Agile MarketingManaging Marketing

in High Gear

by Scott Brinker@chiefmartec

Co-founder & CTOSoftware and services for marketing apps.

Author & EditorBlog on the entwining of marketing & technology.

Marketing used to work like this.

A

B

Today, it feels more like this.

A

B

Today, it feels more like this.

Faster cycle speedsFragmented channels

Feedback loopsFrequent disruptions

A Ferrari is complicated.

A rainforest is complex.

Marketing used to be complicated —now it is complex.

Marketing used to be complicated —now it is complex.

Marketing used to be complicated —now it is complex.

Marketing used to be complicated —now it is complex.

How should marketing managementadapt to a complex environment?

“…helping the companies thrive under conditionsof high uncertainty and rapid change.”

So, how do we get there from here?

So, how do we get there from here?

(This is a nicer metaphor, no?)

Plan

Review

Produce

Deploy

Traditionally, marketing management followed a relatively well-structured, staged plan. It might be a quarterly or yearly plan.

The “waterfall” approach to management.

Plan

Review

Produce

Deploy

Traditionally, marketing management followed a relatively well-structured, staged plan. It might be a quarterly or yearly plan.

“Waterfall” is a predictive approach to management.

This isn’t very predictable.

A

B

This was relatively predictable.

Going back up the waterfall is perilous.

Since we’re living in this world now…

Since we’re living in this world now…

…we should figure out how to thrive in it.

A source of inspiration:agile software development.

http://agilemanifesto.org

Agile software developers invented many new adaptive management methodologies…

(This is why marketers should be in charge of naming.)

…the most popular is Scrum.

Want a great introduction to Scrum?

Read the first three chapters of this book.

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 tamingthe chaos of software development...

Benefits reported by

softwareteams who

have adopted agile methods

Could we adapt those agile methodsto help marketing tame its chaos?

Could we adapt those agile methodsto help marketing tame its chaos?

We might have to improvise a bit,since marketing

is different…

Before we starting improvising though, let’s consider the Scrum agile methodology…

team process philosophyartifacts

I’d like to sing a song of a new

methodology…

Stop that! There’ll be no new methodologies

while I’m here...

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

Just don’t report me to the agile police. Deal?

(I’m an evangelist, not a fundamentalist.)

Scrum revolves around small,hands-on teams — typically no morethan 10 people.

• Self-managing• High communication• Team-wide visibility• Low overhead• Esprit de corps

There are two special roles on a traditional Scrum team:

Product OwnerThe voice of the customer.

Scrum MasterFacilitates the process.

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.

Larger organizations can have multiple teams. Ambassadors from each team can coordinate together.

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

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 TT

TTT

There are never any idle resources on an agile team.

Agile teams dynamically rebalance work as needed.

SprintPlanning

Sprint

SprintRetrospective Daily

Stand-up

1 day

2-4 weeks

Sprint Review

UpdateBacklog

The Scrum Process: An Iterative Cycle

UpdateBacklog

Scrum operates around tasks, often characterizedas “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.

UpdateBacklog

• 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:

UpdateBacklog

• 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 anew “marketing apps” platform.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11

UpdateBacklog

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.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11

SprintPlanning

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.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11

1

2

3

4

5

To Do In Progress Done

SprintPlanning

These are the tasks to be completed within this sprint.

Self commitment is another key cultural

aspect of agile marketing.

You can manage your agile task boardusing software.

You can make your agile task boardsimple or elaborate.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

210

This is a key mechanism in agile marketing to help

other stakeholders recognize trade-offs.

To Do In Progress DoneSprint

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.

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.

Stand-ups are best done in person, butvideoconferencing can also work.

Skype, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, WebEx,

ReadyTalk

Sprint

During the stand-up, each team member answers three questions:

1. What did I doyesterday?

2. What am I going to do today?

3. Are there any impediments in my way?

Problems can’t lurk in the dark

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.

Sprint reviews often include other keystakeholders and managers to get feedback.

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.

Sprint Retrospective

After the review, the team has a meeting — a retrospective — among themselves to discuss their process.

1. What went well inthis sprint?

2. What could beimproved in our next sprint?

Focusing onhow things

were done, not just what was

done.

Retrospectives explicitly enable teamsand processes to continually evolve.

SprintPlanning

Sprint

SprintRetrospective Daily

Stand-up

1 day

2-4 weeks

Sprint Review

UpdateBacklog

…and then the cycle repeats.

Stop that! There’s no way that would work

here because...

Let’s bust some agile marketing myths.

Myth #1: Agile marketing isa euphemism for “work faster.”

Agile marketing produces faster results becauseit enables incremental and iterative delivery.

One Big Waterfallvs.

Many Small Agile Sprints

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

Agile marketing isn’tabout working more or faster.

It’s about better allocating yourtime and energy into activities that

produce results.

1

2

3

4

5

To DoAgile 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.”

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.

Myth #2: Agile marketing isa euphemism for “quick and dirty.”

First: small canbe beautiful.

Every increment and iteration in agile marketing can be produced with love.

Quick ≠ Dirty

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.

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.

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 approachlets you “fail fast”

(and that’s a good thing!)

Try new ideas on a small scale before you have to commit to scaling them.

To Do In Progress DoneIn all cases, management still sets the expectationsfor what is considered quality work.

Quality control is thenenforced in agile marketingthrough the definition of done.

Rushing sloppy work to market isnot agile — it’s just sloppy.

time

mar

ketin

g pr

oduc

tivity

Brand Debt

Agile Marketing

Robust “Done”Agile

Marketing Weak

“Done”

TraditionalMarketing

Brand Debt Rushing out sloppy work

ends up costing you time

Reducing mid-sprint “fire drills” also helps improve quality and consistency.

Myth #3: Agile marketing isshort-sighted — no long-term planning.

Agile marketing isn’tabout eliminating long-term plans.

It’s about implementinglong-term plans in a way that is more

responsive and adaptive.

A strong, clear vision is the fuel that powers the agile process.

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.

But we should acknowledge that the traditional annual marketing plan is lagging.

That is a dead marketing plan.

The “marketing plan” must become adaptive— and have the ability to self-correct.

The modern marketing plan is less gospel,more jazz — room for improvisation.

Tweetable moment?

Having too rigid of a plan issuboptimal in a dynamic environment.

Of course, being too “exploratory”without enough focus is suboptimal too.

Agile marketing is about balancing a clear direction with responsive adaptability.

Budgeting should adapt in a similar way:strategic buckets with in-bucket flexibility.

You can adapt agile methodologiesto best fit your organization.

A Scrum-based approach is just oneway to embrace an agile philosophy.

Or create your own methodology,drawing upon these 6 agile marketing

philosophical principles…

Adaptability

Shift happens.

Embrace and benefit from change instead of fighting it.

“Adapt or die.”– Billy Beane

Adaptability is a frame of mind.

Prioritization

When everythingis high priority, nothing is.

Give everyone a mechanism to agree on what is important.

Make trade-offs intentionally, not accidentally.

Transparency

Helps teams coordinate in a highly dynamic environment.

Give knowledge workers knowledge.

Build trust by providing visibility and open communications — increasing team performance.

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.

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.

Experimentation

Enable ways forteams to try newinnovations quickly,frequently, and ona 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

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.

“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

“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

Co-founder & CTOion interactive, inc.http://ioninteractive.com

sbrinker@ioninteractive.comTwitter: @chiefmartec

Author & EditorChief Marketing Technologisthttp://chiefmartec.com

Thank you! Please feel free to reach out to me if I can help in any way.