Marketing – for me, as a technical person, has always been associated and linked to numbers, data, quantity, quality, customer experience, feedback etc. It still is. It’s just that I am getting used to these parameters as I am new to this field . One aspect that I have learnt from my mentor, guide, and philosopher is that:

“Good needs marketing.”

This idea has stuck with me ever since, and thus in all my articles that I write, I strive to add some goodness to them. And in my personal opinion, Agile adds that goodness.

Now, let’s delve into Agile Marketing. Simply prefixing the word “Agile” does not make Marketing truly Agile. So, what makes marketing Agile? Read on to find out.

Firstly, let us understand what is not quite right with Traditional Marketing and why people are shifting from traditional ways to Agile Marketing.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Traditional Marketing, nor is there anything entirely new in Agile Marketing. The marketing strategy remains fundamentally the same in both conventional and unconventional methods. The key difference lies in the approach. Agile Marketing adopts the same Agile Methodology and principles used in Software Development. By making a slight tweak to the Agile Manifesto, we can embrace the Agile Marketing Manifesto and align our marketing efforts accordingly.

What is Agile Marketing?

As marketing becomes more data-driven, quantitative, and iterative, the principles and practices of Agile methodologies have found their way into the marketing realm. Agile Marketing is an unconventional approach that leverages Agile project management methods to optimize marketing campaigns, mitigate risks, and deliver highly effective results.

Agile Marketing in Action

Agile Marketing comprises:

• Small, Self-Organizing, Cross-Functional Teams: Marketers collaborate in small, multidisciplinary teams with diverse skills, such as content creators, designers, analysts, and developers. This ensures a holistic perspective and promotes efficient decision-making.
• Frequent Iterations (Sprints): Projects are broken down into short, focused iterations known as sprints, typically lasting two to four weeks. Each sprint delivers specific deliverables, ensuring a steady stream of progress.
• Continuous Review and Adaptation: Agile Marketing is grounded in continuous learning and adaptation. At the end of each sprint, the team reviews outcomes, gathers feedback, and adjusts their approach accordingly for subsequent iterations. This agile feedback loop enhances campaign efficacy in real-time.

Agile Marketing Vs.Traditional Marketing

In Traditional Marketing, strategies often follow linear, long-term plans with limited room for adjustments once implemented just like the waterfall approach. In contrast, Agile Marketing thrives on adaptability and embraces change as an inherent aspect of marketing initiatives.

Agile Marketing: A Customer-Centric Approach

At the heart of Agile Marketing is a customer-centric ideology. This approach hinges on the Agile Manifesto, emphasizing customer collaboration over contract negotiation and data-driven decisions over intuition. Agile Marketers prioritize customer needs and desires, continually seeking feedback to ensure their campaigns resonate with the target audience.

Agile Marketing Values

Agile Marketing lies in a set of core values that steer marketers towards adaptability, data-driven decisions, and collaboration.

Responding to Change Over Following a Plan

Rigid long-term plans can become obsolete quickly in the present era. Agile Marketing values the ability to respond to change swiftly and strategically. Instead of adhering to a fixed plan, Agile Marketers remain flexible and adjust their strategies based on emerging trends, customer feedback, and market shifts.

Rapid Iterations

Agile Marketing favors rapid iterations over lengthy, high-risk campaigns. Breaking down complex projects into smaller, manageable phases allows marketers to release incremental updates frequently. This iterative process empowers Agile Marketers to gather insights and make data-driven improvements continuously.

Data-Driven Decisions

Data-driven decision-making forms the foundation of Agile Marketing. Agile Marketers prioritize data and insights over personal opinions or assumptions. Analyzing performance metrics, customer behavior, and market data enables them to make informed choices that yield tangible results.

Embracing Experimentation

Rather than relying on a few significant marketing bets, Agile Marketers conduct many smaller experiments. This approach allows them to test multiple strategies simultaneously, refining their tactics based on real-time outcomes.

Individuals and Interactions

Agile Marketing values personalized interactions over generalized approaches. Understanding that customers have diverse preferences, Agile Marketers tailor their messaging and campaigns to resonate with specific target audiences. This customer-centric focus enhances engagement and builds stronger connections.

Breaking Silos

Breaking down silos and promoting collaboration is central to Agile Marketing. Agile Marketers collaborate across teams and departments, fostering a culture of open communication and idea-sharing. This collaborative environment accelerates decision-making and facilitates creative problem-solving.

How to implement Agile Marketing By using Prakya

Agile Marketing, with its unconventional approach, requires a well-structured implementation to unleash its full potential. Embracing this dynamic methodology requires marketers to adapt and organize their teams, set measurable goals, prioritize tasks, work in iterations, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Setting up an Agile Team

The first step in Agile Marketing implementation is to form a dedicated Agile team. This team usually is small and cross-functional, comprising individuals from various departments such as digital marketing, inbound marketing, the creative team, designers, developers, etc.

The CMO, or Chief Marketing Officer, leads the team and develops the marketing strategy to align with the goals and objectives. The team must follow the plan within a set time-box, known as a sprint.

Additionally, the team includes an Agile leader or Scrum Master, responsible for ensuring the team implements the workflow effectively. It is essential for the Agile leader to take on the role of a Servant Leader, motivating, empathizing, and attentively listening to the team’s grievances, and facilitating them with solutions to maintain an undisturbed and smooth flow of work.

We at  Prakya, believe that, it’s the team which forms the backbone of the Agile methodology process.These self directed teams at Prakya, are authorized and are accountable to manage their individual work. This ‘individual freedom’ drives the teams to produce and release a deliverable within a short span of time.

Set Measurable Goals and Objectives

To ensure success, Agile Marketing demands clear and measurable goals. Setting specific, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives helps the Agile team stay focused and aligned with broader business strategies. These goals serve as guiding stars throughout the marketing journey.

Create and Prioritize a Backlog

In Agile Marketing, a backlog acts as a repository of marketing tasks, ideas, and initiatives. The team collaborates to create this backlog and prioritize items based on their potential impact and alignment with overall objectives. This backlog becomes the Agile team’s roadmap for planning and executing marketing efforts.
Prakya is not a Task Management tool where backlog items are considered as a to-do list. And every to-do event or a task is time-boxed.

 

Plan your Work in Iterations or Sprints

Agile Marketing thrives on iterative working models known as sprints. Sprints are time-boxed periods during which the Agile team focuses on completing specific tasks from the prioritized backlog. Each sprint typically lasts two to four weeks, allowing the team to maintain a constant pace while adapting to evolving market dynamics.

In Prakya, the work items in the backlog are created, and only those stories/items that are deliverable in the current sprint are dragged into the sprint backlog. These work items are allotted story points and prioritized at the time of creation. The stories can be managed from start to finish within that particular sprint and can be tracked using a kanban board.

Measure Progress and Focus on Continuous Improvement

An integral part of Agile Marketing is regular evaluation and measurement of marketing efforts. Agile Marketers analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the impact of their strategies. Based on these insights, they continuously improve and optimize their marketing activities to achieve even greater success.

Conclusion:

Prakya is not just any tool that adopts its own conventions and labels itself as agile. It does not alter its definition for the sake of convenience. Prakya firmly believes in the simplicity and efficiency of Agile and remains true to all the agile values and principles throughout its entire process.

And also, do you know Prakya can make the process invisible? Are you curious to know how? Visit us on our website www.prakya.com