It is essential for a marketing firm that handles multiple clients to stay organized.
When managing multiple projects which involve many stakeholders, it is necessary to put in place an arrangement that keeps you and your team on target, as well as ensuring that your customers receive updates.
This means working within a structure where:
- your team adheres to designated project timelines and stays within set budgets;
- where you can track key performance indicators such as project ROI; and
- where you can easily clarify the Scope of Work with clients and report your progress.
Depending on the amount of customers you serve, controlling these activities can become problematic quickly.
It is advantageous to employ agency project management software.
What Is an Agency Project Management Tool?
Project management software specifically tailored for marketing agencies helps them manage their projects in an effective manner, especially when there are multiple projects running simultaneously. It is desirable that the tool connects to your already existing marketing and data assessment programs and enables you to make your reporting more effective.
Figuring out which software would be most suitable for your business and your personal demands can be hard.
In this piece, we will look at the 15 essential components that any given toolkit should always include.
Here’s what you need to check for:
1. Resource Management
Organizing and assigning resources is a fundamental aspect of administering a project, as it is essential to identify what resources the project will need and how much time and money they will take to implement.
2. Centralized Client Data
Putting each customer’s information in one accessible spot can make your work a lot easier, both when it comes to finding what you need and avoiding data mistakes.
3. KPI Dashboards
It is imperative for a marketing agency to utilize a project management software that will enable them to observe and evaluate the progress and results of the client work they are performing. It is imperative to comprehend the particulars of a given situation as well as to be able to demonstrate accomplishments and hindrances to patrons.
4. Task Management
Once you’ve figured out which tasks must be done – whether they are regularly done jobs or just one-time project tasks – you need to find a means of giving them to your appropriate crew members. It is necessary to be sure to double check all information in spreadsheet form unless there is specialized software utilized from an advertising organization to complete these tasks.
5. Task Prioritization
It is essential that the project management software used by your creative agency allows not only the forming and giving of tasks, but also making sure they are completed as a priority. This guarantees that the most necessary tasks are completed first and everyone is aware of what is a major priority and what isn’t.
6. A Calendar
A calendar may appear to be an insignificant necessity, but it is really a vital necessity. You can use it to map out the significant parts of a task and mark off significant experiences in your customer interactions. This offers the convenience of being able to have all plans and reminders concerning your clients located in one spot, either just for one of them or for everyone.
7. Team Collaboration and Communication
Working together and staying in touch are the basic principles of effective project management since, without them, groups are unable to remain on the same track. This implies that some assignments could be neglected, or certain group members may not understand precisely what their role is. No matter what you do, the result won’t be good and it is unlikely that your customers will be pleased.
8. File Sharing
It is essential that those who are associated with you, either professionally or client-wise, can quickly look at and assess the work you’ve done when it comes to completing tasks, altering a calendar, or designing a template.
9. Progress Tracking
It is significant to monitor your progress and show the accomplishments of your labor to your customers. Constructing your personal reports may be a lot of extra work, so it is best to find a project managing program that permits you to quickly customize and export your records conveniently.
10. Report Automation
Creating reports for clients can be quite time-intensive. Particularly when it comes to recurrent reports, the aim is to keep the customer informed of their venture’s progress every day, week, or month.
11. Scalability
As your organization expands, you have to make sure that the software you are using to manage your creative projects has the potential to keep up with your growth. You don’t want to be constantly modifying your system in light of new developments; rather you should be able to move effortlessly as the extent of your activities and your customers increases.
12. Cloud Functionality
Nowadays, businesses have an understanding of the worth of operating in the cloud, and the SaaS element is a huge factor in this. Indeed, core benefits include:
- remote workforce support;
- no installations;
- lower maintenance and licensing costs;
- the ability to easily scale and integrate with other solutions; and
- no upgrade installations or purchases.
13. Data Security
Agencies in particular must face the challenge of data security in order to remain modern and successful enterprises. Your customers are entrusting you with their delicate information and require the assurance that it is kept safe and secure.
14. Integrations
When directing projects, it can be tricky and taxing to frequently jump between multiple applications or instruments. Software that functions together as a consolidated unit can be utilized to resolve this issue and reduce the effort level required of you as well as improving your capacity to furnish faster, better, and more sensible solutions to your customers.
15. Customer Support
If you are experiencing difficulties with your project management application, or are uncertain of how something operates, it is not simply you who are impacted; your clients are too! Therefore, it is essential that your program has a reliable customer service section that is quickly accessible and available.
How To Determine Useful Features For Your Projects
Companies that seek to consolidate their information may benefit from utilizing project management software. Divisions within larger businesses might be particularly keen on this feature.
When selecting a project management application, it is beneficial to take into account your business model, the process of how the project is completed, and the objectives you want to achieve, in addition to the features you require. Comprehending the setting in which the instrument has to function is just as significant as determining the gap in your current tool collection and capacities. Here are a few things to consider which should impact your choice:
Your business model:
- Do you run multiple projects at a time or only a few?
