Sprints for Marketers: A Reliable and Reusable Framework

Over the years, disciplines like product management and software development have adopted solid frameworks of how to work effectively and in a structured way (SCRUM, Design Sprints etc.) However, when it comes to marketing teams, it often sounds more like: "Lets throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks".

While there is no widely accepted framework for marketers that I know of, I like Alexa Hubley's simple adaptation of Google Venture's Design Sprint methodology.

The Five Phases of a Marketing Sprint

Alexa outlines the process in five distinct phases that you go through for every marketing project or marketing campaign in sequential order.

1. Map - Do proper research, gather feedback and set informed goals.
2. Sketch - Within your team, ideate and pitch ideas to reach your goals.
3. Decide - Vote and decide on content, channels and tactics.
4. Prototype - Build a prototype that conveys your ideas just enough, so that you can test it with real users.
5. Test - Test your prototype with real users from your target group, gather feedback and make the appropriate changes.

In her article, she goes into much more detail for each of those phases and provides helpful additional resources on how you can run your own marketing sprints.

One Caveat

I have tried a similar approach myself in the past and found it incredibly difficult for marketing projects or campaigns to adhere to the frameworks' original one-week format. What we did at the time, is to extend the sprints and make them 2-6 weeks long, while staying true to the rest of the design sprint methodology.

It definitely takes some getting used to, especially if you are accustomed to just "work away" on your projects. But over time, you and your team will make up for it with an increased sense of productivity, accomplishment and confidence in your results.

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