Rapid delivery, new ways of interacting with users; increasingly larger and more complex teams, changes in search engine algorithms, and the need to consistently deliver positive results are just a few of the issues transforming the way we think about marketing .
If you’ve tried to develop your traditional plan, accompanied by extensive research, which has likely undergone unexpected changes and profoundly impacted your objective, don’t worry; this constantly changing environment is causing old paradigms in the field to be revisited .
Inspired by the agile movement and driven by the growth of startups and their development cultures, we are facing a great challenge, or rather, an excellent opportunity . The truth is that marketing has always required dynamism , especially from small and medium-sized businesses, both in their planning and execution. The digital environment has helped accelerate these processes even further.
Change is constant; the way customers special database navigate their journey toward purchasing a product or service has changed . If you’re interested in understanding how the new marketing approach will help solve your challenges, this text may be of great value. Below you’ll find:
- Why the old paradigms of marketing management are doomed to failure
- An introductory overview of how Agile Marketing works
- What are the values and principles of Agile Marketing?
- What results can your team achieve through Agile Marketing practices?
Traditional planning Agile Marketing: How to
In traditional marketing , campaign planning typically works in 3-, 6-, or 12-month cycles, during which the “major campaigns,” actions and evaluation methods, as well as budget forecasts, are determined.
In a realistic and simple way, after the planning process, the professionals in the field typically gather in a room and define the actions they will take for the next campaign. As a result of this meeting, the guidelines are developed so that the agencies can create concepts and ideas. The materials go through a long process of approval and adjustments until they are ready . It is then decided that this campaign will be available for the next few months.
How do you measure results? It’s very difficult to conclude that the outcome of months of effort and considerable investment could have been a failure. The usual approach is to declare it a success. For this, the most elaborate reports come into play . And nothing beats a complex, resource-rich report, except for one thing: sales results . Therefore, traditional campaign planning is on its last legs.
There’s no doubt that planning is necessary. Inbound marketing strategies such as promotional cycles, for example, require discipline and consistency. However, it’s important for marketing teams to adopt a vision that embraces and anticipates the inevitable changes imposed by the market .
What is Agile Marketing?
Given this situation, a new vision of marketing management is gaining strength, based on flexibility, interactivity, collaboration and customer orientation .
Agile Marketing, in a simple sense, is the increase engagement through interactive content adaptation of a software development methodology that focuses on generating better results , adapting better to market trends, and improving marketing team effectiveness. Let’s look at the principles behind this methodology below:
Satisfy the potential customer
In Agile Marketing, the main priority is satisfying potential customers through continuous deliveries in short cycles . Marketing plans are developed frequently, for a Agile Marketing: How to few weeks or a few months. Changes are anticipated and are part of everyday life. The entire team incorporates the concept that the ability to respond to change will always be a competitive advantage.
Alignment with other teams
Within the Agile Marketing concept, it is very important that the department’s activities only occur when there is deep alignment with the sales and web development teams . They work together to better understand the customer and assimilate changes.
Learning through cycles
Another important aspect of Agile Marketing is the philosophy of learning through a constant build-measure-learn cycle . With this set of short-term action plans, actions are generated that can be quickly tested, subsequently measured, and evaluated with a learning log. By nurturing the knowledge base, your team will be constantly evolving. Forget the fear of making mistakes; just don’t make them twice in the same way. If something doesn’t work, re-engage with the group and apply a new test.
Visual mechanics
It’s key to create a visual workflow mechanism that’s simple and understandable to the entire team. Kanban is a project management framework that can be easily adapted to all types of teams with varying levels of complexity. With it, everyone can access what’s being done; the status of each task, the backlog of new activities, and so on.
With the help of Kanban, you can divide powder data tasks into smaller deliverables. To create an efficient breakdown, calculate the time your team needs to complete each deliverable. These smaller deliverables are grouped into sprints, which are work periods . With the total and sprint time clearly defined, replan to ensure that the objectives of each sprint are met. At the end of each cycle, assess whether the estimated time was accurate and continually seek to improve this aspect.
After defining deliverables, deadlines, and priorities, it’s important to maintain the momentum. Just because we plan a nice sprint doesn’t mean everything will go as expected. Small issues can hinder a series of tasks. That’s why you’ll need to hold daily meetings that aim to answer simple questions. They’re 15 minutes long for the team to present their activities, present progress, and highlight any potential blockers. Through these meetings, the entire team will be aware of what others are doing, and they’ll also enable mutual support to achieve success in each sprint.