It seems like every time we turn around, someone else is talking about the way they are using agile marketing for their company. But what is it? Why is it such a big deal? And how does someone start doing agile marketing for their company?

First of all, agile marketing is a great way to approach spreading the word about your business. It makes it possible to keep your brand moving forward, try different things instead of putting your entire marketing budget into one bucket, and it gives you important data that will help improve your efforts when analyzed and executed. It is comprised of a number of small marketing activities that happen fast, have rapid iterations, and are responsive based on the data collected. The point is to plan marketing activities that are fast, transparent, logical, and that will allow you to test the waters to see what works and what doesn’t.

Why is it such a big deal? Well, think about it for a second. Traditional marketing is a mixture of “tried and true” events like tradeshows, direct mail campaigns, webinars, and cold calling. But what happens if your prospects aren’t attending as many tradeshows as they did 5 years ago. Or what if your email campaigns aren’t getting the open and click through rates you’d hoped for? That’s where agile marketing comes into play. It allows your company to respond to the activities your prospects are engaging in. Maybe it’s not tradeshows- maybe it’s social media. Or maybe direct mail campaigns aren’t working, but an email newsletter would get through. Agile marketing is a big deal because it allows you to meet your customers and prospects where they are instead of being stuck in a pattern of standard marketing activities.

So how do you start doing agile marketing? Here are 7 ways to get started today.

Make it a Team Effort

By leveraging your team (whether it’s sales, marketing, technical, etc.), you are opening up your marketing activities to multiple points of view, more people to handle the workload, and more eyes to analyze the results that come back.

Ask Questions

Don’t just accept things at face value. Ask questions, figure out new ways to achieve your goals, and be skeptical. Often times, one question can open up new ways to reach your audience.

Let the Data Drive

Instead of focusing on what looks good and feels right, focus on the data. Make decisions based on the data, and adjust your activities so the things that your prospects respond well to get more budget and more attention.

Be Imperfect

If you wait until something is perfect, you’re never going to get anything done. Don’t be afraid to send an email even if a few lines aren’t perfectly aligned or you haven’t perfected your copy to the nth degree. Push it out, see if it works, and refine as you go.

Be Decision Driven

Don’t do things for the sake of doing them. Don’t join Twitter or Facebook just to get your company on those platforms- join them with the decision to engage with your customers and prospects and promote your business in the social realm.

Be Iterative

This goes right along with being imperfect. Be prepared to make multiple iterations of your materials. Agile means you are flexible and you adapt to whatever results you get. By making multiple versions, you are creating the best version with the best messaging for your potential clients.

Be Customer Focused

Speaking of clients, keep them in mind. Write, design, and execute based on their demographic and their habits. If your marketing doesn’t take into account the people you’re trying to persuade, then you will be neither agile nor successful.

Join us and try these 7 steps of highly agile marketing and see what happens in your organization. We also invite you to contact us for help with your online agile marketing.