What a turbulent decade the 2020s are turning out to be, especially for retail brands. Ivan Mazour, CEO and Founder of Ometria, and Lucy Kemish, Global Senior CRM Manager at Astrid & Miyu, sat down for a fireside chat recently at Attentive’s Thread conference to discuss agile marketing strategies to stay responsive and experimental as we work through the challenges that have come through the pandemic, crypto, inflation and more. 

Each one of these events we’ve lived through is on a scale of ‘once-in-a-decade’. Of a scale that potentially requires a rethink of the entire business strategy. And yet they’re not once-in-a-decade events, they’re happening to us several times a year. And we don’t have time to take a pause, to take a step back, to do a big rethink of our whole strategy each time. 

And let’s be honest, we are not done yet. No one knows how the economic environment will play out over the coming quarters. If you’re a marketer at a retail brand right now, you’ll know these pressures all too well, combined with the expectation to achieve more with less.

And yet. It’s not clear what customers are going to respond to, and how. In today’s world what worked last month isn’t going to work this month. The world will have moved on, as will your customers. So you need a way to work out, every month, every week, every day, what will get you real, high-margin orders from loyal customers who keep coming back.

Below are key themes that bubbled to the surface during this fireside chat as Lucy recalls how Astrid & Miyu’s agile approach helps them to adapt and scale quickly in uncertain times. 

Try a test & learn approach 

Instead of mulling over campaign plans for 6-12 months, try a quick campaign based on a recent learning. It may not always be perfect, but you will always learn valuable lessons. Keep it simple, don’t second-guess, and make sure you are able to course-correct quickly if needed. To be agile with a test-and-learn approach, you need to trust your instincts, be resourceful with your data, and trust that each time, you’re learning something from the engagement. 

Trust goes a long way 

Trust in your team and in yourself makes it easier to be agile and adapt quickly to ever-changing circumstances and customer demands. Replacing processes with trust and intuition can really go a long way. Trusting your partners to build a strong data foundation is equally important. Synergy between platforms and data sources will only build a stronger backbone to your marketing, and enable you to give your customers personalized experiences at scale. 

Feedback is paramount

It might not always be possible to be quantitative for newer initiatives but always aim to gather qualitative feedback and insights. Whether it be straight from the team in front of customers daily, tracking engagement and actions or inactions, and asking your valued customers to weigh in – you can learn a lot and tailor your next steps for day-to-day operations and long-term scale. 

Be authentic

Authenticity within your brand and marketing as you expand helps to keep the trust between your team and your customers. Authenticity allows for creativity and openness to experimental tactics and compelling brand moments in a way that supports building a strong community of customers that love your brand.

Watch the full fireside chat with Ivan and Lucy below, or here