look for the right job

Step Plan To Get Going With Networking

Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, feel like you have the gift of gab or just don't know how to make small talk, networking know-how is very important for your business success. There is a notion in business that I believe most of us subscribe to that says "all things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those they know, like and trust." And the key to this is obviously being able to develop relationships.

Think of networking as the cultivation of mutually beneficial, win-win relationships. In order to be win-win, there must be GIVE and take (notice the emphasis on give). Networking shouldn't be viewed as "events" where you go to sell your business. When effective networking is taking place, the parties involved actively share ideas, information, resources, etc.

Ok, so you know that you should be networking because it is one of the most cost-effective lead generation activities when used wisely, appropriately and professionally. But, maybe that seems easier said than done. Here's a seven step plan to really get going with networking for your business.

1. Check out several groups to find the best chemistry and perceived value. Most groups will allow you to come and visit at least a couple of times before you have to join. Go and ask around to find out why others have joined and what value they get out of belonging.

Resist the urge to just go join the Chamber of Commerce simply because everyone tells you that's what you need to do. If that's not where your target group can be found, then you might just be wasting a considerable amount of time (and money).

I'm not telling you not to join the Chamber. Just be clear about what you'd like to get out of this or any other group. If it's to find prospective clients or referral sources, then you need to be networking where those resources can be found.

2. When you find a group or two, join and go to all the meetings you can. Don't go just once or twice expecting things to happen and then if they don't quit. Building mutually beneficial, win-win relationships will take some time.

The contacts you make need to constantly see your face and hear your message. Continual contact with others over time will open up opportunities for you to go deeper and learn more about each others thoughts, ideas and capabilities in regards to your respective businesses.

Know, like, and trust generally only happens over time. Being regular and persistent will pay off.

3. Get involved - be visible. Do as much as you can to make yourself more visible within the organization. Volunteer to help with meetings, be on committees, or become a leader or board member.

Being involved does a couple of things for you and your business. First, you'll get more opportunities to establish connections and get to know some of the contacts you've made even better. Secondly, the higher the visibility you have in the group, the less you'll have to work to make new connections. Instead, as new people come into the group, they will likely seek you out because they view you as a leader within the organization.




4. Keep your circles of contacts informed. Don't just assume that running in to someone once a month (or even once a week) will cause them to start doing business with you or sending it your way. You need to let them know what's going on when you're not at that particular group in order to inform and educate them.

Send them invitations to your events or open houses. Send them email or letters to share big news or success stories, especially anything of relevance to them or those in their networks of contacts. If you believe that you have valuable ideas, information and resources to share with others, then doesn't this just make sense?

5. Work at GIVING referrals and sharing valuable information. That's right, you need to be willing to GIVE before you get. That means you need to get to know other members and what makes a good prospect for them. What kinds of information might you have access to that could be useful to them?

You may initially think you don't have much of value to share with others (besides your business and what you provide). Part of the key to getting good at giving is to not make assumptions. For example, don't assume that some basic resource (e.g., a web site) that you're aware of is familiar to someone you might be talking to just because they are the "expert" in that field. Be willing to ask if they know about the resource and ready to share if they don't.

Want to get better at actually giving referrals? Here's a simple question to ask someone you're connecting with. "How am I going to know when I meet a really good prospect for you?"

Just the fact that you are willing to explore giving will elevate your know, like and trust factor.

6. Focus on Quality, not Quantity, Quantity, Quantity. It's not necessarily about the number of connections you make, but about the quality of the ones you do make. Are they mutually beneficial, win-win relationships?

Quality connections will be identifiable because all involved parties will be actively sharing ideas, information, and resources. Yes, it is true that you need to spend some time and effort getting to know the other person(s) and what's important to them. But, you also need to be clear and actively thinking about what information or resources you want and need.

Staying in touch with and following up with a smaller number of quality relationships will generally be much more productive than trying to follow up with a larger number of superficial contacts.

7. Be persistent, but be patient. The goal of a networking event shouldn't necessarily be to come away with prospects every time you go out, but to come away with great connections. Networking usually takes time to get the relationships developed and nurtured.

