University Helps Local Businesses Understand Agile Marketing

School is in session and local business owners are encouraged to attend as Nick Kastner, marketing manager and instructor at the Mike Cottrell College of Business at the University of North Georgia, speaks on agile marketing methodologies. The session is part of The Cottrell MBA Speaker Series and will be hosted at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13 at the Post Road Library. Agile Marketing Planning is free to attend, but registration is requested.

Agile marketing accelerates and adds flexibility to traditional marketing practices, allowing businesses to act quickly on opportunities to attract and retain customers.

"In some ways, agile marketing allows greater growth opportunity for organizations. We all know that things in today's business environment can change rapidly. Agile marketing allows for organizations to respond to that change quickly, rather than waiting until the next marketing planning session," explains Kastner.

In addition to his role at UNG, Kastner works as a marketing consultant for regional organizations, primarily focused on agency reviews, content and digital marketing, and strategic marketing planning. He knows the importance of understanding customers and keeping a finger on the pulse of their changing needs and wants.

"Through agile marketing, organizations focus on incremental advantage, understanding their customers and shifting strategies based on analytical results. It can speed up marketing efforts.”

Traditional marketing concepts still apply, explains Kastner, but certain practices in market segmentation and marketing planning don’t fully address the ways customers are in constant communication and can receive or send information instantly across social networks.

"Agile marketing accounts for continuous change and presents a new way to deal with really understanding your customers at an analytical and psychographic level," adds Kastner.

The Cottrell MBA Speaker Series will conclude with Transformational Leadership, a session led by Dr. Wendy Walker on Wednesday, November 2 at the Post Road Library.

“We will discuss what transformational leadership is, why it promotes better performance and behavior, and some simple ways to integrate it into everyday life at work and home,” says Walker about what participants can expect to learn.

The Cottrell MBA program recently relocated from the UNG campus on Pilgrim Mill Road to a renovated space on the fourth floor of Cumming City Hall. New MBA classes begin each fall and applications to the Cottrell MBA programs located in Cumming and Gainesville are being accepted now at www.ung.edu/mba.

For more information, or to register for an event, please visit www.forsythpl.org.