The agile marketing approach is a framework for marketing teams inspired by workflows associated with software development and programming. Project management and campaign management are executed through sprints that result in more quality assurance and better products. A high-functioning agile marketing organization is capable of running hundreds of marketing campaigns simultaneously while developing new ideas regularly. Agile marketing practices focus on speed and agility, which leads to faster learning, better results, and adjustments for continuous improvement.
The Agile Team
The key difference between agile marketing and traditional marketing methodologies is the team structure. Agile marketing teams are flat, meaning there are no siloes or hierarchy. Collaboration is encouraged among team members to deliver results using an effective approach. There are senior team members on agile teams who make decisions about the team’s direction. There is also a project manager who is responsible for overseeing the agile project management process and advises team members when needed.
Agile Marketing Tools
According to NewsCred, implementing the right agile marketing software and tools is key to an effective agile marketing methodology. Agile marketers use an approach called scrum, where everything necessary for a marketing campaign is detailed and organized into a backlog. Each task is then organized into a sprint, and team members work to complete the task as efficiently as possible. Scrum teams are led by a scrum master and focus on sprint planning.
Kanban boards display each project and task and their movements through various phases. Kanban also uses a backlog to organize tasks, which helps with time tracking. Daily standup meetings are key with scrum, as they ensure team members are accountable for their progress daily. Standup meetings should be short and planned at a time that won’t interfere with team member workflows.
The idea behind content marketing is that high-quality content can be repurposed within reason. Agile marketing teams create a single source of content that can be reused for marketing emails, social media posts, and more. Efficiently using the same content with the help of a digital asset management system saves marketers time and money in creating new content.
Much the same way scrum and kanban help marketing teams stay on track, agile marketing software gives clear visibility on the success of methodologies by providing metrics and analytics that give insights into the success of a given marketing project and shows areas for improvement.
Implementing Agile Marketing
Agile marketing implementation entails three key steps: creating an agile team structure, setting up agile processes and platforms, and onboarding. The first step of creating an agile team structure is the most difficult. Agile marketing requires a cross-functional team and the breakdown of existing siloes and hierarchies. A flat, integrated team means all marketing efforts take place on a level playing field. Once an agile team structure is agreed upon, you can set up your agile platform and processes. Agile marketing is supported by a project management platform that assigns tasks to team members, documents progress, and gives direction on team collaboration. The right project management platform enables the three stages of agile marketing: build, measure, and learn.
The third step of agile marketing implementation is onboarding team members. A project manager is responsible for onboarding agile marketing teams and oversees the use of the agile methodology. Project managers train team members on the use of the project management platform, lead standup meetings and adopt agile processes based on team needs.
There are several benefits of agile marketing. The agile methodology increases team efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps and barriers so that teams can work more efficiently. It increases innovation because marketing teams can more quickly discover insights through rapid testing. Agile processes deliver more ROI at less cost by allowing teams to run several campaigns simultaneously without reducing effectiveness, while modern analytics make it easier to achieve a measurable ROI for less. Agile methodology is built for growth and helps teams maintain efficiency as they grow.