When we hear the word productivity, we typically think “more work.” But the actual goal of being more productive is to consistently achieve the desired results with the utilization of less time and resources, or—per the definition below—greater output with lesser input.
pro·duc·tiv·i·ty
/ˌprōˌdəkˈtivədē,ˌprädəkˈtivədē/
noun
the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.
Think about a hamster running on a wheel. He runs and runs and gets nowhere…inputting much effort but with zero output.
Don’t be the hamster on the wheel!
All of us in marketing know that finding this balance of output/input isn’t easy. But it should be a constant goal, and it requires consistent attention and sometimes, adjustments.
Here are six things you can do to increase your productivity:
1. Know your customer, target your markets and don’t stray
Targeted marketing seems like Marketing 101, but it’s easy to slip up here. Especially for growing companies that can become enticed by multiple vertical markets and customer segments. Throwing a little money here and a little money there toward several market segments is not productive. Nine times out of ten, dipping a toe into the market is not enough to penetrate it, and further, it dilutes your focus.
Stay the course! Know your customer! This McKinsey Report shows that companies making intensive use of customer analytics are 2.6 times more likely to have a significantly higher ROI than competitors: 45 percent versus 18 percent.
When you understand the customer segments that generate the most business and revenue you can remain uber-targeted with your budget and your team’s focus while also eliminating distractions.
Here are some great customer analytics tools to check out:
- HubSpot– comprehensive CRM platform, easy to use and integrates with other platforms nicely to give you a complete picture of your marketing universe.
Mixpanel – allows you to understand how your customers are interacting with your product, which features do they use most often, who are your power users, and other crucial data. - Google Analytics – see real-time data of customers on their website or app and analyze what are their main customer acquisition channels. This data can easily be converted into amazing reports you can share with your team and make decisions accordingly.
- Kissmetrics – Kissmetrics provides an in-depth analysis of a customer journey by tying data to a real person.
2. Findability – It’s a thing
According to the Economic Times, employees spend a quarter of their time looking for information they need to do their jobs. That’s time that could be spent on higher-value business initiatives, like creating new content or drumming up a new campaign
Organize your documents and files into shared drives and categorize them clearly so that the whole team can access and find documents quickly, period. You can use Dropbox, or Box, or OneDrive.
3. Use a project management tool
Visible organization and tracking of ongoing projects is paramount. There are various digital tools that can help you implement this, even if you work with freelancers or remote employees scattered all over the globe.
Project management tools such as Hubspot, Asana, Basecamp, or Monday.com will house and track projects for you so you don’t need to waste brain space or – more importantly – miss deadlines. These apps also allow you to share and store documents, which helps with #2 above.
Pick one that addresses multiple needs and stick with it. According to Anatomy of Work, over one-quarter (27%) of workers say that actions and messages are missed when switching apps and 26% say app overload makes individuals less efficient.
4. Marketing content – Don’t reinvent the wheel
Create a content library of great assets and use them. And use them again.
This doesn’t mean becoming redundant, and it absolutely doesn’t mean you should allow the content library to stagnate. It does, however, mean making sure you get significant mileage out of every piece of content and every asset. Remember: a smart marketer knows that some things can be recycled, refreshed, and reused (it’s strategy, not cheating!).
The next time you are looking for fresh content ask yourself if you have something that exists that can be updated and utilized. Instill this into your team and processes.
5. No question is a dumb question – Don’t make assumptions
According to Asana’s Anatomy of Work, over 26% of deadlines are missed each week with the most common causes being unrealistic expectations (35%) and lack of clarity (27%). For large enterprises, in particular, this can add up to a significant drain on resources, revenue, and profitability
Create an environment and culture in which team members feel confident to ask for clarity to avoid spinning wheels or wasted time. Communicate with individuals regarding their workload and set realistic expectations agreed upon by all parties.
6. Outsource to fill your marketing gaps
Identify what gaps you may have within your team in terms of skill sets and delegate to an outside talent pool. For example, if you are in need of an SMO to develop content with a specific focus, it’s likely that skill set may not sit among your team. Outsourcing this to content experts is a win/win. Outside talent can and should bring new ideas to the table, a different and fresh perspective, and a level of expertise in the area of focus.
The result: Greater output!
Implementing these six productivity tools will help you work toward achieving the input/output balance, and keep you off the hamster wheel! What are you waiting for?
Need some assistance creating and managing your content? That’s what we’re here for! Contact us today.