If you’re running a marketing agency, you know that it comes with many challenges and pitfalls that can derail a project fast.
As a manager, you need to be able to anticipate these issues so you can address them head-on before they spiral out of control.
Unfortunately, it’s often easy to get into the weeds and lose sight of what’s happening until it’s too late.
One way to ensure a smoother operation is to understand the various mistakes you can make as a manager so you can avoid and prevent them.
With that in mind, let’s dive into 10 common management mistakes you may encounter and how to fix them to ensure effective agency operations.
Mistake #1 – Skipping the Planning Stage
When deadlines are approaching fast and you’re managing multiple clients, it’s tempting to dive right into a new project. However, rushing into it without proper planning can lead to costly mistakes down the line.
So, it’s better to take your time and plan everything out first.
The planning stage is important because it allows you to focus your energy and resources and create a roadmap for success.
While the details of each planning stage will be unique to the project, here are some elements to include:
- Resources and Assets – Consider what you’ll need to complete this project, including employees, software, materials, and content types. For example, if you need to create video content for your client, do you have the equipment in-house, or do you need to rent it? Or, perhaps you work with a third-party production team, so you need to reserve time for different shooting days.
- Content Schedule – What kind of content are you making for your client, and how often do you need to post? Usually, having everything ready a month beforehand allows you to schedule content releases ahead of time so you can maintain momentum. You never want to be playing catch-up and scrambling to produce content to post.
- Cost/Benefit Analysis – What kind of budget are you looking at, and how much flexibility do you have with it? What if you go over budget? Can you accommodate those extra expenses, or will that set your team back significantly?
- Benchmark Timelines – What are your client’s goals, and how long do you have to reach them? You should also schedule check-in dates so your team can assess if you’re on track for success or falling behind.
Mistake #2 – Neglecting the Creative Brief
Each project requires a well-crafted creative brief that aligns with the client’s objectives and serves as a roadmap for the agency’s approach.
Again, many managers tend to rush into a new project and skip the details necessary to make it succeed.
So, the creative brief may get neglected or thrown together with little thought or analysis behind it.
Usually, these elements tend to suffer the most during this process:
Putting Too Few (or Too Many) Details
If you’re not taking the time to craft a comprehensive creative brief, it’s easy to enter as little information as possible so you just have something on file.
However, since this document can serve as your project bible, your team needs to be able to reference it throughout the project to ensure you’re all on target.
Conversely, if you put in too much information, it can turn into a time sink, or it may be harder to find what you need when you’re looking for guidance later on.
While there is no “correct” amount of data to include, you want to make it as informative as possible without getting bogged down in the details.
Not Analyzing the Competition
Competitor analysis is crucial because it ensures you can position your client ahead of other businesses.
Also, as a marketing agency, you need to know how to deliver a unique value proposition to your client’s leads.
How can you know what sets them apart if you haven’t done the research into their competition?
Not Analyzing Your Client
There’s a tendency within agencies to take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to different clients without diving in and getting to know them first.
Client analysis is just as critical as looking at their competitors because you need to establish a benchmark from which to measure your client’s position within the market.
Just as you should understand what resources and assets you have to complete a project, you must also know how your client can serve its customers.
Otherwise, there’s a big disconnect between what your marketing materials are promising and what the client can deliver.
Mistake #3 – Forgetting About the Financial Department
As an agency manager, effectively managing the financial aspects of projects is crucial for ensuring profitability and avoiding financial setbacks.
On the one hand, you want to provide the best service to your client, but on the other hand, you need to make sure you’re not overextending your team and losing money on a project.
An agency’s financial management is a delicate balance and one that many struggle to maintain.
Overall, attaching dollar amounts to different project elements (i.e., labor costs) can help you maximize your efficiency.
It’s not about cutting costs and trimming expenses – it’s about getting the maximum productivity for your budget.
Here is why the planning stage is so critical – it allows you to figure out what you can achieve within your budget parameters.
Other financial elements to consider include:
- Payables and Receivables – Make sure to keep track of expenses and billable elements for the client. Just as you don’t want to exceed your budget, you need to work within your client’s budget too.
- Financial Projections – Based on experience, you should be able to come up with a relatively accurate project budget. While you might not hit these projections exactly, you need to have a benchmark with which to compare your actual spending.
- Income Statement – This statement gives you a clear picture of whether you’re making money or not. Without this document, it’s virtually impossible to know if your efforts are paying off or if you’re struggling to come out ahead.
Mistake #4 – Disregarding a Commercial Strategy
When you’re working on projects, it’s easy to get comfortable and assume that money and clients will always be coming in.
While project management is essential, a comprehensive commercial strategy is vital for driving sustained growth and long-term success for the agency.
