Build an agile marketing practice with the retrospective

Over many years of working in agile marketing environments, I’ve found that adopting just one agile ceremony both improves partnerships and optimizes productivity. Even if a team doesn’t fully deploy campaigns or assets with the guidance of a scrum master, works solely in sprints and uses dedicated software to size and track tasks, they can still continuously improve. Regularly-held retrospectives aid in refocusing or rewarding behaviors and driving efficiency.

What is an agile ceremony?

Agile ceremonies are a set of repeating rituals that play an important role in ensuring that the team is tracking progress where they are dependencies on others. They are typically sprint planning, daily standups, sprint result reviews and sprint retrospectives. Said simply, a sprint is a time boxed period, where the whole team plans and executes on common goals. Working in sprints – in part – helps  prioritize requests and aids in continuous improvement.

Other agile practices are kanban or lean and when the entire methodology is employed by marketing teams, it can be powerful. This article is solely focused on how to adopt retrospectives, but you can read more here about which environments are best suited for adoption of an Agile Marketing Cell.

Retrospective definition

I prefer the term retrospective over other terms, like a “post-mortem.” Using the latter can feel dramatic or problematic and either term has the same intention. A cycle of work has ended and we are seeking to understand all of the factors that occurred as it was completed.

In a Go-to-Market (GTM) environment, in particular, things can move in an unproductive direction quickly. Blame can be readily assigned, when competing priorities or speed of work strain relationships. Frustration can be mitigated when each contributor knows that their unique perspective is valued. The goal is to build a space where all voices can be heard once the launch or delivery has concluded.

Attributes of a successful retrospective practice

Success is highly dependent on one particular individual, and the first step in building a retrospective practice is to identify them. This may be a marcom or campaign manager, project / program manager, team leader, or an actual scrum master, if one exists. As you look internally for the master of ceremony, you might find that it exists in a more technical resource. Be open to the attributes vs. their job title.

This main player needs to have a natural or proven ability to facilitate, build consensus and provide high levels of diplomacy and communication. Ideally, they are well-regarded, because they will repeatedly and gently but firmly hold all members of the marketing team and stakeholders accountable. I once heard someone refer to this task leader as a champion and it stuck with me. They’re invested in a winning outcome and consistently empowered to lead.

With the champion of leading retrospectives assigned, they and the team should consider these guidelines:

• Project contributors (product managers, creatives, marketing managers, web developers, and more) are given a heads up that retrospectives will be held

• Different frameworks are vetted and one is chosen to be trialed for the first few retrospectives. Two examples are an Iteration Retrospective or the 4Ls

• A template that guides the meeting is selected to match the framework. Before the first retrospective is held, feedback on the template might be gathered

• The business leader with authority and responsibility for the wider group’s impact stresses the importance of retrospectives. They might occasionally attend readouts and recognize excellence in communication and partnership

• A list of points of friction or success is captured while the work is happening. This ensures that details aren’t forgotten and reassures contributors that their input will be considered

As a consultant, I encourage my clients to remember that it takes mental energy, commitment and persistence to build new muscle in holding successful retrospectives, so choosing a format that best matches the style of the group and then sticking with it for an agreed-upon time period works best.

Getting started

My advice with adopting agile marketing is always to start small – in a Minimally Viable Product or MVP mindset – and then to iterate. Starting with retrospectives is one of the best ways to see if the group has a desire to adopt other agile ceremonies. It can be easy to build on, as the team is now in the habit of working together to continuously improve in cycles.

If you would like help implementing or refining agile marketing, contact Martech Consulting Group or send us a note at business@martechconsultinggroup.com.

More thoughts on the subject

• The Agile Marketing Cell

• The power of the daily standup (upcoming article)