• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 28, 2022

In theory, email teams are the original agile marketers, responding to change instead of following a set plan. But are their larger marketing teams able to do that?  

Some are, judging by The Impact Of Agile Marketing, a study by Ascend2. 

Of those polled, 43% have adopted Agile marketing, while 12% have fully adopted it. Another 21% are currently implementing it, and 17% are planning to, while 19% have no such plans.  

Of those who have adopted Agile marketing, 29% rate themselves as very successful at it, and 67% as somewhat so. Only 4% say they are unsuccessful.  

The main obstacles to going Agile are:

• Identifying/implementing the right technology — 48% 
• Obtaining and utilizing data — 38% 
• Sustaining consistency in output — 38%
• Allocating adequate resources—37% 
• Employee burnout/strain — 30%
• Testing and optimization — 28%
• Obtaining leadership buy-in — 19% 

But the benefits seem well worth it:

• Flexibility and adoptability to new challenges — 54% 
• Faster time to get things completed — 41% 
• More effective prioritization of work — 39%
• Higher quality of work — 36%
• Easier cross-functional collaboration — 29%
• More relevant metrics — 28% 
• Improved team morale — 18%
• Reduced risks — 18%

Agile is not a new idea: At least 20 years ago, software developers were saying that Agile ensured they would no longer work on a project for a year and then be told it was cancelled. 

In marketing, 90% feel Agile’s importance is growing, and 22% feel it is increasing significantly. 

Why switch to Agile Marketing? Marketers say the top reasons are to:

• Improve productivity—45%
• Increase competitive advantage—43%
• Improve customer satisfaction—39% 
• Enhance ability to manage changing priorities—36%
• Increase innovation—25% 
• Improve measurement—20% 
• Mitigate marketing costs—20% 
• Improve employee satisfaction—14%
• Improve internal communications alignment—12%
• Increase project transparency—10%

And what are the key components of an Agile marketing strategy?

• Collaboration alignment—63% 
• Management/communication tools—54% 
• Data—50%
• Structure of the team—41%
• Testing—29%
• Structure of daily meetings—14%

Finally, how do agile marketers feel about achieving their goals in the next 12 months? They are:

• Hopeful (44%)
• Confident (26%) 
• Cautious (17%)
• Indifferent (10%
• Doubtful (3%)

Ascend surveyed 321 marketing professional from April 14-24. Of these, 25% were n B2B companies, 45% in B2C and 30% in B2B and B2C equally. In addition, 11% were in firms with more than 500 employees, 20% in those with 50 to 500 and 69% in organizations with fewer than 50.