10 Lessons For Agile Marketing

Grant McDougall
Aug 8, 2017 · 2 min read

Agile methodologies are the standard in software development environments, and we are now seeing the widespread adoption in marketing organizations. At Blackbelt, we have had the pleasure of serving large and small corporations that are seeking to be more responsive.

We have taken several lessons from working with these great companies:

1. Cross functional expertise leads to outstanding results financially and culturally.

2. Marketing leaders need to provide the necessary structure to facilitate communication and human connections. Being responsive requires focus and a
problem-solving mindset.

3. Adopt squads and organize them around the customer, not the product they market. Keep teams small — no more than 9 — and if possible have them sit together.

4. Think like a startup with a bias for action. Be obsessed with product-market fit and lightning-fast execution. Larger companies can adopt a bias for action by breaking down internal silos through the inclusion of sales, marketing customer success, product marketing, demand/growth marketing, digital and brand to drive a customer-first strategy.

5. Be disciplined with the use of daily stand-ups and have then powered by the client data, such as net promoters (NPS), customer service logs, and campaign performance MQL’s, conversions, etc.

6. Enable the team with tools to reduce friction, such as Trello, Zoom video conferencing, Slack. Master collaboration.

7. Muster a sense of urgency — daily and weekly productivity trumps perfection. Take action!

8. Take the time to reflect on progress, celebrate the success and stop what is not.

9. Take personal responsibility to drive communication more frequently and with clarity.

10. Marketing is meant to be product driven through the connection with consumers. Don’t forget the fun.

If I can be of any help on your journey in adopting agile marketing please do not hesitate to email me.

Grant McDougall

CEO

Blackbelt

325 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94111

grant.mcdougall@blackbelt.ai

Grant McDougall

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