Really effective marketing project managers can work wonders. They can keep the team together, ensure the technical “stuff” gets developed, bring in milestones on time, and know that the creative just absolutely needs to be showcased properly.
But all this is on your team side. What about client side? How can your marketing project manager (PM) keep your clients happy?
Beyond knowledge of the marketing world and how to run a schedule, project managers need to be very good communicators – diplomats, really. These skills can come in handy when working to keep your clients informed and satisfied with your agency’s progress. Consider putting your marketing project manager in front of your clients more often. Here are three reasons why:
Who’s in charge here?
Sometimes the client feels more comfortable with hearing how things are going from the people actually doing the work. Your project manager is an ideal person to share this information with your client, as they are in the thick of it day-to-day.
Explain it to me like I am 6 years old
Your client may not understand, nor care about the ins and outs of the code behind the website, not know what the acronym CSS really means and how it helps all their content look professional, nor be aware of how CYMK colour is a little different than RGB. What your client needs is someone to explain how all the back-end work translates into what they want done. Clients sometimes don’t understand the deep technical information or industry jargon that develops around the marketing industry, not to mention how fast it moves and changes. Having a PM who can talk in ‘plain language’ about what the team is working on, or explain some of the hurdles they’ve come up against (and surpassed) can be very comforting to your client.
All business some of the time
Your PM most likely has a good handle on the client’s business and how the marketing project is fitting into their overall business goals. Many PMs are pretty comfortable with speaking in terms of ROI and other broader business concepts. They can also reference other client work (if not confidential) as examples of how other companies used strategies in marketing to help solve business problems, and can reference success in terms of business results – not marketing speak or technical acronyms.
Think about having the real diplomat of your team, your PM, spend more time with your clients. They can act like a true bridge of understanding between the two sides of the table. Client communication is a big part of your client’s happiness with your agency’s work.
[A “digital marketing” focused version of these thoughts were posted over on the Smartt blog, an agency based in Vancouver, BC.]
