Marketing is a crucial element of your business operations if you really want your company to swap sales stagnancy for game-changing success. Transcending those borders and passing those bridges – the ones you never even thought you’d come across – is only possible with the planning and execution of a successful marketing program. And that means making your marketing campaign management as seamless, consistent and productive as possible.
So how do you ensure that your marketing content meets the needs of its audience? It’s all about the process, and making sure that your process flow is both custom-tailored and automated for success.
Here’s a process model for your team to follow to help create content that stands out so people listen up:
Lay out your marketing calendar.
For those not familiar with the term, a marketing calendar lists 1) all of your upcoming events and 2) the tasks that must be completed to make each event a success. Let’s say, for example, that you want to enter a new market. What has to happen to make this launch successful? List and prioritize each critical task on the calendar. This now becomes your project plan.
Put some end zones in your game.
Each marketing task should come along with its own goals and specifications. Marketing without specified goals is like a football field without end zones: The audience still makes noise and heavily padded guys still tackle each other, but no value comes out of the game. There’s no score. There’s no winner.
Tangible goals and specifications do three key things:
- They ensure that each activity has a purpose that’s in line with the overall project or campaign.
- They allow for measurement so you’re able to tweak, ditch or replicate for the future.
- They make sure your messaging is on target for your audience so you’re effectively guiding them toward conversion.
Get real about scheduling.
Step One: Assign tasks.
Once you have everything laid out on the calendar, it’s time to assign tasks to individuals. These assignments must come complete with critical due dates, relevant notes and dependencies. This part of the process also brings to light any possible conflicts or complex processes that must be monitored closely. Let’s say you need a specific logo for the aforementioned launch into a new market. The logo must be printed on every piece of content, print or digital, that you put out. So if it’s not designed and approved in time, the creation of all the correlated content is thrown off and your timelines are completely skewed as a result.
Step Two: Allocate resources.
When scheduling tasks, be practical. Know what you should realistically expect from any individual or group. Unrealistic expectations may look good on paper, but in reality, they just mess with your schedule when tasks are not completed on time or up to par. Confirm that due dates are realistic – that they’re achievable by the people assigned with the resources they have. Another good practice is to build in follow-up dates (i.e., “check-ins”) to ensure that each task is on course for timely completion.
Make time to review and approve.
This is when you follow up with those specifications and goals you set. Did the delivered content meet the requirements? Remember: It takes more than well-written or “pretty” content to make a difference in today’s information-saturated world. Your content has to offer actionable substance, real value, for your audience in order to make a difference for your organization.
Let it breathe.
So, now you have your marketing calendar, including:
- All of your events
- The tasks needed to make each event a success
- The specifications and goals for each task
- The role assignments and resource allocations to make it all happen realistically and on schedule
This is a living document: As opportunities arise, complications develop and plans change, your marketing calendar must adapt accordingly. It must evolve with your organization. If you find yourself adding more work, make sure it aligns with your calendar. If not, find additional resources to make it work.
ENCORE!
Dance (don’t stumble) through the workflow process.
Your marketing campaigns are focused on one thing: remarkable content that not only conveys a message, but also makes people perk up, listen up and sign up for whatever you’re offering. But the steps it takes to crank out that remarkable content – from time management and resource allocation to efficient communication and fruitful collaboration – are a difficult dance to master. And that’s where the ultimate choreographer, document management software with workflow automation, comes to dance away your campaign pains.
- A document management system is designed to ensure that content never gets misplaced, over-written or forgotten.
- Follow the process model listed above in conjunction with your marketing asset management software to put the flow in your campaign show.
- Here’s how digital document management and workflow software make your work easier:
o Store, route and approve the specifications for new marketing projects.
o Assign content creation tasks.
o Store, route and review content and their supporting documents.
o Manage revisions and collaborate with team members and outside vendors.
o Approve content for publication.
o Administer document version control to put content chaos to rest.
Want to learn more about transforming your marketing process into a marketing engine for growth? Click below to sign up for a personalized demo with the DocuVantage team to help you make that marketing magic happen.