Don't approach networking as a scary proposition or a necessary evil for being in business. Take the pressure off yourself and really focus on how you might be able to connect with someone you meet. Focus on them first and look for ways to be useful to them. As you become known as a connector you'll eventually be ready to reap what you sow.

Strategies For Successful Business Networking

There are a variety of organizations that run networking groups across the country. The largest group is probably BNI, which offers members the chance to attend weekly meetings and develop new professional relationships to help them grow their business. some chambers of commerce are now organizing "leads groups" for their members as well. These groups are intended to offer members a way to connect with each other and potentially refer each other business.

In most "leads groups" each group allows no more then one representative from any industry, so if the group has a mortgage broker other mortgage brokers have to join another group or wait for the seat to open up. The idea is that by restricting membership, you eliminate competition within the group.

The agenda at most structured networking meetings is pretty straightforward. Each member is given an opportunity to introduce themselves, then there is a short presentation by one or two members (each member gets the chance eventually). The meeting ends with members discussing potential referrals for each other. This means that most of the members get about one minute to present who they are and teach the other members of the group how to refer to them.

Most people do a great job of presenting themselves. However, most people do not think to ask for referrals. At most networking events, you are not expected to ask for a referral or explain what a good referral for you is. However, at a leads group it is not only acceptable, it is expected!

I am involved in a number of networking groups and have used the simple outline below to create my elevator pitch (quick introduction). When I deliver my elevator pitch to a leads group, my goal is to educate everyone in the room about my company and what I do, as well as to teach them the best way to refer others to me. In addition, I want to make sure I actually ask for a specific referral. I will go through each piece of the outline in detail, but here are the basics.

* Introduction
o Name
o Position + company name
o Location of the company
o Overview of services
* Tell a story
* Call to action

The introduction piece of your presentation should stay the same every time you give it. You might say something like, "My name is Joe Smith. I am mortgage broker at ABC mortgages in Anytown, USA. We offer a full line of residential and commercial mortgage products." You can add some additional detail, but you should really focus on keeping this short and on point




At each meeting, you will have the chance to differentiate yourself from the competition by telling a short story during your presentation. The story can be related to a specific challenge you helped a client overcome, a unique feature of your product or service, or you can simply talk about a new development at your company. Consider writing out your stories in advance so you know what you are going to say at each meeting. In addition, you can schedule the content so that the other members of your group learn more and more about you at each meeting. You need to focus on educating your group a little more each week.

The "call to action" is very important and the piece that most people overlook. You need to tell the other members of your group exactly what type of referral you are looking for. For example, our mortgage broker, Joe Smith, might say, "Today a good referral for me would be a Realtor at XYZ real estate company." Joe may also say, "Today a good referral for me would be anyone who purchased their home more then 10 years ago."

I alway recommend that your "call to action" is as specific as possible. If Joe stands up and says that a good referral would be anyone who needs a mortgage, the rest of the group will have a harder time thinking of people to refer. If Joe asks for an introduction to a specific person at a specific company, someone in the group may know that person or know someone at that company who can facilitate Joe's introduction. The more specific the request, the more likely it is to trigger someone else in the group's memory.

A last minute hint:

Keep focused on the networks of the people in the group, not on the people themselves. In other words, when you are participating in a networking or leads group, you should not focus on gaining the business of the people at the table. Instead, you should focus on gaining their trust so that they will refer you people in their network.

How to Answer Interview Questions

It seems that no matter what age you are there is nothing more stressful than going through an interview. Whether you have years of experience in your profession, or if you are a teenager looking for a summer job, the thought is there, how to answer interview questions.

There are the obvious right and wrong answers to some questions. The questions that are determining the basic skill level needed for a particular job. These are usually not the questions that determines who gets the job, because they will be covering the basic job description and basic duties. It is learning how to answer interview questions where the interviewer is looking for a certain attitude or skill that will determine if you will stand out among the others that are being interviewed. These are the questions that are the most difficult to prepare for. These are also the questions that you answer over and over again in your mind once you leave the interview room. I know that I have left many interviews wishing I had worded my answer differently or that I had elaborated on a certain answer. It is also important to learn how to answer interview questions in a way that lets the interviewer know that you will bring enthusiasm along with knowledge to the job.

