There are two kinds of companies in the digital world: the quick and the dead.
Marketing software empowers you with the technology to act and react swiftly to new opportunities. But to take advantage of that power, marketing needs to adapt how it manages its activities to thrive at this new clockspeed. Agile marketing is the ideal management methodology for this environment.
Learn:
- The process of agile marketing
- Examples of how other companies have adopted it
- Steps for getting started
- How other companies are integrating agile with budgeting, long-term planning, metrics & multi-team coordination
34. 72% Improved team morale
71% Faster time-to-market
75% Increased productivity
77% Improved project visibility
84% Ability to change priorities
Source: VersionOne 6th Annual State of Agile Survey
Agile has been very helpful in taming
the chaos of software development...
Benefits
reported by
software
teams who
have adopted
agile methods
35. Could we adapt those agile methods
to help marketing tame its chaos?
36. Could we adapt those agile methods
to help marketing tame its chaos?
We might have to
improvise a bit,
since marketing
is different…
37. Before we starting improvising though, let’s
consider the Scrum agile methodology…
team process philosophyartifacts
40. No worries, I’m not the agile police.
Consider this a buffet of ideas for agility…
You can take the pieces that work for your
organization — and leave the rest.
team process philosophyartifacts
41. Just don’t report me to
the agile police. Deal?
(I’m an evangelist, not a fundamentalist.)
42. Scrum revolves
around small,
hands-on teams —
typically no more
than 10 people.
• Self-managing
• High communication
• Team-wide visibility
• Low overhead
• Esprit de corps
43. There are two
special roles on a
traditional Scrum
team:
Product Owner
The voice of the
customer.
Scrum Master
Facilitates the
process.
44. However, in most
agile marketing
teams, these roles
are combined into a
single team lead.
Depending on scale,
this role may be a
manager, a director,
a VP… or the CMO.
After all, in marketing, everyone should
be tuned in to the voice of the customer.
46. In theory, anyone can be
an ambassador. In
practice, in marketing,
it’s usually the team
leads who meet.
CMO
Reporting
up to the
CMO
47. Agile teams thrive
with “T-shaped”
people — each may
have a specialty, but
all are willing to help
out across a wide
range of tasks. T
T
T
T
T
TT
There are never any
idle resources on an
agile team.
Agile teams dynamically rebalance work as needed.
49. Update
Backlog
Scrum operates around
tasks, often characterized
as “user stories” or “cards.”
• Meaningful chunks of work
(not too big, not too small)
• Briefly described — can fit
on a post-it note
• Larger projects are divided
into a cluster of tasks
• Tasks may have different
sizes — S, M, L, XL
In marketing, think of
these as stories along
the buyer’s journey.
50. Update
Backlog
• Write a case study
• Configure new nurture
email campaign in MAP
• Create a landing page
• Launch new Google
keyword group
• Connect with a social
media influencer
Sample tasks in a backlog:
51. Update
Backlog
• Write a case study
• Configure new nurture
email campaign in MAP
• Create a marketing app
• Launch new Google
keyword group
• Connect with a social
media influencer
Sample tasks in a backlog:
ion interactive has recently unveiled a
new “marketing apps” platform.
52. 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
Update
Backlog
The product owner (or manager or team lead)
must prioritize the tasks on the backlog.
Clarity around prioritization is
one of the most important
facets of agile marketing.
53. 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
Sprint
Planning
Sprint planning is a
meeting of the team
at the beginning of
the sprint to commit
to the tasks they will
complete within that
sprint.Sprint planning is usually
time-boxed to no more
than a few hours.
54. 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
1
2
3
4
5
To Do In Progress Done
Sprint
Planning
These are the tasks to
be completed within
this sprint.
Self commitment is
another key cultural
aspect of agile
marketing.
56. You can make your agile task board
simple or elaborate.
57. Sprint
Then the
sprint begins!
Sprints are
typically one
week to one
month long.
Long enough to get real work done.
Short enough to enable feedback,
iteration, and adaptation.
58. Sprint
Then the
sprint begins!
Sprints are
typically one
week to one
month long.
Long enough to get real work done.
Short enough to enable feedback,
iteration, and adaptation.
You want a
high ratio of
work time to
planning and
review time.
59. Sprint
Ideally,
commitments
and priorities
are not changed
while the sprint
is in progress.
Minimize “fire
drills” that derail
work in progress
New work is queued in the
backlog for the next sprint.
This lets the team focus more productively.
60. Sprint
If something
must be added
mid-sprint, then
it is prioritized
relative to the
other tasks.
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
61. 1 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
11 12
Sprint
If something
must be added
mid-sprint, then
it is prioritized
relative to the
other tasks.
This may result in
another task being
“bumped” out of the
sprint.
2
10
This is a key mechanism in
agile marketing to help
other stakeholders
recognize trade-offs.
62. To Do In Progress Done
Sprint
Teammates
take on tasks
in order of
priority.
Tasks moved
to in progress
and then to
done.
Transparency is a big feature of
agile marketing: everyone can see
what’s done, what’s in progress,
what’s up next.
63. Sprint
Every day
during the
sprint, the
team meets
for a daily
stand-up.
It’s time-boxed to 15 minutes —
and held standing up (to remind
people to keep it to 15 minutes).
Meeting every
day for a few
minutes helps
keep the team
in sync.
64. Stand-ups are best done in person, but
videoconferencing can also work.
