From waterfall to agile marketing

From waterfall to agile marketing

Waterfall marketing is the traditional, linear approach to marketing where each step in the process is completed before moving on to the next. It involves identifying the target market, creating a marketing plan, executing the plan, and evaluating the results.

Agile marketing is the newer, more flexible approach that emphasises rapid experimentation, continuous learning, and iteration. It involves identifying and prioritising high-impact marketing activities, executing them quickly, and continually adjusting/refining based on results.

Conventional Waterfall Marketing	Modern Agile Marketing
big ideas	micro strategies
big bang launches	rapid iterations, big insights
big scope of activities	laser-focused activities
big cycles, usually bi/annual or quarterly	2-4-weeks sprints
big upfront budgets	light upfront budgets
big risks	lowered risks

Some key pillars of agile marketing

Focus on what’s most important from the customer viewpoint
Build small ninja-like cross-functional teams
Define a backlog of experimentations to run e.g. channels, touch-points, content
Put nimble processes in place to test, learn, share, and scale fast
Develop a culture of experimentation, data, and learning from failure
Communicate frequently, ideally on a daily basis, effectively and openly