There are a number of techniques and tips that are available that address how to answer interview questions. Some interview aids give a list of most asked questions so that you can practice an interview. I have found that the techniques that are the most helpful to me are those that also provide answers to how to answer interview questions. You want to be careful that you do not sound too rehearsed in an interview, but you want to be able to have the confidence to get across that that you know what you are talking about and that you are the best candidate for the position. If you come across too rehearsed you might give off the impression that you are bored with the process. It is helpful if you can develop a brief personal pitch so that the employer knows you are a good match. This pitch goes beyond knowing how to answer interview questions and presents your skills and attitudes towards the business you are applying for.<




For some of the higher level jobs that are more difficult to get into there are interactive mock interviews. By participating in these you will not only learn how to answer interview questions, but will get feed back from the interviewer on how you come across. This will give you tips on body language and mannerisms that also impact the chances of getting a job. How to answer interview questions is a skill that will take you far in your career once you have mastered it. Once you have overcome the worry of how to answer interview questions it will be much easier to appear confident and knowledgeable in your skill level. Also having the right attitude towards learning a skill that you might not have yet is a positive sign to an employer. Many employers are willing to teach a basic skill to a person that they feel is a good match for the position. You can show that you are the right match by having confidence in how to answer interview questions.

Design For Six Sigma

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the application of Six Sigma principles to the design of products and their manufacturing and support processes. Whereas Six Sigma by definition focuses on the production phase of a product, DFSS focuses on research, design, and development phases. DFSS combines many of the tools that are used to improve existing products or services and integrates the voice of the customer and simulation methods to predict new process and product performance.

DFSS can be compared to DMAIC (Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and often the acronym DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify) is used to describe the strategy of DFSS. The precise phases or steps of a DFSS methodology are not universally defined. Most organizations will implement DFSS to suit their business, industry, and culture. DFSS methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:

* A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed
* The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still doesn't meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level
DFSS is a way to implement the Six Sigma methodology as early in the product or service life cycle as possible. It is a strategy toward extraordinary ROI by designing to meet customer needs and process capability. DFSS can produce the same order of magnitude in financial benefits as DMAIC. But it also greatly helps an organization innovate, exceed customer expectations, and become a market leader.

DFSS is the Six Sigma approach to product design-namely, designing products that are resistant to variation in the manufacturing process. Using DFSS means designing quality into the product from the start. You are preventing wasteful variation before it happens, thus being able to identify and correct problems early when the solution costs are less. A successful DFSS implementation requires the same ingredients as any other Six Sigma project: a significant commitment and leadership from the top, planning that identifies and establishes measurable program goals and timeline, and the training and involvement of everyone.

Planning for DFSS requires collecting the necessary information that will allow for error free production of defect-free products and processes that satisfy the customer profitably. DFSS attempts to predict how the designs under consideration will behave and to correct for variation prior to it occurring. That means understanding the real needs of your customers and translating those needs into vital technical characteristics of the product and ultimately into critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics of the product and process. You can then use design of experiments (DOE) to develop a robust design that optimizes efficiency and reduces defects




Valid and reliable metrics to monitor the progress of the project are established early in the project, during the Measure phase if using DMADV. Key inputs are prioritized to establish a short list to study in more detail. With a prioritized list of inputs in hand, the DFSS team will determine the potential ways the process could go wrong and take preemptive action to mitigate or prevent those failures. Through analysis, the DFSS team can determine the causes of the problem that needs improvement and how to eliminate the gap between existing performance and the desired level of performance. This involves discovering why defects are generated by identifying the key variables that are most likely to create process variation. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) can be used for both the design of the product and the design of the process.

DFSS provides a structured way to constructively use the information learned from these analyses. Armed with real data produced by the DFSS process, you can develop competent manufacturing processes and choose processes that are capable of meeting the design requirements. Further analysis can verify and validate that the product design will meet the quality targets. This can be accomplished through peer reviews, design reviews, simulation and analysis, qualification testing, or production validation testing.

The benefits of DFSS are more difficult to quantify and are more long-term. It can take over six months after the launch of the new product before you will begin to see the true measure of the project improvements. However, the eventual return on investment can be profound. This is especially true when the organization can use the DFSS project as a template for fundamental changes in the way it develops new products and processes across the organization.