Design flexible, adaptable teams built for speed
Marketing and data analytics teams that adopt an agile approach are flexible, adaptable and prioritize delivery speed over process precision. These flexible teams require three key ingredients to succeed:
- Composed of multidisciplinary generalists: Your team must connect customers’ behavioral dots across multiple devices and touchpoints, but few specialists have the breadth of experience necessary for this task. Staff your marketing data and analytics team mostly with generalists who possess experience across multiple analytics disciplines and can also deepen their expertise in one or two critical areas.
- Able to organize and lead itself: Build data and analytics teams that can self-organize. These squads of collaboration-minded teammates will work backward based on the timelines and priorities from management, but will determine among themselves how best to deploy resources and mobilize. Let teams decide who will supply the skills and fulfill the roles necessary for project outcomes. Encourage team members to rotate among roles, depending on the nature of each specific project.
- Able to adapt and iterate: Gartner clients report lead times of six weeks or more to develop and deliver complex reports, but in today’s marketing environment, no one can afford to wait that long for decision support. Make it easy for your team to quickly adapt and iterate by training individuals to independently access the information they need for quick answers and exploratory analysis. Reserve specialist resources and time-intensive analysis for the highest-value projects.
To enable a “test and learn” culture where swift adjustments inform what’s working and what isn’t, designate analysis and optimization “sprints” on your marketing roadmap. Augment your core analytics team with specific resources from trusted third parties to bring key skills onboard quickly when needed. Leverage relevant cross-functional internal resources when necessary.
Read more: How a Test and Learn Culture Improves Customer Experience
“Shed the rigid, slow and siloed processes of centralized teams and adopt an agile approach that embraces collaboration, change and transparency,” says Eubanks.