By Marie Barnes
Leveraging the Skills of Project Management for Effective Marketing
It goes without saying that the advent of the internet and social media has made marketing one of the most prevalent industries in modern society. And if you don’t believe it, here’s the proof to show for it. Can you count the number of times an indiscriminate video commercial interrupted your youtube video or the times a random app popped up while surfing the internet? And if that’s not proof enough, what about the times you got a random call advertising the benefits of a product? That’s right, those were all the makings of a marketing team.
Needless to say, deducing the importance of marketing to any business is a no brainer seeing as it connects products to consumers. However, marketing goes beyond a couple of adverts and phone calls. It takes professional assistance from the likes of Adsy, who can provide quality content to maximize the productivity of your business as well as planning, creativity, research, among other skills to bring a marketing idea to life. Nonetheless, if you hope to transform a marketing department into one that’s communicative, organized, technical, effective, and creative, then it’s essential to inculcate at the very least the basics of project management.
Essential Project Management skills In Marketing
A smart marketing manager will instill the technical aspects of project management with the creative aspects of marketing to make better use of their efforts and time. To that end, here are the core skills that are essential in marketing.
- Risk assessment
- Recruitment of employees
- Time management
- Negotiation
Assessment of Risks
With the constantly evolving business climate comes new risks that can obstruct your end goal. As a marketing manager, it’s your responsibility to assess these risks, find leeways and solutions. Most especially when the risks are too steep before they sink the business. After all, better safe than sorry.
For instance, due to the global pandemic we are currently facing, almost every business is forced to reconsider how best to still stay in business by redefining their marketing, branding techniques. Because it’s either that or you go out of business and nobody wants that. So, as a marketing manager with good foresight, your role is to adapt to these changing times by assessing risks and redefining your marketing techniques so consumers will still stay interested. A good way to get started is to find a solution to a problem that your niche can solve.
Recruitment of Employees
One of the many determinants of a company’s progress is the recruitment of employees. Needless to say, bad employees are bad for business, and the same principle can be applied when employing into the marketing department. In addition, the hotspot for creativity is the diversity in thought. So, if you employ competent people with diverse yet interesting ideas, you’ll definitely see the business taking a turn for good.
Time Management
Time management is probably the only essential skill on our list that’s a no brainer. Good management means knowing how to delegate tasks in relation to time in order to meet the set deadlines, thereby making the client and everyone happy. On the other hand, an insufficiently equipped manager will waste precious time by delegating the right tasks to the wrong people, fail to provide the needed resources as well as communicate ineffectively. Unfortunately, such poor judgments inevitably stifle progress. So, it’s paramount that you measure up to your role as the marketing manager.
Negotiation
One of the principal responsibilities in every managerial position is to negotiate. Needless to say, the role of a marketing manager isn’t a far cry from it. Nonetheless, excellent negotiation skills are much needed especially when the company or project is at the startup phase. One might say that the success or failure of a project or a business is largely dependent on its productivity at the startup phase and as a marketing manager you play a huge role in this. And If you are in doubt, then see what experts have to say about startup project management and its importance. As a rule, the more effective you are as a leader, the more effective your team will be. To that end, by taking these skills into consideration, you’ll have a better chance of improving productivity, as well as increasing your product outreach and consumer base.