Why Your Marketing Agency Needs Specialized Project Management Software: Top Benefits and Features

Today’s marketing team is no longer just a bunch of people tapping away on laptops late into the night. It’s a team that has to absorb every challenge that comes its way and give its clients the best. Managing a marketing team that works with multiple clients and has quick deadlines can be a tough challenge. It becomes even more complicated as the agency gets bigger because the projects that the team has to oversee can be vast – from a campaign ideation process to its execution, communicating with the client, keeping track of the budget and analysing the performance. The solution? Marketing agency project management software (PMS).  

Running a marketing agency? If so, you’ve probably heard about creative agency project management software, and how it can help when it comes to streamlining marketing operations. But what exactly is this specialised project management software? Why would your marketing agency need it, and what should you look for? On the Aproove blog today we explore further…  

The Need for Project Management for Agencies 

A marketing agency is, of course, a business. While creativity is key, it’s only ever half the battle. Like any other business, there’s going to be a significant amount of operational overheads: projects that involve coordinating multiple people involved simultaneously: content authors, graphic designers, analysts, social media managers etc. Add in on-site or off-site client teams, and you end up with a lot of moving parts. When tracks on a train get clogged up, everything around them shifts to accommodate it. It doesn’t take long before traditional project management for agencies approaches like spreadsheets or email threads fall apart: there’s miscommunication, deadlines are missed and inefficiencies creep in. 

Specific project-management software exists for the needs of agencies, with features that give a clearer view into projects, improved teamwork and automation of workflows. Given that agency-to-agency competition is becoming fierce, keeping things organized and lean can be the difference between winning or losing a client.  

Here are the reasons why specialized project management software is essential for marketing agencies.  

Top Benefits of Specialized Creative Agency Project Management Software 

1. Improved Efficiency and Time Management

Meanwhile, one of the greatest benefits of using software when it comes to project management for agencies is the significantly improved efficiency. A well-configured PMS reduces the time spent on administrative work, automates repetitive workflows and frees team members to engage in more creative, strategic work. 

Features such as task assignment, deadline tracking, and automatic notifications to keep them in sync with the rest of the team mean that no one has to waste time in needless meetings or emails to figure out what to do next. Your team will spend less time trying to figure out what they are supposed to do, and more time doing it. 

2. Better Collaboration and Communication

Marketing projects can often involve many different stakeholders, internal as well as external. When these stakeholders are working from separate servers, it can be difficult to be sure that everyone is working off the latest version of a document. This can result in the creation of different versions and ultimately errors.  

The main advantage of specialized project management software is the centralization of the comms process. Team chat, file and version control mean that everyone has access to the latest and most accurate information at any given time, thereby reducing the number of misunderstandings, speeding up decision-making, and smoothing out the entire process. 

3. Client Transparency and Satisfaction

When it comes to project management for agencies, clients want to know where their campaign is at, at all times. Increased transparency is possible with agency project management software by giving clients direct access to timelines, deliverables and progress. Many PMS solutions have client portals that allow for viewing of the status of a project without having to ask an account manager for an update. 

If your clients know what they’re paying for, they’re more likely to be satisfied with you. The openness increases trust and brings you into a stronger, longer-lasting relationship.  

4. Task Automation for Repetitive Workflows

For example, at a marketing agency, a lot of work is repeatable for each client (for instance, posting at specific times to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc; reporting on performance at a calendar intervals; asking for client approval on written content). PMS can handle all of this and repetitive marketing management workflows, and make sure that nothing slips between the cracks, freeing your team to work on what is most valuable. 

For example, if you create a workflow to approve content, you can automate the process so that once something is complete, it automatically goes to the client or the next person who needs to review it. This will save time and reduce the risk of human error.  

5. Budget and Resource Management

A key challenge in keeping a project profitable is to make sure that the incentives are correctly balanced. Agency project management software can help you track project expenditure, plan resource allocation, and produce relevant financial reports. As well as these core capabilities, you may find that many marketing-specific PMS platforms include functionalities such as time tracking and cost forecasting to help you monitor expenditure. 

By knowing how your dollars are being spent and what each project is costing you, you’ll be able to manage your money more effectively and ensure that your projects are profitable.  

6. Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics

The ability to generate reports and analyze your organization, campaigns, team performance and project performance is another of the features that make project management software so useful. 

Some PMS systems also have widgets that feed data from other marketing systems, such as Google Analytics, social media dashboards and CRM systems, giving you an overall view of how your campaign is performing. You can use all this data to make better decisions, and to refine your projects as you go.  

7. Scalability as Your Agency Grows

Your customer list grows, as does the complexity of projects. Specialized creative agency project management software helps your agency to scale smoothly. On-boarding new clients and team members. Assigning the right tasks to the right people. Keeping tabs on multiple projects. 

With a PMS that’s scalable, you’ll know that your agency is equipped to meet any challenge and seize every opportunity that comes your way.  

Key Features to Look For in Marketing Project Management Software 

1. Campaign Management Tools

Consider agency project management software that has been created with marketing campaigns in mind: product features that cater to campaign timelines, content development workflows, schedules of ad placements, performance dashboards and more. 

2. Client Collaboration Portal

A client portal, for example, gives your clients real-time insight into the status of their campaigns, boosting transparency and communication. Clients can approve deliverables, provide feedback and see what’s coming next with a simple log-in, almost entirely eliminating the need to email back and forth. 

3. Resource and Time Management

You need the ability to know who’s working on what and when it’s due: does your tool have time-tracking, task scheduling, and resource-allocation capabilities? Does it help you keep everything on track, and ensure you don’t burn out your team? 

4. Automation for Repetitive Tasks

Automation features can help you reduce the time spent on approvals, scheduling, reporting and other routine tasks. Seek project management software that includes the ability to build automated workflows that align with the needs of your agency. 

5. Integration with Marketing Tools

Your PMS needs to integrate with the other software you are already using, such as social media management tools, email marketing platforms, Google Analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM). This way, you’ll be able to keep all of your data in one place, eliminating the need for manual data entry, and increasing the accuracy of your reporting. 

6. Robust Reporting and Analytics

When it comes to project management for agencies, descriptive reports let you track your performance, identify bottlenecks and optimize efficiency. Good software will allow you to configure the reports and dashboards that provide you insights into the metrics that matter for your agency. 

7. Customizable Workflows

Marketing agencies have different ways of working. Make sure your creative agency project management software allows you to configure workflows so you can adapt the system to how your agency works.  

Your marketing toolkit isn’t complete without the right equipment to take on projects. Agency project management software is an investment your agency needs to make to get tasks done faster, stay organized, and grow your revenue successfully.