Marketing strategy consultancy CMG Partners today releases the results of its sixth-annual CMO's Agenda, "The Agile Advantage," a qualitative survey assessing the role and responsibilities of the chief marketer. CMG Partners conducted interviews with more than 40 CMOs, lead marketers, and Agile experts between July and October 2013 to cull the findings--that applying Agile methodology typically used in software development yields greater marketing effectiveness and efficiency.
In today's fast-paced, multichannel world, marketers no longer have the luxury to spend months crafting large projects; they must innovate and produce on the fly and respond immediately to market disruptions. In their new report, the researchers explain, "Agile for Marketing (A4M) drives long-term marketing strategies with short-term, customer-focused iterative projects that improve responsiveness and relevance. It allows for faster creative, more testing, smarter improvements and better results."
There is indeed room for improvement. The survey found that 63% of marketing leaders indicate agility as a high priority, but only 40% rate themselves as agile. And that's leaving opportunity on the table, as the survey also found that marketing departments who consider themselves agile are three times more likely to significantly grow market share.
I reached out to Barre Hardy, senior director of CMG Partners, to learn more about the findings and what they mean for CMOs.
Why apply the Agile approach commonly used in software development to marketing?
The CMOs we spoke with needed a solution that would help them orient marketing activities around the constant change in the marketplace—a solution that allows them to be more dynamic and flexible in their operations, more productive, and more collaborative and integrated in their work product. With Agile, CMOs gain the flexibility and productivity they need to increase speed-to-market and ultimately create more relevant end-products.
Is there still confusion or inconsistency in the definition of agile among CMOs?
Most CMOs think of agile in terms of being nimble, being able to react quickly to the market. They understand that to achieve
What’s driving the need to be agile?
As CMOs become more and more responsible for growth, they have an unprecedented need for speed and flexibility. In today’s always-on, always-connected market, those two factors equal a tremendous competitive advantage. With the pace of change in customer needs, the CMOs who figure Agile out first and best will outperform in their markets.
Why is it so necessary now?
These days, there’s no more time to waste, and with easy access to data, CMOs have a choice: Be agile—use data to inform quick test-and-learn activities and rapidly adjust to the market—OR follow the status quo and "wait for perfect.” Marketers who wait to deliver a big splash are not taking advantage of real-time ways to infuse market feedback into the development process.
To what extent are marketing organizations currently NOT agile?
Sixty-three percent of lead marketers we surveyed consider agility extremely important, yet only twenty-six percent consider their organization very agile. That's a lot of upside. Many marketing organizations still are challenged by complex organizational structures, a lack of collaboration, processes that slow them down, and a volume of work that causes teams to be always reacting versus working on initiatives that will drive growth. All of these hinder an organization’s ability to be agile.
What is step one for CMOs looking to create agile organizations?
Creating an agile organization really starts with the culture. CMOs need to define the vision for the type of organization they want to be — data-driven, collaborative, adaptable, and experimental — and how they want to operate. It is critical to create this shared vision and communicate, reinforce, and model the behavior expected of the team.
The biggest roadblock for CMOs in creating agility in their organization is in managing through the change, getting your team to think differently, bringing along the employees who resist the change, and creating that shared vision for what you want the organization to be and how you want it to operate.
Agility is also frequently blocked by a company's culture or organizational processes that prohibit quick decision making. It's hard to create a culture of agility in your organization if employees are afraid to fail or take risks, if you have cumbersome approval processes, or unclear goals and objectives. CMOs can control these within their organizations but if the wider business isn't also focused on agility, these can be harder to control.
What are the three biggest upsides to marketing agility?
1. Business Performance: Marketers who have adopted Agile are seeing increased business performance due to faster delivery, enhanced focus on the things that matter, and greater productivity from their teams.
2. Employee Satisfaction: Perhaps the most unexpected benefit of marketing agility is employees working in agile environments report a greater overall sense of satisfaction and pride in their work due to feeling more empowered, greater clarity in how their role impacts the business, and a more collaborative work environment.
3. Adaptability: Marketers are better equipped to handle marketplace challenges and opportunities having built flexibility into their business operations. This is positioning marketing leaders to deliver sustainable growth for their companies.
