Project management is hard. It’s like having a relationship with each one of your clients (but not like that) and having to remember every minute detail about each of them…
Maybe not the best analogy, but moral of the story is that project management can be confusing, especially if a roadmap isn’t put into place early on. Take a look at why we think roadmaps are a necessity:
Establishes goals and how to get there
This seems like a no brainer, but sitting down with a client and asking them what their goals are is the starting point of everything that we do. We always have a kick off meeting with our clients to talk through their goals, and how we can help them get there. From there we can work as a team on the best strategy to get them to their end goal.
We consider the role of our agency as a partner in our client’s business development. Our strategies include a number of high level analysis tactics including surveys to key roles, SWOT analysis, marketing communication strategies, a social media audit and more to establish attainable goals that align with the client and their target audience.
In addition, we map everything out, timelines, deliverables and calendar due dates. We make it easy for our clients to know what we are working on.
Promotes transparency
Having a transparent relationship with clients is beneficial for numerous reasons: It proves to the client that the agency is doing what they say they are doing, and allows for easy transitions if team members were to change.
We use Basecamp as our project management system because it allows for clients to see everything that we are working on, including due dates, messages, file uploads, and calendars… It doesn’t get much more transparent than that. We understand that being open and honest with clients allows for streamlined processes, and therefore allows for greater quality of work. If we do stray away from the previously established roadmap, then clients will be able to see this.
Because roadmaps have been established and Basecamp allows for optimum organization, it’s also easy to transition new individuals on to accounts. For example, if the client hires a new vice president, they can easily be caught up-to-speed with our quality of work, communication style, and intended purpose due to these roadmaps.
Monitoring growth
How are you supposed to monitor client’s growth overtime if a roadmap is not established? Roadmaps should outline clients starting points, such as how many website hits they receive a month, how many clicks they receive from Facebook ads, or how many Twitter followers they have.
We recommend delivering monthly, quarterly and annual growth reports based on client starting points. These reports will allow you to reflect on the success of your tactics, and if you’re meeting clients goals.
Enforces accountability
Holding others accountable is so fun, right? Can you sense our sarcasm? Luckily once roadmaps are set in place you have evidence of what others should be working on in order to reach your desired goals. For example, if you need client feedback by Tuesday in order to submit a final piece to a publication by Wednesday, accountability is 100% necessary.
For more project management tips view our previous blogs, why do we have processes anyway? and organizational apps that will keep you sane.
