When you’ve got a temporary project management need in your marketing, sometimes a temporary solution to match it is best. Marketing project management staffing provides a way to execute your critical marketing projects on schedule and to the specifications you need without overinvesting in an unnecessary full time hire.
Using Specialized Talent
…you need to draw specifically from a candidate pool with marketing experience in general and marketing project management in particular.
Marketing moves fast, and it takes a special person to keep up with its myriad parts (TWEET THIS); strategic planning, creative development, advertising execution, reporting and everything in between. A standard project manager from outside the industry will struggle to understand and navigate the complexities of a marketing campaign from ideation to completion.
And let’s face it; marketers can be a little…well, different. That’s a good thing; that uniqueness is often what makes them good at what they do. But you need someone who thrives with that difference and can focus it towards better productivity and quality.
That’s why, when you’re considering bringing in addition management bandwidth, you need to draw specifically from a candidate pool with marketing experience in general and marketing project management in particular.
Deciding What’s Right for You
How can you tell if you situation calls for an interim marketing project manager? Here are some of the best uses for flexible project management in marketing.
1. Cyclical Marketing Needs
Most businesses go through busy periods where marketing demands are high and slower periods where there is less immediate need. Marketing staffing is a cost-effective way to get the extra marketing capacity when you need it, without the obligations of a full-time hire when you don’t.
Of course, if you’re periodically bringing in a lot of new talent, you’ll probably need a little extra help managing it. Marketing project management staffing gives you access to the flexible leadership you need to ensure your temporary staff is executing according to your standards and preserving your brand.
2. Filling Long Management Absences
Sometimes a key part of your middle marketing management becomes unavailable for an extended period of time. Whether it’s due to extended time off, sickness, sabbatical, maternal leave or anything else, you’ll occasionally encounter a situation where you’re suddenly lacking in management capacity but you don’t need a full-time replacement.
If you’ve been hiring right, your marketers can probably stay on track for a few days or weeks without someone looking over your shoulder. But beyond that you’ll quickly see productivity drop without someone to fill the void. A contract marketing project manager can hold down the fort for the weeks or months until your full-time manager returns.
3. Steering a Rudderless Team
Even smaller marketing operations, like a small department or team, can benefit from an interim project manager.
You’ve got the talent you need, and most of the time it’s perfectly functional. Your marketers have their responsibilities and carry out their day-to-day tasks without much issue. But when you need to get your team working together on the same page for a major project, it can be like herding cats. A temporary project manager can step in and get them all going in the right direction.
4. Providing a Fresh Perspective
Talented interim project managers offer an outsiders view of your marketing’s internal workings. They can see where things might be going wrong that you might not have considered, and bring successful processes from previous organizations to you. This is a great way to ensure your marketing machine isn’t getting stagnant and that you’re up to date with the latest best practices across the industry.
Bringing in the Big Guns: Interim Marketing Executives
Some projects—a big rebrand, a new product launch, a huge campaign for a major client—require a little more oversight and expertise than a more junior product manager can provide. In cases where you need top-level leadership for a specific period of time, consider bringing in an interim marketing executive to fill the gap.
Finding the Right PM
Quality project managers are hard to come by; those ready to step into your marketing organization and take charge even more so. ESI International reports an unfilled demand for senior project management, with nearly 90% of survey respondents reporting difficulty filling their roles.
But as marketing grows in complexity, so will the projects that support it. Experienced, driven project managers have never been more vital in keeping your strategies coherent, your quality high you’re your campaigns running on schedule.
If you’re struggling to bring in the proven talent you need, especially on a temporary basis, a marketing staffing firm can provide the people you need. Don’t wait while your marketing goes undermanaged (or stops running altogether) and find your resource for marketing project management staffing now!