- Are your projects complex with many tasks and interdependencies? Or do they have with fewer, discrete tasks?
- How do you make money? Milestone billing tied to deliverables? Time & materials based on reported hours? Fixed fee or value-based pricing? Capacity?
Your project workflow:
- Is there a lot of variation between your projects or are they relatively consistent?
- Do you always use the same methodology? Or is flexibility important?
- Do tasks and deliverables need layers of review and approval and a clear paper trail?
Your target outcomes:
- What capability or features do you want to gain?
- What do you want to improve?
- How will you be measuring success?
Your test plan:
- Are you willing to use it on a real project with real integrations?
- Do you have a test project prepared at a fidelity that you could “war game” it with your team?
- Do you have specific use cases that you need to try?
Prior to evaluating varied project management applications, inspect the needs we specified above to discern which options are the most pertinent. Assess your business’s existing project management procedures to ascertain whether it is worth investing in a new system.
What To Avoid With Project Management Software
If you’re looking for the perfect project management application for you, it’s easy to be attracted to the first output of a search engine. Unless you put thought and effort into understanding what you need and researching your potential buy, you have a chance of buying something that won’t satisfy your wishes.
When shopping for a project management solution, it is a good idea to take steps to save both time and money by being conscious to avoid certain aspects. By thinking of these elements beforehand, you can make a wise decision when it comes to what product is best for your business.
Here are four common mistakes to avoid:
1. Choosing Arbitrary Functionalities To Please Everyone
Certain goods are crafted particularly for firms that are smaller in size and have certain limited requirements. Others have more complex functionality for larger organizations. No matter what your particular project management system requires, identify a solution that closely aligns, rather than one offering forty different approaches for accomplishing the same thing that may just sound appealing.
The most crucial matter is selecting the correct capabilities suited to your specific application. If you are uncertain of which item to choose, you could always analyze some of the most favored items in your selected category and discern which ones have the characteristics that you need.
2. Ignoring Integrations
Despite the appealing prospect of working on fresh software, it’s essential to get integrating it correctly on the initial go. It is impossible to accurately assess this until you install the program and begin utilizing it. If the process is too complicated, or gaps exist in the smoothness of the connection, you will probably struggle to apply the idea properly.
It is clear that amalgamations between external applications are not necessarily consistent. Every merchant can manage to reach the same objective via a unique approach. You may discover that your project management platform is not compatible with other project management programs.
Prior to taking any steps, verify that the seller is able to come up with a roadmap that will lead you through the entire procedure. Otherwise, they won’t be able to guarantee that everything will perform correctly when the job is finished.
3. Disregarding Demos Or Trials
If you lack the chance to explore a platform prior to buying it, it can be challenging to understand what it is capable of. It is likely that there will be some aspects that your organization will not be able to make the most of. Do your best to take part in the demo process so that you fully comprehend what you’re signing up for.
4. Failing To Give Enough Time For Implementation
Focus intently on trying out a cutting-edge project management program when you come across it. Do not act impulsively until the decision seems appropriate for your company. Once the requirement has been decided, it is sensible to think about how much time the project needs from beginning to end, mainly if you have various tasks.
Provided all works out as intended, there should be no complications at all. It is an unavoidable truth that you will eventually face some sort of difficulty on your journey. It is hard to guess how much time a task will require and it can be tricky to be prepared for whatever might happen.
If your project management software is not configured in an appropriate time frame, then it is not really working correctly. Ensure that adequate focus is given to this element prior to making any definitive promises.
How To Get The Most Out Of Project Management Software
Many companies just take advantage of the task management capabilities and leave it at that. But these programs have the potential to do a lot more. The good news? Your project management tool is capable of achieving even more than what you might think – it all depends on you to discover its full potential!
What should you be utilizing your project management app for?
- Use tasks to plan, organize, and collaborate on projects (that’s just the start, remember?).
- Use Gantt charts to see how the project tasks fits together.
- Use Kanban boards to visualize your progress and see your team move tasks from to-do to done.
- Use task and project templates for recurring tasks and projects.
- Use automated workflows to streamline processes, make sure your team doesn’t miss critical steps, and deliver value faster.
- Use resource management to deploy your team effectively, making sure they’re not overwhelmed or underworked.
- Use project dashboards to monitor progress on large projects.
- Use advanced reporting to see and track work from every angle.
- Use docs & filesharing to work together all in one place.
- Use integrations to seamlessly integrate all of your favorite tools.
What’s Next?
Analyze if project management software is a suitable choice for your business after becoming acquainted with the particulars of it. Chances are that it is! These software programs have the potential to significantly reduce cost and improve efficiency for companies, even though many of their staff are operating remotely.
