I am currently working on a new project with a client which has me thinking about the importance of settling clear and achievable goals.
As a sole trader, this particular client could easily amble through the project with some vague goals and just a few key milestones in place on the way to achieve them. However, like me they agree that being a one-man band does not mean you should not have a full marketing project plan in place.
Yes, he may be setting himself KPIs and a timetable that only he will really use, but by having a proper project plan in place he is setting himself up for success and giving himself the ability to easily check on the progress of the overarching project at any time.
As a small business it can be easy to let proper project planning fly out of the window. Afterall, there is no one holding you to account and making you justify the decisions you are making. However, when it comes to marketing, and in particular PR campaigns, it can be very easy to lose focus and become distracted by market events in detriment to your end branding goal.
It can also be counterproductive to over plan and become to regimented.
For me, the key to good marketing project planning is setting clear overall goals, key milestones, and a clear-cut idea of what excellent looks like.
So, what does a good project plan look like for a small business? You don’t have the time (and perhaps not the expertise) for writing an extensive plan, but there are some key elements that should be included if the plan is to prove useful:
- Define the overall goals and purpose of the plan – define the what and the why, budget and timeline.
- List out each of your goals and the requirements, tasks and deadlines that are needed to meet them. It can be helpful to allocate any resources needed for each deliverable at this point.
- Create a project schedule to help you keep track of progress – include tasks, subtasks and major milestones. Personally, I like to use gant charts for my project schedules but there is a lot of affordable project management software out there many people prefer to use. If you will be using any third parties make sure you run this schedule past them so they can check their deliverables are achievable in the timescales you have proposed. Don’t forget to leave a little wiggle room in the timescales because life happens!
- Define roles, responsibilities and resources and make sure to communicate these in a timely fashion to anyone internally or externally involved in the project. Also make the communication process easy by setting check-in points so you don’t have to go chasing people for updates.
Consider any of the most likely issues you may encounter along the way and review your project plan against them. For example, upcoming holidays, press deadlines, busy market periods, what should happen should a key person become unwell.
Also think about whether someone else could follow your plan should you become indisposed.
The most experienced project planners know that all projects never go 100% to plan
Brandon Consulting Services Ltd 