Darwin's theory of evolution is also applicable in marketing: We live in a time of constant change. One trend is replaced by the next, it only takes a moment to bring about new important developments. As the world is becoming faster, marketing has to become more agile. If you want to make a splash with cutting-edge and creative campaigns, agile measures are the safe bet. Online marketing in particular allows marketers to act quickly and is as such the ideal home for an agile strategy.
What are the characteristics of agile marketing?
Never stop moving, be flexible and do not become fixated on that one though-out plan: These are the principles of agile marketing. In this type of marketing, brands launch new campaigns in relatively short succession that often relate in one way or another to current events or trends. Individual activities can be analyzed and evaluated independently of each other.
Quick responses to changes or trends are important in our day and age of constantly changing trends. The global village and connectedness around the clock require immediate responses to new developments. Using an agile marketing strategies, brands can react and integrate unexpected trends (for example on social media) into their marketing activities.
Advantages compared to static campaigns:
“Static advertising” refers to measures that are planned for a long time in advance and have a set start date. These campaigns are usually not adapted during their runtime and remain the same from beginning to end. They lack the ability to flexibly adapt to changing requirements or incoming feedback.
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Agile marketing, on the other hand, offers companies the opportunity to learn from marketing processes and customer feedback. In this type of marketing, individual measures are implemented at certain intervals. Each campaign can be analyzed individually, customer feedback can be taken into consideration and the overall success evaluated immediately. This enables adjustments and optimizations of subsequent measures. This approach allows the campaigns to be tailored more accurately to target groups. Furthermore, by dividing the individual measures, certain customer segments can be approached more individually, which is almost a must to get attention in our oversaturated society. In doing so, very experimental, creative and courageous actions can be launched without causing any major damage to the brand.
What are the disadvantages of agile marketing?
Experimental marketing measures can also backfire. This is quite obvious and usually not much cause for concern. However, care should be taken to ensure that the so-called "brand debts" are not becoming excessive. It is difficult to tell in advance how much deviation from the norm the customers are willing to tolerate before turning their backs. Customers' tolerance for missed shots is limited. However, if one finds the right measure, the courage for excellence and creativity can pay off and generate a lot of attention.
Furthermore, it should be considered that it is hardly possible or very difficult to undo the damage caused by miscalculated marketing campaigns. As a rule, customers give brands the benefit of doubt. But even the most tolerant and loyal customers have their limits. Once a campaign backfired, the pressure for subsequent measures becomes immense.
But do not worry: you can prevent such missteps in advance.
A "Definition of Done" will help you to avoid such traps. This means that certain directives are drawn up that regulate deviations from the quality standard you have implemented. This demarcates quite clearly the boundaries of the creative playing field.
The advantages at a glance:
- You can react quickly and spontaneously change the marketing plan
- You can test marketing measures on smaller groups
- You quickly learn about conventions and opinions
- You can start experiments without causing major damage
- You can address target groups individually
- You can quickly get feedback on individual actions
