
How Companies Can Improve Marketing Collaboration for Large-Scale Projects
Every business needs to embark on a large-scale marketing project at some point, but there are many pitfalls that can get in the way of success. Most of the time, projects fail not because of a lack of talent or team effort, but because of poor organization that interferes with collaboration. According to Harvard Business Research, there are three main reasons collaboration fails:
- Information silos (67%)
- Lack of collaborative vision from leaders (32%)
- Senior managers who don’t want to give up control (32%)
If you want successful marketing projects that get completed on time and delivered with the proper specifications, you need to improve collaboration.
How to Improve Project Collaboration
1. Take advantage of marketing software
Software can be a blessing and a curse to a marketing team trying to collaborate. For example, some companies choose random applications that make tasks more difficult.
While it’s true that employees are often hesitant to adopt new technology, it’s often because the applications don’t work as intended, or they’re difficult to use. For example, there are many cheap email marketing applications, but they don’t allow for advanced sequencing automation. Asking a marketing team to use a subpar email marketing application will cause frustration and may not even support your goals.
One solution is to reduce the number of applications you introduce to your team. Be selective about the ones you use and on which projects.
One type of software larger agencies are using with success is partner marketing software. This software makes it easy to adjust staffing levels to meet project demands, expands access to diverse talent pools, and supports the management of large-scale marketing projects. Once you have this type of software in place, it will be much easier to get a handle on your projects from the top down.
2. Ask your team what isn’t working
Unknown problems that remain unresolved are inevitable with every marketing project, but there’s a quick and easy solution: ask your team what isn’t working and listen to their answer.
Often, teams are left to suffer in silence while using strategies, processes, and tools that just don’t work. It can be because they’ve been created by people who don’t actually get involved in the hands-on aspect of a project, and their ability to come up with workable processes is short-sighted.
For example, a marketing team tasked with creating sales pages for a new product might get stuck when they aren’t given direct access to the web developer. If they have to go through a manager to contact the developer, it could take weeks just to make one change to a page.
You’ll get the most honest feedback when you allow people to be anonymous. Send out a questionnaire asking marketing team members to explain what is holding up their workflow, what is working, and what they think can be done to improve the process. You will be surprised at how much good feedback you can get from this process. Most employees will jump at the chance to share their input if they think their boss will really consider it and make changes. So be willing to take action based on the feedback you get. You’ll be able to introduce better solutions, and you’ll win the trust of your team.
3. Have one leader who will make tough decisions
Every marketing team needs a leader who will make fast decisions when faced with bottlenecks, problems, and choices that linger too long. If all decisions are left up to a team, disagreements regarding how to proceed will only hold the project back.
For example, if nobody can agree on which approach to take in your next email marketing promotion, it’s likely to be delayed for some time. Teams don’t typically come to a genuine agreement when creative ideas clash. Usually, someone gives up and tells the other team members to do whatever they want, or one person pushes their idea forcefully onto the group. The problem with this situation is that the decision is almost never made in favor of the customer.
Sometimes collaboration can get too tedious and stressful, and there needs to be someone who will regularly check in, look at the current roadblocks, and make a decision to move the project forward based on the project and client objectives. For example, If your marketing team can’t agree on what types of discounts to offer (BOGO, 50% off, free gift, etc.) the marketing leader can come in and make that decision.
4. Make sure there’s a well-defined vision
In many cases, collaboration fails when there’s no well-defined vision for the project, or it’s vague and ambiguous. Team members need to have a definite goal in mind, even if it’s one that evolves with the project. For instance, the goal might change from generating leads and sales to creating brand recognition and getting positive online reviews, and that’s normal. However, during each phase, the goal should be clearly defined, as well as the overall vision for the project. Each team member needs to know the end goal so they can steer their ship in the right direction and know if they’re getting off course.
Everyone needs to know the end game of each segment of the project to plan their tasks and time accordingly. If anything is vague or unspoken, tasks are guaranteed to miss the mark more often than not.
Effective collaboration is essential
Marketing teams rely on a collaborative effort to get results, and bottlenecks based on disagreements can hold a project back significantly. Part of effective teamwork requires having a strategy for getting unstuck, and that usually means having a marketing manager who will call tough shots.
Whoever said “teamwork makes the dream work” was right. Teamwork is everything in marketing. You could be using the best strategies and systems in the world, but without collaboration, projects are doomed to fail. By fostering a culture of open communication and genuine collaboration, your team members can bring their best to the table for any project.