What the f**k is agile

marketing

Agile marketing is a high-communication, low documentation, rapid iteration process designed to provide more

frequent, more relevant and highly measurable marketing programs

- IDC, Agile Principles and Practices, 2010

Applying ideas of

Agile development to marketing

What is Agile Development?

“Software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve

through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams”

- Wikipedia

*** Also, see The Agile Manifesto[1]

Agile vs. Waterfall

Image: Wikipedia

Why you should care about

agile marketing?

Reason #1 Marketers don’t really know much

Just 32% of marketers know how customers behave across channels

Reason #2 Speed and flexibility are competitive advantages

Reason #3 Communications overhead slows things down

The communications overhead for a project increases as the size of

the team grows

- The Mythical Man Month, 1975

Reason #4 Truly empowering individuals means things get done

Reason #5 The best work comes from self-organizing teams

“Decisions made by groups are often better than could have been

made by any single member of the group”

- James Surowiecki Wisdom of Crowds, 2004

Reason #6 Fast moving media and markets means frequent adjustments

Every day: 700 million pieces of content shared on Facebook

30 million tweets

And 900,000 blog posts…

Reason #7 Results matter more

than processes

How Agile Marketing works…

PRODUCT OWNER speaks for the market

USE CASES describe how customers use your product

Plan in short windows or SPRINTS

Image: Wikipedia

BACKLOG captures everything in that SPRINT

Meet or SCRUM frequently to discuss issues

SCRUM MASTER leads the way

What have you done for me lately?

What have you completed?

What are you doing next?

What barriers are you facing?

SCRUMS are open/transparent

BURNDOWN CHARTS measure progress during a SPRINT

Image: Wikipedia

Case studies

Agile time to results = waterfall time to live

• Using for interactive projects

• Higher risk, greater uncertainty

• Low cost, high velocity testing

• Need right people and project

No more “everyone is a marketing expert” syndrome

• Run in 30 day sprints

• Post progress in a Wiki

• End of sprint “Science Fair”

First Tennessee Bank

• Using agile to compress cycle times

• Talent management tool

• Have to deal with compliance

Connect with me…

Frank Days @tangyslice Linkedin.com/tangyslice agilemarketingblog.com Co-host of Marketing Agility Podcast

Agile marketing podcast

• Find us – iTunes – Agilemarketingblog.com

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