Outcomes and Agility

Recently updated on June 28th, 2023 at 09:15 am

Is your organisation ready to turn insights into innovation? The simplest and strongest strategy for dealing with the uncertainties of the future is using data to drive agile decision-making. The concept of agility methodology is not new, but its implementation remains a tricky prospect for the uninitiated. Making agile decisions can be a difficult prospect if information is limited, but when decision-makers are equipped with a wealth of data and insights, they can make quick decisions that lead to positive outcomes.

Key features of an agile methodology include:

• Empiricism – Take an action, observe the results, adapt future tactics to improve performance. Data-driven decision-making based on the observable facts, rather than opinion.
• Prioritisation – Work is delivered based on its relative value to the business. Go for quick wins first. Build the form around the function.
• Self-Organisation – Management from above is minimal as the team knows how to deliver the work based on the available resources and constraints. 
• Time-Boxing – Assigned tasks are given deadlines that team members are required to meet.
• Collaboration – Silos of communication are broken down. Cross-team collaboration and innovation are encouraged in order to complete tasks.

Agile businesses use data to drive positive outcomes. Through digital transformation data has become the oxygen on which the fire of business burns, but data itself is not enough. The key to making successful business decisions during times of uncertainty is the ability to measure outcomes. By accurately recording results marketers can learn what works and what doesn’t. 

Many brand decision-makers struggle to effectively use customer data, accurately measure ROI and draw actionable insights from the data they gather. In previous years the question was always: How to gather enough data? Now the question is: How to make sense of all the data available?

Successful businesses use measurement solutions to recognise relevant patterns in the collected data to adapt quickly to market changes and effectively drive growth. This is how data powers positive outcomes and improves agility. The most valuable way to derive insights from data is through experimentation, particularly when unpredictability is high. Adopting a test-and-learn mindset is essential. Through experimentation business leaders can test new channels and tactics, within a controlled environment, before rolling strategies out across the entire organisation.

As new standards are developed to deal with consumer privacy concerns, businesses must adapt to a first-party data approach. Tools and tactics exist to help business leaders understand the complex customer-journeys of today. 

These include:

• First-party data strategy
• Data-driven attribution
• Incremental experimentation
• Conversion modelling
• Cloud analytics

Every outcome doesn’t have to be stupendous innovation. However, each data-driven outcome does help to drive incremental improvements that help businesses to grow in the short term and be sustainable in the long-term. If you’re interested in adopting an agile approach in your business’ marketing strategies feel free to get in touch.