This is just how marketing has to be, right? Here are seven reasons why Agile Marketing is tailor-made for startups: 1. Minimizes risk The Agile Marketing approach calls for quick validation of ideas. Drives results that lead to better ideas One of the tenets of Agile Marketing is to start small, learn and scale. Once you understand what a customer responds and relates to, how you improve your output is critical. The Agile process allows teams to apply their learnings to a better and smarter version of their MVP -- that’s when the real iteration begins. These days it’s a necessity to stay competitive, and one that traditional marketing simply doesn’t allow. While a deep hierarchy is not normally an issue in startups, the only way an Agile process works is if upper management is either an active participant in the process, or you empower someone on your team to make decisions on your behalf. Assigning a deliverable at the end of every single sprint cycle also ensures that the team feels confident it is getting value out of the process. Agile marketing methodologies allow teams to quickly get an idea or concept out to customers early with smaller budgets, less risk and better ideas.
Some flavor of this conversation happens every single day: “We’d love to help you with your marketing efforts. We’ll go off and in XX weeks (or months) we’ll come back to you with the solution. Don’t worry, it’ll be just what you need. Let’s just agree to a big, fat price (or retainer) up front and just trust that your money will be well spent!”
Since the beginning of marketing, this is the way agencies and clients have done the dance. Leaving most decision-makers with an uneasy feeling in their gut, but motivated to reluctantly move forward. This is just how marketing has to be, right? Well, not exactly.
Particularly in the first few years of the growth of a business, every dollar spent is critical. Every moment your message isn’t in market is a moment that your competition is winning over your audience. Startups, by nature, must do more with less on a daily basis, and when it comes to marketing, many have a dip-your-toe-in-the-water mentality.
There is a solution to the old, traditional mentality and methodologies of marketing. It’s called Agile Marketing. The relentless pursuit of iterating and scaling to bigger, better ideas with efficiency and speed. A model much better suited to keep pace with the entrepreneurial spirit of companies today.
Here are seven reasons why Agile Marketing is tailor-made for startups:
1. Minimizes risk
The Agile Marketing approach calls for quick validation of ideas. Before launching full-scale campaigns, Agile allows you to learn early if the concept resonates. Its foundation is built on placing lots of small “bets” vs. one large one. First, decide on an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) — this is the simplest essence of your final output. Then, get it in front of your audience. Your MVP might be a social post or an email, but its purpose is to gather immediate learnings. Ideally, test several versions in order to fail fast on the ones that don’t work and scale the ones that do. This process takes the opinion and subjectivity out of the equation, because crossing your fingers and hoping a concept will work for the market does not protect your investment, or guarantee success.
COMMENTS