In a rapidly evolving market, "Agile Marketing," a strategy that fits the IT era, is gaining attention alongside traditional marketing approaches that consider promotional methods. This marketing approach allows companies to stay competitive by responding to consumer needs and introducing products and services accordingly.

What is Agile Marketing?

"Agile" is a term that originated from the software development industry. "Agile development" involves initiating IT projects with a preliminary small-scale plan and advancing rapidly by adapting to client needs and feedback. Even after release, Updates are implemented as necessary according to the circumstances. Agile Marketing is a methodology that applies this agile development approach from software development to the field of marketing.

Why is Agile Marketing Important?

In recent years, as IT has become widely adopted and markets have evolved rapidly, traditional marketing demands greater flexibility and swift adaptability to changing conditions. Traditional marketing typically involves long-term plans, usually on a yearly basis, with campaign planning taking place beforehand, followed by an evaluation of marketing efforts after the campaign is executed.

On the other hand, Agile Marketing starts on a smaller scale, with swift updates to actions, allowing resources such as personnel and costs to be allocated to the necessary areas. Agile Marketing is the most suitable approach for establishing a competitive advantage and ensuring a company’s survival in today's saturated and highly competitive market.

How to implement Agile Marketing

What is required to implement Agile Marketing?

Agile Marketing is not just about taking quick actions. To achieve tangible results, it is essential to clearly define goals and tasks and efficiently execute each step at a high speed while continuously testing, improving, and applying these improvements to the following action.

Here are four steps to implement Agile Marketing:


 

1. Plan: Tasks and Period Setting
   Instead of setting goals on a yearly basis, set short-term goals and tasks, such as quarterly (every three months). These goals should not be long-term and fixed but flexible and adjustable depending on the situation.
    
2. Do: Task Management and Action Implementation
   Break down the pre-set tasks into specific actions to achieve and execute short-term goals.
    
3. Check: Consumer Feedback
   Evaluate the results of the actions taken and gather consumer feedback through surveys to facilitate improvements.
    
4. Action: Post-Launch Updates
   Identify issues and areas for improvement in the marketing actions and update the strategy accordingly.
    

By repeating these four steps in a short cycle, you can speed up the process of implementing, testing, and improving marketing strategies, thus establishing a competitive advantage. In addition to these four steps, Agile Marketing requires collaboration with diverse cross-functional teams, including product development.

Let us look at an example of a company implementing Agile Marketing:

Implementing Agile Marketing

So, in which aspects of this success story was "Agile Marketing" practiced?

Practice 1: Starting small
The company launched the new product in selected regions and seasons, conducting test marketing and gathering consumer feedback. Based on consumer reactions (taste, packaging, and purchase locations), they gradually expanded the sales area.

Practice 2: Responding swiftly and effectively
By collecting consumer feedback, they could clearly identify their target audience and needs, allowing them to make quick improvements and briefly introduce the product to the market.

Practice 3: Allocating resources and budget where needed, with flexibility and speed
After launching the product, the company continued to gather consumer opinions and implemented small-scale campaigns tailored to specific seasons, regions, and target demographics.

Utilizing Online Surveys to Implement Agile Marketing

One of the critical factors for succeeding in Agile Marketing is gathering consumer opinions. Online surveys conducted via mobile devices or computers are an ideal way to collect survey results quickly and affordably. This makes them a perfect tool for test marketing or continuously gathering consumer feedback, aligning well with the principles of Agile Marketing.

At GMO Research & AI, we offer solutions like "Quick Survey" which allows you to create and distribute a survey to local consumers, collecting the necessary data in as little as one business day. We also provide "Custom Survey" which leverages one of the largest consumer networks in the Asia-Pacific region to collect targeted user data and deliver fast analysis reports.

Get ready for the next step

Feeling eager to start your own brand research? The next article about the five main methods of implementing brand research is bringing you to the next step. The pros and cons of each method will also be discussed.