[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Setting Up Your Project Management System for Success” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20lMkZlbWJlZCUyRlB1cmNwdXpmSExBJTNGbW9kZXN0YnJhbmRpbmclM0QxJTI2cmVsJTNEMCUyNnRoZW1lJTNEbGlnaHQlMjZjb2xvciUzRHdoaXRlJTIyJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When it comes to executing these marketing strategies, we have clients who are doing 10 million, 20 million, $30 million annually, and they have multiple mediums that they need to advertise on. You need graphics, you need video, you need specific executions, you need specific tasks, they need to do articles. They have online PR and TV, so it gets really complicated.
Somebody needs to organize this that knows marketing, traditional or digital, and media buying. Most of the time, the platforms, if it’s eCommerce, Volusion, Shopify, big commerce, SAP, or if it’s WordPress, if it’s a content management system, somebody needs to organize all of this. As a result, we have a cluster.
How does somebody handle this?
This individual needs to be extremely organized. Typically, larger agencies will have multiple account managers for handling anywhere between five to 10 different accounts at a time. Now, these account managers are responsible for one thing only: moving things forward.Making sure that the individuals who are actually executing, whether it be the SEO specialist, PPC specialists, or media buyers.
Goals And Objectives
Media buyers are implementing everything that they need to do in a timely manner. These individuals have to be able to communicate everything. They serve as a translator because they need to simplify what the technical SEO specialist has proposed. Then they can relay it back to the client.
How can a media buyer translate well? They need to be knowledgeable on both SEO and PPC. In addition, they need a sufficient understanding of where they can explain the strategies to the client at the same time.
Here’s the problem. The clients think. “I’m giving you, let’s say $5,000 a month.” They want $5,000 worth of work back.
Despite this goal, the clients never take project management into consideration. Many people don’t know this oversight. 50% of this execution is project management because it needs to be organized.
We need to start from scratch. If I have a WordPress content management system, and if your business wants leads, you need to let us do the work.
First Steps To Project Success
Let’s say you’re a lawyer or an attorney, and you want leads. I have to research the content, have the copywriters write drafts, check the articles’ validity and quality. Before I write the content, I have to research the keywords and topics, because I don’t want to write a topic for which you already rank. That’s a waste of money and an article.
You need to analyze your competitors. In addition, I need to analyze your metrics and look at your potential rankings.
Where is your niche? If you’re a lawyer in Georgia, I can’t rank you for the term, “Lawyer in the United States.” That is logical targeting. Add PPC to that.
Project Requirements
Know what you want to implement. Then we can make a plan. If you want to do Facebook retargeting, Google AdWords or Google content marketing, I have to find graphics. I have to create media if I can’t find or use the right graphics.
If you have your brand guidelines, I have to involve the designer, the graphic designer. You can also specify your guidelines. If you want to spend a lot of money on Facebook, I need a video because I want to get as many impressions as possible.
In short, we cover many fields. So, what the clients don’t understand sometimes, and what some agencies don’t understand is project management organize in our organization is the most important aspect of this. So, when we say what is the solution, yes, you will need multiple people, but it all comes down to having a good execution.
What Our Project Team Does
We have to start with a good plan, and you have to take every factor into consideration. Quite honestly, that’s what we’re really good at here at Optimum7, because we organize all of this for you.
Before we even start, we look at every single angle. We look at if you’re an eCommerce, lead generation, a retail business or Fortune 100 company. The angles matter.
Most of the time the clients or prospects will come to us and say, “We want marketing.”
“How do you make money? What’s the most important thing you need to improve right now? Where do you want to be in three years in terms of A, B, C, D?” And the A, B, C, D could be marketing, revenue, technology, profits. We have to understand the entire operation.
Even if I’m just doing a redesign for you, I have to know the backend, the front end, who is working on it, who in your team can help us, how do you market. Everything plays a role in this, and this is the project management aspect of what we do with digital marketing and digital technologies. Remember, everything is now integrated. You cannot separate marketing from custom programming from a CMS, from your sales structure, from your lead generation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Project Management Issues (and Solutions)” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20lMkZlbWJlZCUyRmFyQXFJNmpUbUNnJTNGbW9kZXN0YnJhbmRpbmclM0QxJTI2cmVsJTNEMCUyNnRoZW1lJTNEbGlnaHQlMjZjb2xvciUzRHdoaXRlJTIyJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For people who are having issues with project management other than hiring a specific manager, maybe they have issues internally. We struggle with this as well because every single day, our assignments are changing or scaling. The company is growing, and we get a different type of client. That requires process changes, and staying patient with team members.
What do you suggest companies for their internal operations, if they’re paying an outside agency or outside company? How can they justify that with internal tracking? What can they do if they don’t have their own internal project managers?
Have a process in place for your project management. Then you can use it as a reference.
What percentage of our clients have their internal processes documented?
10%. That’s a low amount.
Focus more on execution rather than communication. And it’s very difficult because the client is always going to want to know what’s going on, “Well, where where are we?”
They are trying to micromanage it. They are paying money. Of course, from a business owner’s mindset, they are trying to handle every step of the process.
Project Management Includes Trusting The Experts, And Finding Reliable Managers
The more time I spend holding your hand and letting you know everything that we’re working on, the less time I actually have to execute on what needs to be done. It’s kind of difficult to get that through many clients’ heads. But when they do finally understand and they see the results, that’s really all that matters at the end of the day are the results.
Getting to that point, however, is a little difficult. So, I would say if you’re struggling with your processes and you have a client breathing down your neck, be forward with them. Be honest and transparent
I only have so much time to work on your account, given your budget. Now, if I… I could either spend half of that time communicating with you or I can actually execute on what needs to be done. They’ll understand.
Here’s the point. Let your marketing team or agency do what they need to do. Don’t try to micromanage the project or the process. Again, if you don’t trust them, don’t work with them.
Trust your instincts and respect their time. If they don’t make sense when you ask questions, don’t work with them, but allow them to do the work. We’ll talk to you guys next week.
Tired of your projects falling behind schedule?
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