This strategy should be focused on several key elements, such as:
- Client Evaluations – What does your client need from you specifically, and how can you deliver results? Many managers tend to discuss what they bring to the table without listening to the client first. Knowing their unique needs allows you to craft a custom project proposal that delivers results while maintaining a lean budget.
- Client Acquisition – Unless your team is already struggling to keep up with project demands, you should always be on the hunt for new clients and projects. If you’re not proactive, you may wind up with too little work for your employees, leading to intense financial strain on the business.
- Accurate Deliverables – Many agencies tend to overpromise and underdeliver. Instead, it’s often better to maintain a conservative estimate of your abilities and then deliver beyond what your client expects. Overall, don’t sell your agency short, but also manage your client’s expectations, so you’re not pushing your team too hard to achieve unrealistic goals.
Mistake #5 – Not Integrating Departments
One common problem many businesses and agencies experience is when different departments aren’t working cohesively on a project.
For example, the sales team may be focused on getting new clients while the project team is struggling to keep up with demand.
Creating a collaborative workflow and integrating different departments within the agency is key to achieving efficient operations and seamless project execution. As a manager, you need to establish a smooth and efficient communication flow so everyone is on the same page at all times.
Integration is a complex issue, but it’s not insurmountable.
If there are multiple managers and department heads, you can schedule meetings with all of them (including project leaders or key employees) to discuss where everyone is at and where changes need to occur.
Overall, it’s best to have a bird’s-eye view of the entire agency so you can be sure each department is working together, not against each other.
Mistake #6 – Not Communicating Effectively
Communication is an essential part of a manager’s job, but it’s also challenging to maintain. Establishing clear and effective communication channels among team members and with clients is critical for successful agency management.
The core components of effective communication include:
- Listening Effectively – It’s not enough to tell employees what to do – you also need to solicit feedback to understand their needs and challenges. Communication is a two-way street, and managers that lose sight of that risk alienating their staff, leading to burnout or worker shortages.
- Setting Clear Expectations – Never assume someone understands what you’re trying to say. Make sure to establish clear boundaries and goals for each person and project. You may also have to manage your own expectations of what’s possible from both clients and employees.
- Providing Consistent Feedback – Managers tend to overlook accomplishments and focus on shortcomings, which can lead to a negative work environment. It’s essential to recognize your team for what it’s doing correctly as well as any areas that need improvement. You have to be a part cheerleader and part coach.
Mistake #7 – Not Providing Positive Motivation
People tend to respond better to positive reinforcement than negative, so you need to evaluate what kind of manager you are for your team.
If you’re constantly berating your employees or pushing them to be better, it’s easy for workers to get burned out or stop caring about their work.
Positive motivation doesn’t have to be constant praise, but it should incentivize employees to put their best efforts into each project.
Overall, part of your job is to make the team look forward to coming to work. When you can maintain a positive environment, employees are more willing to go above and beyond for a project.
Motivating your team with positive reinforcement and fostering a supportive work environment is crucial for maintaining high morale and driving agency success.
Mistake #8 – Not Looking Out for Your Team
No matter what, your team is the backbone of your agency.
Without the right employees in the right positions, you can’t achieve your goals, and your business will be dead in the water.
This mistake occurs when managers look at their employees as expenses, not assets.
Even if you don’t have the “best” people on your team right now, you can put in the effort to mold your current workers into the stellar professionals your agency needs to thrive.
In this case, you need to take the time to listen to your team and understand the individual needs of your employees.
From there, you can work with them to ensure they feel valued and appreciated.
Then, they’ll be far more productive and far more willing to go beyond what’s expected of them.
Mistake #9 – Not Analyzing Your Methods
As any marketer knows, analysis is a crucial part of ensuring long-term success.
If you’re not analyzing your process, how can you be sure you’re heading in the right direction or that you’ll achieve your objectives?
The same methodology is true for being a manager.
Just because you’re leading the team doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement or that you’re on the right path for an individual project.
In many cases, managers tend to stay the course and assume that because something worked in the past, it will continue to work in the future.
However, each project and employee is unique, and you may have to adjust your methods to ensure success.
Part of the analysis process is self-reflection, but you should also solicit feedback from clients and employees to ensure you’re providing the best value for everyone involved.
Mistake #10 – Not Delegating
Finally, one of the most common management mistakes is to try and take on too many tasks at once.
Part of being a good manager is knowing how to delegate tasks and shift resources as needed to complete different goals.
If you’re juggling too much at once, it’s easy for smaller details to fall through the cracks.
That said, you also have to make sure you’re delegating as efficiently as possible.
Just as you shouldn’t take on too much for yourself, you don’t want to overload your team, either.
Having a bird’s eye view of everyone’s workload allows you to shift responsibilities and delegate tasks so everything is running as smoothly as possible.
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