Lean process represents a fundamental change in the way companies build websites, software, products and manage marketing. Lean is about validating hypotheses and iterating to reduce the size of failures and increase the possibilities of success.
The Lean marketing process is highly iterative. Iteration, testing, and measurement are core tenants of the Lean philosophy.
According to John Mullins and Randy Komisar in Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model, most businesses that are successful change their business model on the road to success. Change is inevitable. Rather than investing a significant amount of resources into a product, website or marketing campaign and hoping for the best, Lean provides a better way and reduces the risk of failure by acknowledging failure within the process--accepting it--and making swift and informed changes to evolve the plan along the way.
But It's Not Just About Iterating... I'm kidding. It is just about iterating.
- Laura Klein, Author of UX of Lean Startups
Lean marketing is about using a feedback loop, data, iteration and validation to build success with marketing efforts quickly. Lean marketers study results of small, trial campaigns, learn from the results and evolve the elements of the campaign. Lean marketing is about testing a visual and is quite the opposite of the "fire and forget" model that many enterprises and corporations unwittingly employ. Lean marketing is always iterative.
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