One of the issues that keep entrepreneurs awake at night is how to be faster and more effective at growing their businesses.
When it comes to business development, marketing can definitively support such growth.
A common challenge is: how can a business implement a faster and more impactful marketing?
A way to tackle this is through ‘agile marketing’.
So what is agile marketing?
Agile marketing is about being nimble, flexible and quick at adapting to market changes. It is an approach where tactics are broken into smaller actions that are continuously reviewed.
The main objective of this approach is to get closer to your customers and deliver a great brand experience.
Some of the key principles of agile marketing are to:
respond quickly to change
make small adjustments that can have a big impact
repeat what works
test data
leverage new channels
collaborate internally with all business functions.
Why is agile marketing relevant?
With so much change driven by technology, marketers have to act and adjust their strategy at a very short notice and on multiple channels.
Although planning is still important, what is crucial is the ability to modify plans in a proactive way and to test actions multiple times so that you can invest in what works.
The benefits of agile marketing are numerous: a closer relationship with customers, more transparency and collaboration across departments, the creation of cost-effective campaigns with higher ROI and ultimately an increase in revenues.
How can you adopt an agile marketing approach?
You will need an agile mind-set. Think about transitioning from an orchestra (complex environment) to a jazz band (less complex and more improvisational). Not an easy transition, right?
To implement this transition in your organisation you will have to train your mind-set to:
have humility, strength of character and technical skills as pre-requisites
learn on the go and repeat what works
dismantle internal silos
be decision-driven and use data to support your decisions - but question your data as there are often other factors at play
make your customers the priority of your marketing, always.
Companies today require a marketing approach that can quickly respond to market changes and win customers’ trust in a cost effective way.
So if you want to enhance your brand and grow faster, remember to be nimble and always test and learn. Good luck!