Feature
Successful marketers have dedicated project managers, a formal content review structure and strong automation of workflows. Ideally, they also administer project management software — without reliance on the IT department.
These are some of the findings from researchers at ProofHQ, a Dallas- and London-based provider that surveyed about 500 marketers for a report entitled, "4 Insights Proven to Increase Marketing Agility."
"The key is an agile approach and a collaborative environment for the entire team," said Brandon Pindulic, a Boston-based digital marketing specialist who works for ProofHQ. "The more unproductive teams felt like they didn't have a system. They relied on long email threads for reviewing and approving content."
Don't Just Wing It
In an environment where project management is "added to everyone’s responsibilities," things can go south fast, according to the ProofHQ researchers.
Roles must be defined clearly.
"A lot of the marketers we surveyed had a good grip on their internal processes and projects and had a dedicated project manager for each team or group as a whole," Pindulic told CMSWire.
Same goes for content review. Reviewing and approving content must be adaptive to the type of content and the people involved, ProofHQ officials found.
"Having an automated review and approval process rather than ad hoc or sending it over through email cuts back a lot of the confusion and saves some time," Pindulic said.
Automating workflows should also be implemented for scaling efforts because the more people involved in the workflows the more opportunity for production headaches.
And further, marketers that spearhead project management software -- rather than IT -- are finding success. "Marketers are the ones recognizing problems now," Pindulic said, "and are recognizing software themselves when five or 10 years ago they would tell IT and let them handle it."
