Essential Marketing Project Management Skills

“Some people naturally possess project management skills. You know who you are. The innate ability to keep things in order and keep people on task is valuable in a team environment, and you can actually make a living out of it. To formally turn those strengths into a career as a project manager, identify and hone these in-demand project management skills.” – Forbes

If you’re looking for a marketing project manager who can create and manage your digital marketing campaign, then you need someone with the right skill set to achieve your goals. Here’s what you need to look for when hiring an expert to manage your marketing project. 

What is project management in marketing?

The project manager works with marketing strategists to develop the marketing project and ensure it effectively communicates the vision of a brand or company. They have a number of key roles to perform to get through the various project phases that require suitable skills.  

What are the duties of a marketing project manager?

The marketing project manager has to perform a number of duties to create a really positive campaign. These include:

• Planning the project: They work with the clients and stakeholders to define the scope and content of the project.
• Putting a team together: Then they need to put together the project team providing training and guidance. 
• Dealing with challenges: The project manager deals with any issues that arise
• Monitoring progress: Meeting all the deadlines and ensuring the completion of tasks as planned 
• Financing: Meeting the budget every step of the way. 
• Performance evaluation: On project completion, the manager reviews its efficiency, strengths and weaknesses. 
• Stakeholder management: They need to constantly communicate with clients and other stakeholders on progress. 

What are key project management skills?

It’s clear that the role of a marketing project manager is far-reaching, with the success of the campaign hinging on their ability. To meet all these requirements, a project manager needs to boast the following skills:

Good communication skills

The project manager needs to communicate ever-changing brand messaging to new audiences constantly. But beyond the external communication, they also need to actively interact with the project team, clients and other relevant stakeholders, ensuring that everything is going according to plan. All of this requires top-notch communication skills across various media formats. 

Organisational skills

Because the marketing project manager is dealing with so many different groups and tasks at once, organisational skills are high on the list of requirements. Schedule management, deadline tracking, budgeting, stakeholder engagements, and team training – all these tasks require strong organisational capabilities. 

Detail-oriented

While the project team deal with the day-to-day running of the marketing campaign, the project manager takes responsibility for meeting goals and overcoming hurdles. It’s not simply a case of delegating; there is a lot of oversight involved which requires a detail-oriented individual. That being said, the manager cannot get lost in the details and lose sight of the bigger picture!

Goal management 

The manager will need to outline goals when working with the project team. They will clearly identify and communicate all objectives. Marketing campaigns will include a series of phases, with goals outlined in each phase and the performance monitored throughout. The goals will need to be demanding, but certainly not unrealistic, and it’s important to acknowledge the successful achievement of each goal. 

Problem-solving

There is absolutely no marketing project that doesn’t meet some sort of problem – if not many problems – along the way. Incomplete tasks, budget mismanagement, supply shortages, staff concerns… there are things that can threaten the success of a marketing campaign. But a good project manager is able to address all problems and find a solution. Problem-solving is a necessary skill in almost any career, but it’s absolutely key for a marketing project manager dealing in the digital space. A great project manager will also draw on the expertise of the team in an attempt to solve problems. (Rather than taking on everything themselves.) 

Budgeting

As it so often does, marketing campaigns come down to the money. Logically, If there isn’t enough, then you won’t achieve what you set out to do with the campaign. A great marketing project manager has significant budgeting skills that assign funding at each phase of the campaign preparation. They will reference previous campaigns and factor in unforeseen expenses and fluctuating prices. They will constantly monitor the project spend every step of the way. At the end of it all, a marketing project manager can complete the project on time and within budget. 

Project Management + Marketing Skills

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