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Unleash the powerof Agile withinmarketing1

THE DIGITAL SHIFTCALLS FOR AGILEMAKING SENSE OFAGILE MARKETINGDigitalization and the emergence of new digital technologies areconstantly transforming customer habits and preferences in termsof drivers for customer value. Due to customers’ shifting behavior,companies are facing an increasing need to fundamentally changehow they operate their business in order to secure customer valueand to stay competitive.Transforming marketing functions today is not solely aboutchanging which marketing activities that are executed, but ratherhow the marketing activities are executed. Capgemini Invent seesagile marketing as the application of agile methodologies in themarketing domain, which is often characterized by dividingmarketing activities into different phases (‘sprints’) while keepingan iterative project approach. Three key activities included in anagile marketing approach are:In the marketing domain, executives are now faced with thequestion of how to transform their traditional marketingorganization in order to increase the relevance of their offering.There is an underlying fear of the emerging competition fromdigital leaders who are more agile in their operations and hencebetter equipped for winning customers in the digital age.Digital transformation is on the agenda for most companies acrossmany domains. Nevertheless, to fully embrace the digital era ofmarketing, organizations need to unleash the power of agile withinmarketing and start using an agile approach in e.g. digital saleschannels, digital marketing and digital product development. Thepurpose of agile ways of working is to improve companies’performance through an increased customer centricity, faster timeto market of created initiatives and an increased efficiency withinthe organization. Use of data and analytics to continuously evaluate andadopt marketing activities based on customers’ needs Run new ideas each week based on improvement insightsfrom previous sprints Develop and test new data driven concepts with a fastpaceAgile marketing includes working agile across the entire marketingrelevant domains including e.g. product and service development,customer propositions, customer acquisition, customer retentionand customer loyalty.CompanyMarketingBrand &MarketCommunicationInnovation& l SalesMarketingExecutionAgile MarketingBusiness developmentInsights and dataCustomer supportFigure 1: Illustrative example of working agile across all marketing relevant domains2

WHY AGILEMARKETINGAgile marketing is turning into a popular buzzword, andimplementation projects of agile methodologies are initiatedacross many sectors. Capgemini Invent supports companies inintroducing and applying aforementioned agile methodologies intheir business operating model, including the marketing and theproduct offering domain.Generally, there are two well-known benefits of changing currentways of working to agile ways of working: an improvedunderstanding of customer needs (enhanced customer centricity)as well as an ability to move faster into the market with variousinitiatives i.e. campaigns, new collaborations and productdevelopment initiatives. Applied and executed correctly, an agileapproach in the marketing domain will increase efficiency leading toa better return of investment for the marketing spend.FASTER TIME TO MARKET: Development in the market and userpreferences are moving so fast that turnaround time needs tomatch the speed of the emerging competition from companiesrecognized as digital leaders. Included in the agile method is asprint and iterative project approach which enables an earlylaunch of a product which then, based on data driven insights, canbe iterated and improved over time.EFFICIENCY GAINS: Shifting to agile marketing puts the valuederived from different marketing activities in the center due tocontinuous testing with users, adjustments and optimization everyday, regardless of whether it is a product development project orexecution of a digital marketing campaign.ENHANCED CUSTOMER CENTRICITY: Precision is needed in orderto meet the customers’ needs in products, offerings and marketcommunication. Moreover, the ability to adapt to customers everchanging preferences needs to be incorporated into organizations’ways of working. Agile marketing methods provide better supportby applying user centric, value driven and iterative approaches.Areas Of ApplicationMarketing Marketing communication Brand awareness Brand loyaltyAgilemarketingAchieved BenefitsEnhanced customercentricityAn ability to adjust theoffering to customerpreferencesOffering & ProductsFaster time to market Business and product development Sales & CRMFast response time tochanges in customers’needs and preferencesCustomer JourneysEfficiency gains Efficient and personalized customerjourneys Easily adapt to changing customerpreferencesTesting with users,adjusting & optimizingcontinuouslyFigure 2: Illustrative example of the benefits of incorporating agile marketing in the organization3

