Project Management: A Must for Streamlined Success

There is a growing need for project managers (PMs), especially within professional services; in fact, more than 60 percent of new PM jobs come from these industries. The unique aspect of these roles is that there is typically a need for more than one type of project manager.

Let’s look at a marketing agency, for example. Different departments, such as web, art, and digital, may require a set of project managers. Even for small to medium-sized companies, PMs can quickly become overwhelmed when managing tens of clients.

Here we’ll review the project management role and why they’re so essential in marketing.

Role and Responsibilities

A project manager’s role is to ensure a client’s deliverables are met within the agreed-upon budget and timeline. Here are some of the responsibilities that may fall under this role:

• Meeting clients to discuss and define project goals
• Planning a timeline for deliverables
• Contributing to client proposals, budget, and up-sells
• Scheduling internal and client meetings
• Assigning tasks and responsibilities to team members, as well as holding them accountable and ensuring smooth communications
• Monitoring the project’s progress, identifying potential setbacks, and addressing those challenges with the best approach
• Continuously communicating updates to the client and delivering the project’s report
  

While there may be several people working behind the scenes to accomplish a project, there must be one voice that the client can rely on for planning and delivering accurate information.

Internal and Client Relationships

If it wasn’t apparent enough already, a project manager is primarily a client-facing role. Communicating with the client about the details of their project is extremely crucial. Now, this doesn’t mean the PM has to know everything, but they do have to know the right people to ask to get the answers. This is the reason why clients turn to their PM.

Internal relationships will differ depending on a company’s organization. In a marketing agency, jobs tend to be quite specific. For example, there may be a copywriter, designer, and manager just for social media. This means that the project manager must be equipped with the leadership skills to manage several people as well as be a problem solver for anything that may come up.

Necessary Skills and Training

Since project management is at the center of a lot of moving parts and people, collaboration is a skill that stands out above others. Some others include:

• Organization
• Time management
• Leadership
• Problem-solving and conflict resolution
• Data analysis and reporting
• Budgeting and forecasting
  

Often, a project management course and certification are required. Depending on what management software the company uses, training for that platform will also be necessary.

If you’re looking for a project manager to assist in your marketing efforts, get in touch with Kraus Marketing! Our team of digital strategists is experienced in running successful campaigns, designing customized websites, developing standout brands, and more!