Too many things to do and not enough time to finish it all.
Does this sound familiar? Well, you're not the only one.
Marketers say not having enough hours in the day is one of their biggest problems, according to a 2017 report from marketing software company Conductor . This struggle ranks right behind having the right team and an insufficient budget.
Since it's not possible to work non-stop, you always have to look for new ways to streamline your workload and make time for actions that really have an impact. In short, to exercise better time management in marketing. Eliminating superfluous tasks for yourself and your team is much easier said than done.
The trap of doing something “just because”
I know what you’re thinking: “Oh no, not me! We’re always careful to re-evaluate our processes in a consistent manner. We don’t do anything just for the sake of it!”
It can be difficult to admit this kind of mistake. Nothing better illustrates how easy it is to fall into this trap than the old meatloaf story .
The anecdote goes something like this:
A mother is making meatloaf with her teenage daughter. Every time they make this recipe, they cut off the ends of the meatloaf before putting it in the oven.
“Mom, why do we always cut off the ends?” the daughter asked one day. The mother pondered the question but was unable to answer. So she referred to her mother, who in turn referred to her mother.
It turns out that the ends were often cut off because whoever originally made this dish didn't have a pan large enough to fit the whole cake, a tradition that was passed down.
This story illustrates how easy it is to maintain an outdated (and totally unnecessary) practice, simply because it has always been done that way.
Now you might be thinking that your team can easily navigate this trap. But you'd be surprised. There's a clear three-year crisis among marketing professionals, a field with one of the highest employee turnover rates. When someone leaves, their way of doing things is passed on to the new hire, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, you've fallen into the meatloaf trap and your team will be saddled with ineffective methods.
Even if you frequently welcome a variety of new faces into your team, it's important to focus your attention, time and energy on what really matters and get rid of the unnecessary work that doesn't add anything, which will help you achieve good time management in marketing.
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How can you effectively separate the wheat from the chaff? These four useful tips will help you get on the right track.
Save time
Time management in marketing: how to eliminate unnecessary tasks
1. Ask the tough questions
Each and every marketing campaign and initiative has a primary, overarching goal that guides it: acquiring new customers, for example.
It's an ambitious and juicy goal. But it's still very easy to lose sight of the goal when you get caught up in the daily tasks and projects involved in the campaign in question.
If you get bogged down in the day-to-day minutiae, you won't be able to see how all the pieces fit into the overall strategy and how they all come together in the end. You'll end up wasting time on fruitless tasks and projects instead of on the work that really counts toward achieving the main goal.
When you have a potential new task or project as part of a campaign, take the time to go to your team and ask this direct question:
How does it contribute to achieving our goal of [X]?
Will the blog post series draw attention to the content and improve brand awareness? Will hosting the free webinar bring in more potential leads to the pipeline for the sales team to follow up on?
If you and your team respond to these questions with slack jaws and blank stares, it may be time to reevaluate the potential benefits of the job in question.
However, this isn't something you can only do with potential new tasks. You can also apply this same concept to existing projects and processes.
Set aside some time when you can sit down, clean up the recurring to-dos, and determine which ones are moving you in the right direction. You'll be surprised to find that it's not that difficult to manage your marketing time well and eliminate all the unnecessary tasks.
2. Reassess the usefulness of your meetings
Meetings suck; they only serve to disrupt the day and, in the end, nothing is accomplished.
These are common complaints. And, to be honest, they are not without merit. In a survey of 2,000 managers , respondents said that 30% of the time they spend in meetings is simply wasted.
This meeting problem is exacerbated in marketing teams, where meetings are a regular occurrence. One study showed that marketers spend an average of 13 hours every week in meetings.
The same study also found that a typical marketing meeting lasts an hour and 42 minutes on average, 35 minutes longer than the average in other departments.
So what can you do? You can't just get rid of meetings in one fell swoop. They may be scary, but they are a necessary evil.
We're not suggesting you cancel all team meetings to make up an extra hour or more in your day. We're recommending you play Tetris with your calendar and determine which meetings are necessary and which aren't.
Here are a number of tactics that will help you:
Take a closer look at recurring meetings and determine whether they austria phone number data are actually productive. Ask yourself honestly if they have become a kind of scheduled check-in that could be done via email.
Make it a rule that there will be no more meetings without an agenda emailed to your attendees in advance. Create an agenda template that team members can easily use for their own meetings.
Restrict the number of participants to only those who really have something to contribute.
End every meeting with clear instructions so everyone knows what next steps need to be taken. Most importantly, keep track of those steps and see if they are being carried out. This way, you'll be sure to make the most of your time.
Want one more tactic? Give everyone enough information about the meeting so they can decide whether or not to attend.
Learn more about this strategy in David Grady's insightful TED talk:
3. Leverage data and analytics
Today's tech-savvy marketing executives are quick to pull out their nerdy business cards. At the slightest mention of analytics and statistical data, they tell you how they use data to make every decision. Is this the case?
Various studies have shown that marketing executives are not as data-driven as they would like to believe.
According to a survey of 257 marketing executives , a staggering 45% said they lacked the ability to analyze big data, meaning that information often goes untouched and unused.
“Not only are marketers failing to get data, they are failing to even capture what customers want in their communications,” said Erik Sherman, referring to the survey for Inc. “Until this gets better, you’re going to spend more and get mediocre results.”
Another study offers another rude awakening. In a survey of nearly 600 marketing executives at the annual DMA conference and trade show, 53% said they don't collect enough customer data.
Furthermore, it has emerged that most marketing executives do not go beyond the basics of data collection to obtain the information that will actually help them make better-informed decisions.
What the heck does data have to do with your time? Think of it this way: if you're not using the statistics and analysis at hand, you're making uninformed choices that involve spending time on the wrong tasks or initiatives. Ultimately, you're wasting everyone else's time, including yourself.
The statistical data you need to review may vary depending on the tasks and campaigns. However, there are certain aspects you should pay attention to:
Conversions: Which marketing efforts are driving conversions and which aren’t?
Production: Which customers come back and which don't? And more importantly, why do they leave?
Email open rates and subscriptions: Are people interested in your message? Do they actually open your emails? Do they sign up for the newsletter, or do you get a lot of unsubscribes?
Profitability: Is your advertising spending paying off? Or should you consider changing your strategy?
With so much data out there, you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Taking advantage of the data available will allow you and your team to focus on the next steps that actually contribute to the final results. In addition, you eliminate unnecessary and pointless tasks.
4. Streamline your technology
Technology is a boon for today's marketing executives, especially productivity and project management tools . But having too many tools and systems can actually make it harder for your team to do their job.
For example, let's say one of your team members needs to enter information into an Excel spreadsheet and then duplicate it in the project management dashboard, an email, and an instant message. If this is the case for you, you're not using your tools effectively.
According to a Conductor report, 67% of marketing executives believe they have to sift through too many dashboards and reports to gain essential insights.
Another study found that, on average, marketing executives use more than 12 different tools , with some using as many as 31 (which sounds totally overwhelming).
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