Agile Marketing: Managing Marketing in a World of Constant Change

Agile Marketing

by Scott Brinker @chiefmartec

Do you like multiplication?

Multiplication of

touchpoints.

Multiplication of content.

Multiplication of devices.

Multiplication of technologies.

Multiplication of data.

“There must be a pony

in here somewhere!”

Multiplication of ideas.

Holy cats!

It’s a full-time job just keeping up with all the things you should be keeping up with.

Unprecedented scale of change.

Unprecedented speed of change.

Stop the ride.

I’m going to be sick.

Sorry, this is the new normal.

Real-time marketing.

High-metabolism

marketing.

What’s next? Something even faster?

Warp-drive marketing?

Is it too lateto consider a career changeto something more tranquil?

Like a role on Deadliest Catch?

TRUE FACT:

Commercial Alaskan king crab fisherman have longer average

tenure than CMOs.

Source: CMO Survey, February 2013, www.cmosurvey.org

CMO tenure: 4.8 years

But we love marketing.

We need a more enlightened

approach to change.

Agile marketing.

Buzzword

du jour?

Who wouldn’t want to be agile?

aLittle-a agile: an adjective.

ABig-A Agile: a methodology.

Let’s just go with “agile marketing”because shift keys are a pain.

“Agile marketing” isapplying agile management methods

in the context of marketing.

So what is agile management?

An iterative and adaptive process

An iterative and adaptive processwhere small, highly-collaborative teams


work in a series of short cycles,


work in a series of short cycles,incorporating rapid feedback,


work in a series of short cycles,incorporating rapid feedback,to deliver emergent solutions,



emphasizing transparencyamong all stakeholders.

Gobbledygookon the stage.

FOUL:







A brief history of “agile.”

It began with software engineers...

“Waterfall” project management.

This is a predictive process,not an adaptive one.

In the real world, things change.

Going back up the waterfall

is perilous.

There must be a better way.

agilemanifesto.org

Scrum is the #1 agile framework.

An agile task board.

As a ____(role)_____,I want __(goal/desire)_so that __(benefit)___.

Driven by user stories.

Sprints: 1-4 weeks,

4-8 cross-functional people.

TT-shaped people.

The daily 15-minute stand-up.

1. What did I do yesterday?

3 Questions of the Daily Stand-up:


2. What am I going to do today?



2. What am I going to do today?

3. Are there any impediments in my way?


Potentially shippable increment.

The sprint review.

The sprint retrospective.

Inspect, adapt, repeat.

84% Ability to change priorities

Benefits of adopting agile:

Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey

77% Improved project visibility




75% Increased productivity





72% Improved team morale






72% Improved team morale

71% Faster time-to-market






What does this have to dowith marketing?

The marketing plan

is dead.

Who killed the

marketing plan?

The connected customer.

ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

Hey, whotwisted upmy funnel?

The Cynefin Framework(pronounced ku-nev-in)

A Ferrari is complicated.

A rainforest is complex.

Marketing used to be complicated.

Marketing used to be complicated.Now it is complex.

This is complex.

This is complex.

This is complex.

From Stretched to Strengthened, IBM Global CMO Study 2011

What do you do ina complex environment?

Probe, sense, respond.

Experiment.

That, sir, is a dead marketing plan.

The yearly marketing plan processkind of looked like this:

“Little strategy” marketing cycleskind of look like this:

Could we adaptagile development

methodologiesto help us managecomplex, modern

marketing?

Short answer: yes.

Agile Development Values

Individuals and interactionsover processes and tools.

Agile Marketing Values

Self-organizing teams.

High-bandwidth

communications.

Direct customer interactions.

Responding to changeover following a plan.


Respond to market feedback.

Avoid “sunk cost” traps.

Act on new opportunities.

Remarkable customer experiencesover formalized internal procedures.


Marketing is not manufacturing.

“The model is not reality.”

Customers don’t see silos.

