Download the project management – account management divide

 THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT – ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT DIVIDE By Vanessa Edwards Over the years, we’ve worked with marketing and advertising agencies in all shapes and sizes – digital shops, full-­‐service niched firms, design heavy shops, PR firms – with anywhere from 7 to 500 employees. No matter the agency position, niche or size, we consistently see confusion and struggles in one area in particular: the division between Account Management and Project Management. Agencies are finally starting realize the advantages of having a robust and discrete PM discipline, much in the way other industries have been leveraging PMs for decades. And while agencies are selling creativity and compelling content, they are also selling TIME. Unfortunately, mismanagement of their time is costing them tremendous profits, stability and negatively impacting their culture. Unfortunately, the solution is not as easy as hiring some PMs and buying some PM software (Workamajig, Advantage, Agile PLM, etc.). The reality is that agencies are facing a myriad of challenges integrating this new discipline into their organizations, including: 1. Cultural resistance 2. AM/PM conflict 3. Poorly defined roles + responsibilities 4. Poorly defined workflows 5. Duplication of effort + loss of efficiencies We get that it’s confusing. But we’re here to help! Here’s how we see the division of these two disciplines working the most effectively and efficiently in marketing agencies: Project Management is the discipline of managing marketing programs and their subsequent deliverables from Conception throughout the Agency Workflow, to Project Completion and Delivery. The PM discipline is also responsible for drafting initial project timelines and work-­‐
back schedules, as well as routing deliverables through all departments to keep all projects on schedule within an overarching program or campaign timeline; PMs understand all of your agency’s capabilities and know the step-­‐by-­‐step details required to deliver a successful program. The PM discipline also involves managing all financial aspects of a program, including initial scoping and cost-­‐based estimating, ongoing budget to actuals management, identifying and managing scope creep and protecting final project margin. Bottom Line: A Project Manager’s role is to be the Agency Advocate. ! In depth knowledge of capabilities and resources of agency ! Builds strong working relationship with all producers of the work ! Drives the tactical production of all projects/programs ! Manages systems/tools that contribute to project/program success ! Ensures “the work” is on budget, on time and on quality Account Management is the discipline of guiding and developing clients’ marketing programs, providing strategically sound solutions to clients’ business objectives. The AM discipline is responsible for providing value-­‐based pricing and writing proposals and Statements of Work for new and existing clients, as well as continuously looking for opportunities to cross-­‐sell and up-­‐
sell agency value; AMs understand all the solutions in your agency’s arsenal and know how to package them up in the best way to solve their clients’ problems. The AM discipline maintains deep knowledge of their clients’ business, industry and competition and is ultimately responsible for the overall success of their clients’ overarching programs. Bottom Line: The Account Manager’s role is to be the Client Advocate. ! In depth knowledge of client’s business, industry + competition ! Builds strong working relationship with client ! Drives the strategic direction of account ! Pitches + defends agency work, concepts and proposals ! Ensures the work is on brand and achieves client goals To be successful, these two disciplines MUST work closely together. They are flip sides of the same coin, approaching situations from opposite perspectives – each of which has tremendous value to keeping the agency healthy and profitable. If you don’t have a dedicated PM and AM discipline, we STRONGLY suggest you invest the time and effort to create two unique disciplines. Start by creating dividing lines between the various tasks and responsibilities mentioned above, and train your team to start thinking about the differences between the two disciplines. Once you start to see how the disciplines differ – and how they can work together to make your agency more successful – it won’t take long before you divide up the disciplines into unique roles. Contributing Author: Jessica Stephens CPI Blog (http://www.creativelyperform.com/blog/) © 2014 Creative Performance Inc., All Rights Reserved