Are you a part of a small marketing team? You're not alone! According to a recent survey of PMMI members, the average size of marketing departments at companies is up to $50 million, which is just 1.5 marketers. But don't let your limited resources hold you back. Discover three effective strategies to help you achieve success and reduce stress in your role. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Mastering Organization: Strategies for Improving Productivity
In a fast-paced work environment, it's all too common to find yourself juggling multiple responsibilities without making significant progress on any single task. This scattered approach can lead to inefficiency and increased stress. To address this challenge, it's essential to establish a more organized and systematic approach to your workload.
Start by creating a comprehensive list of all your tasks and responsibilities. While handwritten lists can be effective, using online project management tools such as Asana, Monday.com, or Notion can provide enhanced organization and collaboration capabilities, especially as your team grows. These tools offer a range of features to help you track tasks, allocate resources, and prioritize assignments effectively.
Once you have your tasks outlined, prioritization is key. Apply the principles of the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize your tasks based on their urgency and importance. This method allows you to identify which tasks require immediate attention, which can be scheduled for later, what can be delegated to others, and what can be eliminated from your workload.
To ensure that you have dedicated time to complete your tasks, consider implementing time-block scheduling. By setting aside specific time slots for focused work, you can guard against distractions and interruptions, ultimately improving your productivity. Additionally, this method provides valuable insights into how long different tasks take to complete, helping you better manage your time in the future.
In addition to these organizational strategies, consider leveraging AI-powered note-taking tools, which are increasingly integrated into many video conferencing platforms. These tools can be valuable for summarizing meetings and capturing key action items, saving you time and providing clarity on your tasks.
Quick tip: Try recording a meeting with just yourself and use the AI notetaking feature to create a summary of your thoughts and ideas. This hack can help bring clarity to planning projects or drafting content.
Managing digital clutter is another essential aspect of improving efficiency. By organizing your files and browser tabs, you can streamline your access to valuable resources and reduce distractions. Consider using a dedicated notetaking app to save inspiring articles, creative examples, and marketing resources, allowing you to review them at a later, scheduled time. Similarly, create email folders and rules to automatically categorize incoming messages, making managing and prioritizing your communications easier.
Implementing these strategies can create a more streamlined and efficient workflow, allowing you to tackle your tasks with greater focus and productivity.
2. Boosting Efficiency Through Outsourcing
Outsourcing can give your marketing team additional skills, perspective, and manpower. However, choosing what to outsource and who to hire can be challenging.
Agencies offer value for expertise that you may not have internally. You can engage them on a project basis or hold them on retainer. Smaller companies should note that agencies have minimum spending requirements. However, if you have the budget, agencies can be valuable partners worth investing in. They have solid project management processes that keep you and your team on track.
Hiring an independent consultant who functions as their own agency is a lower-cost option for companies on a budget. However, independent contractors may take longer to complete your project and require more participation. They may also have less structured project management processes.
Freelance or contract support can also help meet a specific ongoing need, such as copywriting or design. It may also serve as a way to test whether a full-time employee role is needed. Leverage your network or use resources such as Fiverr, UpWork, or 99Designs to source talent.
Regardless of your chosen outsourcing option, it will require planning and ongoing support. If you have the need and budget, outsourcing can free up your time, provide a better output, and be a valuable investment.
3. Unlocking the Power of Mentorship and Networking
Networking is not just for job seekers or those with extra time on their hands. It offers numerous benefits for small marketing teams. Building a strong network provides access to advisors and mentors who can offer valuable insights and solutions.
Mentorship can be formal or informal, and it's not as daunting as it may seem. You can find mentors within your organization’s mentorship program, among former managers, colleagues, or connections in your network. Joining an official mentorship program is another option, as these programs often pair you with a suitable mentor.
Mentors don’t necessarily have to be in higher positions. Peers can also serve as mentors, providing coaching and support for professional development.
Associations, such as PMMI, are valuable networking, mentorship, and professional development resources. PMMI hosts events like the upcoming PMMI Roadshow and offers networking groups like the MaX Marketing Share Group.
Beyond PMMI, look to industry associations, local communities, and marketing-specific organizations like the American Marketing Association for networking opportunities. Additionally, consider joining user groups for the technologies your team uses, such as Adobe or Salesforce.
Finally, always connect with individuals on LinkedIn to centralize your network and easily communicate with them. Building and nurturing your network can lead to valuable insights and recommendations when needed.
Small marketing teams can succeed by mastering organization, boosting efficiency through outsourcing, and unlocking the power of mentorship and networking. By establishing a more organized and systematic approach to their workload, teams can improve productivity and reduce stress. Outsourcing can provide additional skills and manpower through agencies, independent consultants, or freelance support. Building a strong network of mentors and advisors can offer valuable insights and solutions. Implementing these strategies allows small marketing teams to overcome resource limitations and achieve their goals.
