Report: More Organizations are Embracing Agile Marketing Strategies

A number of companies are turning to agile marketing strategies to resonate with their customers and drive results, according to new research.

The “Future of Marketing” report from Forbes Insights and Aprimo found that 29 percent of respondents “strongly agree” that their companies fully embrace marketing agility. However, 74 percent stated that the agility of marketing operations is a challenge. Only 23 percent considered themselves “highly successful” in agile marketing in terms of delivering relevant, individualized customer communications.

About 37 percent of agile marketers measure their success by their efficiency, defined as their speed-to-market. Thirty percent gauge their success on the on-time completion of marketing projects, while 27 percent used customer response. Twenty-four percent said they measured it according to their flexible approach to changing customer needs.

To improve their agility, 43 percent of respondents said that they intend to implement a new marketing plan, workflow management, and spend management.

Reaping the Benefits of Agile Marketing

Marketers are not new to utilizing agile strategies to achieve their objectives. A report published by Workfront found that 40 percent of marketers use a combination of methodologies to handle their daily tasks. About 30 percent turn to an agile method in particular to accomplish their goals.

Approximately 32 percent of respondents stated that other departments in their company also use agile strategies. Overall, 41 percent of marketers said that they already have an agile plan in place, or they are thinking about implementing one within the next four years.

“Agile focuses on improving the speed, productivity, adaptability, and responsiveness of creative work,” said Joe Staples, chief marketing officer at Workfront.