AGILE MARKETINGIN REALITYTheoretically, implementing an agile approach across themarketing relevant domain seems to be the way to reducecustomer churn and secure added customer value. In order to fullyexplore the potential benefits of agile marketing, CapgeminiInvent presents a real use case where Capgemini Invent supportedan energy retailer to successfully implement agile methods in theircampaign management for new product and service offerdevelopment.Establishing insight driven iterativeways of workingEach squad was assigned to drive a specific marketing campaignarea. The purpose for that set-up was to make each squad expertsin their respective areas to enable their own continuousimprovement. After designing and scoping a draft for a marketingcampaign, the campaign was launched in the first project sprint.Designing the canvas for an agilemarketing organizationAfter launching the first sprint, continuous evaluation of themarket response of the marketing campaign took place i.e. followup on KPIs for digital channels used and follow-up KPIs on targetedcustomer segments.In order to secure a suitable working climate for agile ways ofworking, the first step was to establish new smaller crossfunctional teams (‘squads’) within the marketing function. Thesquads consisted of members from different parts of theorganization e.g. digital sales and production. Establishing clearboundaries including a set budget and clear KPIs, the squads couldwork autonomously.Gathering insights from the first sprint could then be used asconcrete improvements for the marketing campaign launched inthe second sprint.Moving into an agile approach quicklyleads to tangible resultsIn parallel to setting up the teams, an internal review of currentprocesses was conducted in order to centralize the knowledgewithin the team and to work efficiently during the sprints.By changing the current ways of working to agile methods, insightsfrom real time exposure to customers could be used in order torefine current campaigns. This resulted in increased conversionrates and a better understanding of the drivers for customerretention. Furthermore, by starting the agile transformation in asmaller scale, insights on how to expand the agile ways of workinginto other operative marketing, and other, departments werefound.To secure a sufficient knowledge base and the right workingenvironment for continuous learning within the team, the squadmembers were attributed following roles: Campaign owner,Campaign manager (agile coach), Offering responsible, Channelexecutor, Media buyer, UX and Creative designer and an Analyst fortargeted segments.Agile Marketing & SalesMarketingSalesINCREASED CONVERSION RATESClear KPIs, budget and autonomous teams withindefined boundariesINCREASED REVENUE (NEW ACQUISITION, UPSELLON EXISTINGBASE)REDUCED ACQUISITION COSTSDedicated to an area e.g. customer acquisition,upsell/cross-sell, customer retentionTeam4Campaign ownerCampaignmanagerOffering responsibleChannel executorOwns the commercial roadmap andaligns the campaign plan with theoverall marketing & sales strategyManages the group andensures that the structure of theagile process is being followedCoordinates the work withproduct development &salesExecutes on non-digital channelstrategy and roll outMedia buyerUX & Creative designerAnalystManages the relationship &collaborating withmedia agenciesResponsible for visuals anddesignCompiles insights which work as inputbefore, after and during the sprintsFigure 3: Illustrative example of how to incorporate agile methodologies in the marketing and sales domain

TRANSFORMING INTO ANAGILE MARKETINGORGANIZATIONWhile it may be tempting to move into agile ways of workingquickly, experience shows that such a transformation should bemanaged carefully while maintaining the ambition to move fast.This is what we call a controlled agile approach.There are five key steps when moving into agile marketing:1) Set a vision from the top management and have a long-termroadmap and vision of the desired end state2) Identify and select core areas where agile methodsnaturally create value3) Start small with pilots, learn, adapt and then quickly scale4) Manage the transformation in an agile way withmanagement actively working to remove the backlog ofrequired decisions and roadblocks5) When the organization is mature and have developed anefficient way of working, it is important to start to expandinto new operating areas i.e. product-and servicedevelopmentThe number one critical factor to succeed is top managementownership of an agile vision with customer centricity at heart anda willingness to move there quickly.1Visionfrom top anda long-termroadmap2Core areaswhere agilemethods naturallycreate value3AgileMarketingPilotlearn, adapt andrapidly scale4Managein an agile way,removingroadblocks5ExpandIntonew areas,products andservicesFigure 6: Steps of moving into an agile marketing organization5