Skype, Google Hangouts,
GoToMeeting, WebEx,
ReadyTalk
65. Sprint
During the
stand-up, each
team member
answers three
questions:
1. What did I do
yesterday?
2. What am I going to do today?
3. Are there any impediments in my way?
Problems can’t
lurk in the dark
66. To Do In Progress Done
Sprint Review
At the end of the sprint, the team has a review
meeting to discuss/demo what was produced —
again, typically time-boxed to an hour or two.
67. Sprint reviews often include other key
stakeholders and managers to get feedback.
68. Sprint Review
The sprint review is a
great opportunity for
the team to receive
recognition….
To give the rest of the
organization visibility into
what they’re doing…
And to collect feedback that can lead to new
ideas added to the backlog for future sprints.
69. Sprint Retrospective
After the review, the
team has a meeting
— a retrospective —
among themselves to
discuss their process.
1. What went well in
this sprint?
2. What could be
improved in our next sprint?
Focusing on
how things
were done, not
just what was
done.
74. Myth #1: Agile marketing is
a euphemism for “work faster.”
75. Agile marketing produces faster results because
it enables incremental and iterative delivery.
One Big Waterfall
vs.
Many Small Agile Sprints
76. Each sprint cycle provides an opportunity to:
• Reap the benefits of a smaller deliverable
• Adjust your approach based on feedback
• Stop wasting time on things that aren’t
effective — rebalance your investment
• Experiment with innovative, new ideas
77. Agile marketing isn’t
about working more or faster.
It’s about better allocating your
time and energy into activities that
produce results.
78. 1
2
3
4
5
To Do
Agile marketing actually helps
prevent burnout by clearly
prioritizing what’s important…
By letting the team self-
commit to a sustainable
volume of work…
By letting the team focus on
their work in the sprint…
And by reducing “fire drills.”
79. 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
Agile marketing also
increases visibility of
the full extent of the
work being done…
1 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
11 12
2
10
And helps all
stakeholders
recognize the
trade-offs of
inserting new
tasks.
80. Myth #2: Agile marketing is
a euphemism for “quick and dirty.”
81. First: small can
be beautiful.
Every increment
and iteration in
agile marketing
can be produced
with love.
Quick ≠ Dirty
82. Agile is great for
small projects that
are produced and
deployed within a
single sprint.
But agile also lets you
build a larger project
over several sprints.
Part I Part II Part III
Each part can benefit
from internal review —
and is then deployed
when it’s complete.
83. This is an incremental
approach — each step
offers you a chance to
adjust your trajectory.
Part I Part II Part III Version 1 Version 2 Version 3
This is an iterative
approach — each step
offers you a chance to
refine your deliverable
based on real-world
feedback.
84. Version 1 Version 2 Version 3
This is an iterative
approach — each step
offers you a chance to
refine your deliverable
based on real-world
feedback.
An iterative approach
lets you “fail fast”
(and that’s a good thing!)
Try new ideas on a small
scale before you have to
commit to scaling them.
85. To Do In Progress DoneIn all cases,
management
still sets the
expectations
for what is
considered
quality work.
Quality control is then
enforced in agile marketing
through the definition of done.
92. Connect long-term vision
with the current sprint
through prioritization of
the backlog.
Connect the current
sprint to long-term
vision during sprint
review.
Minimize “fire drills” while
sprint is in progress to help
maintain strategic focus.
93. But we should acknowledge that the
traditional annual marketing plan is lagging.
94.
95. That is a dead
marketing plan.
The “marketing plan” must become adaptive
— and have the ability to self-correct.
96. The modern marketing plan is less gospel,
more jazz — room for improvisation.
Tweetable
moment?
97. Having too rigid of a plan is
suboptimal in a dynamic environment.
98.
99. Of course, being too “exploratory”
without enough focus is suboptimal too.
100.
101. Agile marketing is about balancing a clear
direction with responsive adaptability.
107. Prioritization
When everything
is high priority,
nothing is.
Give everyone a
mechanism to
agree on what is
important.
Make trade-offs intentionally,
not accidentally.
108. Transparency
Helps teams
coordinate in a
highly dynamic
environment.
Give
knowledge
workers
knowledge.
Build trust by providing visibility
and open communications —
increasing team performance.
109. Responsiveness
Harness the
feedback loops
from the digital
world.
React swiftly to
new threats or
opportunities.
An iterative and incremental
approach with short, frequent
planning cycles lets you respond
rapidly to the world.
110. Empowerment
Give teams greater
responsibility to make
a difference, to shape
their work — and to
be recognized for their
contributions.
An empowered front-line can
improve your reaction speed.
111. Experimentation
Enable ways for
teams to try new
innovations quickly,
frequently, and on
a small scale.
Create the flexibility to
scale up the winners
and drop the duds.
“The best way to have a great
idea is to have lots of ideas.”
– Linus Pauling
112. Colin Powell held 15-minute daily
“stand-ups” at the State Department.
If there’s an issue
in Europe, I want
the head of African
diplomacy to know
about it.
113. “To the uninitiated (and sometimes
even 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
114. “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
115. Co-founder & CTO
ion interactive, inc.
http://ioninteractive.com
sbrinker@ioninteractive.com
Twitter: @chiefmartec
Author & Editor
Chief Marketing Technologist
http://chiefmartec.com
Thank you! Please
feel free to reach
out to me if I can
help in any way.