Excellent project management skills are an important success factor for your Online marketing project. The change from a product-oriented to a consistently customer-oriented perspective changes the approaches and methods. Interdisciplinary teams, including the integration of external service providers and the customer, place high demands on project managers from both a technical and a human perspective. The focus is on holistic and user-oriented problem solutions. Experienced project managers lead your project through the use of future-oriented methods. Online marketing project to success - while meeting budget, performance and time targets.
Agile project management as a success factor
Whether web and app development, relaunch, eBusiness solution or SEO project - well thought-out planning at the beginning is important so that projects do not run the risk of failing. This includes comprehensive communication with the client to clarify expectations, required resources and project goals on both sides and to set them down in writing. Clarification of the framework conditions is important in order not to lose focus in dynamic working environments and to be able to flexibly adapt changes that arise during the course of the project to the strategic goals of the project.
Agile project management is indispensable for successfully mastering the diverse challenges. In times of heterogeneous teams with members from different departments and the inclusion of external stakeholders, an agile approach is an important basis for efficient collaboration. Agile methods in project management are characterized by close coordination among the individual team members. Continuous exchange and the ability to react with maximum flexibility are important success factors.
Within agile project management, there are various methods that ensure that projects in online marketing are implemented efficiently and with high quality. Many are based on the overarching project management method Scrum, which provides a comprehensive framework and defines roles for individual team members.
Method 1 - Inclusion of current marketing activities
Every project in online marketing is closely related to the company's internal and external environment. An overview of ongoing marketing activities creates the necessary conditions to launch a new Online marketing project in the context of current projects and to exploit synergy effects. To do this, it is important to get all the people involved around the table. Knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses and successes of the individual marketing activities provides important indications of the strategic approach to be taken for the new Online marketing project. From the findings, possible team members and - not at first glance obvious - project goals can be identified. The discussion consistently focuses on the individual target groups for which a Online marketing project is initiated. New ideas are welcome - analogous to a Scrum Planning Meeting.
Method 2 - Use of professional project management software
Professional project management software provides continuous support in project implementation. All team members thus know what is currently to be done, for what reason and how. Tools specially developed for teams enable work to be carried out independently of location and time. The outsourcing of certain process steps - such as design and programming - is part of many Online marketing projects to everyday life. With the help of project management software, it is possible to create project plans, coordinate tasks and deadlines, and control the workload of individual members. Automated processes help teams save time in the completion of routine tasks. Annoying e-mails thus become largely superfluous.
Method 3 - Regular stand-up meetings
Short meetings via a video platform - e.g. Skype - ensure a continuous flow of information that goes beyond pure software support. They convey important information on the current project status. The duration should not exceed 15 minutes. How often meetings are held depends on the project phase and the required intensity of communication. The minimum is once a week. If a project in online marketing is in a phase that requires many decisions, meetings every one to two days are useful. In each meeting, the following questions are clarified:
- What has been worked through since the last meeting?
- What tasks need to be completed before the next meeting?
- What are the risks, problems and potential difficulties?
If an open communication culture prevails, the so-called stand-up meetings contribute significantly to the success of the project. In order to avoid distractions, maintain the time limit of 15 minutes and the informal character, it makes sense to hold the meeting standing up. The idea follows Daily Scrum Meetings.
Method 4 - Sprints for fixed time intervals
Sprints are central elements in agile project management. A proven duration for Online marketing projects is 14 days. They allow individual team members to perform all the work necessary to achieve a goal. Each sprint phase consists of sprint planning, task execution, and a review. Monitoring the results of the sprint gives a client comprehensive control options at key milestones. The client has the opportunity to influence the progress of the project at these points and - if necessary - to make strategic adjustments. For team members, sprints have the advantage of clear time constraints. Sprints increase motivation. Stand-up meetings are a fixed component of sprints and serve to exchange information within this comparatively quiet project phase.
Method 5 - Daily time tracking
Daily time tracking is an important basis for certain fee models and allows teams to learn from projects. Based on experience, they can better estimate required times. Keeping track of time and budget and making them realistic ensures satisfaction within teams and on the client side. Nothing is worse than surprises towards the end of a project - due to a lack of transparency - and online marketing projects not being completed on time. Time is the most important resource within a project. Managing it successfully allows teams to have a buffer available to react spontaneously and confidently to changing targets. Based on time tracking, optimization potentials can be identified and subsequent projects can be designed more efficiently.
At the beginning of each Online marketing project stands good planning. We are happy to support you in finding the optimal solutions for your project and successfully implement your requirements.
