The adaptive and agile marketing approach for maintaining brand visibility during uncertainty

Marketing is no doubt a marathon, not a sprint. The best results are garnered from consistent marketing and clear messaging over time. It’s how businesses grow their influence and impact as market leaders. 

This is why even in times of uncertainty, we can’t afford to stop marketing. Out of sight means out of mind for customers who could benefit from investing in our products/services. But with limits on internal resources and an unsettled business landscape, how can businesses sustain a marketing presence?

Taking an adaptive and agile marketing approach will enable businesses to maintain consistency, brand visibility, and ultimately a flow of customers, no matter the internal or external challenges they face. 

Here are two adaptive and agile marketing practices that drive results in changing circumstances.

The cycle of agility in marketing

First, maximise the marketing you are already producing to get the best outcomes from your current input by following the cycle of agility in marketing.

While marketing is a marathon, it’s best executed in sprints. Instead of focusing only on 36-month, 18-month or even 12-month marketing plans, break it down into shorter sprints. Agility is all about moving with the changes, not behind them, so our marketing continues to serve our customers and bring in new business. 

The marketing that worked in Q1 isn’t necessarily going to provide the same results in Q3. We need to review and make adjustments to maintain momentum. A 90-day cycle of the following 3-step process has proved to work well. 

• Plan – Create a 90-day marketing plan of what you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it through multiple marketing channels and deliverables.

• Execute – Follow the 90-day plan, using it as a step-by-step guide for your marketing campaigns and specific deliverables, tracking your results along the way.

• Optimise – Before creating your next 90-day plan, review the results of the previous plan and account for any market changes. Learn from the last quarter to grow in the next.

Follow this cycle on repeat to be consistent with marketing while keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s working and identifying where there is room for improvement. It results in marketing campaigns that are unified and action-driven. 

Outsource flexible marketing support

Then review the operations behind your marketing to see where you can fill gaps and maintain activity in a cost-effective way. 

Many organisations can’t yet bring in a dedicated marketing employee or expand their in-house team to better meet their needs. Outsourced marketing support provides the flexibility and adaptability businesses need to stay consistent through the shifts and changes. 

• They get access to senior-level experts without in-house financial headaches such as training and equipment. 
• Businesses pay for the type of support they need only for as long as they need it, flexing up and down the support they receive as their circumstances change. 
• It isn’t as expensive as many expect because they are paying for a day or two of support from the marketing executive, not a monthly salary. 

Outsourcing has a lot of potential for companies that are struggling to stay consistent and garner results from their marketing.

Acting as an in-house team

Some organisations don’t have an in-house marketing team at the moment but they don’t want to disappear from marketing and view of potential customers. They can maintain consistent marketing by working with an outsourced marketing executive. From creating an agile plan to executing the deliverables, they’ll fill the gap in their team and maintain brand visibility. 

As a marketing professional with 26 years of experience and skills in both traditional and digital marketing, I often lead marketing for companies without an in-house team. 

Interim between an in-house team

Due to the redistribution of internal resources, some companies have had to hit pause on plans to build their in-house marketing team. That doesn’t mean they have to hit pause on marketing results. They can work with an outsourced marketing executive for a set period of time to cover the interim. They will step in to handle marketing and maintain brand visibility while the company comes to a decision about how to manage marketing long-term. 

Companies get access to high-level expertise without the hassle of recruitment until the organisation is ready to make that commitment. 

Support generalist marketing managers

Working with an outsourced marketing executive is a cost-effective way to develop an in-house team. Marketing is increasingly multidisciplinary, requiring marketing managers to handle a lot of different channels and often creating skills gaps. An outsourced marketing executive can create additional deliverables and guide the existing team to refine their approach, unifying and elevating marketing efforts. 

I’ve led both junior and experienced marketing executives in creating purposeful and impactful marketing campaigns. 

Deliver event, launch and fixed-term campaigns 

In some cases, the in-house marketing team can handle the day-to-day marketing but struggles to manage the workload of additional campaigns that would improve business outcomes. Outsourced marketing provides the flexibility to bring on extra support as needed. Up the ante through running an event, launching a new product or updating the website without worrying about how to manage it all. 

I’ve worked with clients on a fixed-term basis as an addition to their team and ensured they could fully leverage the opportunity of the new campaign. 

Ultimately, as businesses, we just want to serve our clients. First, we need to reach them and help them understand the value of investing in us. Marketing is the vehicle through which customers find and choose us. So we can’t afford to stop marketing during uncertain times. We need to be adaptive and agile in how we manage marketing going forward. 

• Working in 90-day plans ensures we are making refinements to maximise our impact and fulfil our customers’ needs. 
• Working with outsourced marketing support has the adaptability to fill gaps in marketing capabilities without the in-house financial headaches or long-term commitment. 

Book a discovery call to discuss how I can provide the marketing support you need in your current circumstances with adaptability and agility.