Testing and dataover opinions and conventions.


Beware the HiPPO.

Detect when things change.

Seek “validated learning.”

Many small experimentsover a few large bets.


Adaptive and iterative campaigns

over “Big Bang” campaigns.

Probe, sense, respond.

Discovery over prophecy.

Agile principles have many advocates.

Big data thrives with experimentation.

Big Data

Big Testing

Big Experience

Generate hypotheses

Prove cause-and-effect

Deliver better experiences

Agree in principle?How does that translate into practice?

If agile development delivers software, what

does agile marketing deliver?

We ship content!

Stories along the

buyer’s journey.

As a ___(persona)____,I want __(goal/desire)_so that __(benefit)___.

Marketing missions with

small, discrete components.

Content marketing

is great for agile marketing.

Social media marketing


Web development


Search engine optimization (SEO)


Mobile app development


YourAppHere

Marketing automation


PPC advertising


Landing page optimization


Landing page optimization


Mobile landing page optimization


Disclosure: my company sellssoftware for agile production of

amazing landing pages (and more).

Blatant self-promotionon the stage.

FOUL:

Many marketing missions canbe broken into discrete chunks for

iteration and adaptation.

How do you get started?

Read “Essential Scrum”

by Kenneth S. Rubin

For software development, but Chapter 2 will give you a great high-level explanation of Scrum, and Chapter 3 is one of the best articulated arguments for adopting agile for any executive.

http://chiefmartec.com/category/agile-marketing/

http://www.agilemarketing.net

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/agile-marketing-whiteboard-friday

http://www.agilemarketingblog.com

http://agilemarketingmanifesto.org

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/10/01/agile-marketing-

guide

http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/agile-planning.html

http://gregmeyer.com/?s=agile+marketing

Read more specifically about“agile marketing” on the web:

Share and discuss with

with colleagues.

Not just marketing:

sales, IT, and beyond.

Win executive support.

Get volunteers for your

first agile team.

Modest expectations

for your first sprints.

Prepare for acclimation.

Focus on being agile,

not just doing agile.

Brace yourself for resistance.

Most sacred cows

are not agile.

52% Inability to change culture

Why agile adoption fails:


39% General resistance to change




34% Lack of manager support

39% General resistance to change




“To the uninitiated (and sometimeseven to those in the industry),this way of working feels like

barely controlled chaos.”

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Organization/Competing_in_a_digital_world_Four_lessons_from_the_software_industry_3058

February 2013

“Of primary concern is thetemptation to fall back into

traditional command-and-controlmanagement styles—

to demand fail-safe business planswith defined outcomes.”– David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone

A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making

Challenge in a Complex Domain

Is it worth it?

“Accelerated cycles,increased transparency,and teaming outside the

typical organizational boundaries(both within and outside the company)

will have great impact.”

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Organization/Competing_in_a_digital_world_Four_lessons_from_the_software_industry_3058

February 2013

Punctuated equilibrium.

Modern marketing

is an Olympic sport.

Modern marketing

is an Olympic sport.

It’s better to be agile.

Thank you!Want to reach me?

[email protected]: @chiefmartec

Software to help you be agile:http://ioninteractive.com

More about agile marketing:http://chiefmartec.com

Credits:

Inspiration from these brilliant people (and others):

Matt BlumbergJohn CassJonathon ColmanFrank DaysJim EwelNeil PerkinTodd ShimizuJascha Kaykas-Wolff

Agile MarketingKent BeckRon JeffriesMitch LaceyRobert C. MartinKenneth S. RubinMichael SahotaKen SchwaberJeff Sutherland

Agile DevelopmentDavid ArmanoBrian ClarkSteve DenningJim ManziEric RiesPeter SimsDavid J. SnowdenBrian Solis

And More

Thank you!Want to reach me?

[email protected]: @chiefmartec

Software to help you be agile:http://ioninteractive.com

More about agile marketing:http://chiefmartec.com