The Power of Project Management

Project management is something we take seriously here at BatesMeron. Behind every logo, tagline, brochure or website we create for a client is a planned series of steps to ensure that a creative project makes it into a client’s hands on time and as expected. While the work of my role as an Account Manager at BatesMeron isn’t as outwardly visible as the creative work of our designers or copywriters, it’s still a crucial piece in the puzzle for a project to make its way from beginning to end.

To give you readers a sense of what the “behind the scenes” of a project looks like at BatesMeron, I’ve detailed our process for project management from start to finish, including why each step in the process is necessary and beneficial to our clients.

Gather Information

At the start of a new project, our first step is to gather as much information as possible from the client for our creative brief. This includes listening to what the client is asking for as well as asking pertinent questions. It’s super important for us to have a clear understanding of the clients needs from the very beginning so our creatives can explore solutions that deliver on what the client is expecting.

How is this beneficial for our clients? More clarity surrounding what the client is looking for means we’re not only in a better position to meet that, we’re also in a position to stretch our creativity to go above and beyond for you. Win win!

Kickoff

Our next step is to internally kick off the project. This is when the account manager sits down with the chosen creative team to provide all of the details about the project. If there are additional questions or thoughts from the team, this information can be shared with the client for further discussion or clarification.

How is this beneficial for our clients? Setting clear expectations with the creative team together ensures that everyone is on the same page as individual tasks are assigned. This is also a great opportunity for our team to work together to get to know your products and services better and begin the brainstorming process toward designing a showstopper.

Set Timelines & Milestones

During (or before) the kickoff, the project manager determines the individual milestones that need to be accomplished, as well as the timeline that needs to be met in order to get the project in the client’s hands when they’re expecting it. This information is then shared with the creative team and monitored by the project manager to make sure all milestones are being hit during the full lifecycle of the project.

How is this beneficial for our clients? This step is crucial in making sure the project gets off of the ground and continues without stall. For our clients, this translates to seeing their project when they want to see it.

Collaboration

We love collaboration here at BMSD. When a writer and a designer sit down to hash out the possibilities of a project, magic happens. We don’t want anyone to be working in a bubble, and we encourage collaboration throughout the entirety of a project.

How is this beneficial for our clients? By getting input from multiple team members, our clients can be sure we’ve thought the details of a project through from every angle. The work we present is truly a group effort, which we’ve found to yield the best results for our clients.

Check-Ins

During the course of the project, the whole team involved (the designer, writer, creative director and account manager) will come together to review the status of the project, providing creative direction and determining what steps are still left in order to get the project to the client.

How is this beneficial for our clients? Essentially, having check-ins throughout the lifespan of a project ensures that not only will the project come in on time, but that we’re providing our best work possible. Notice a theme here?

Once all of these steps have been completed, it’s time to send our work to the client! Hooray! While our clients won’t see the vast majority of the process that plays out for each project we’re working on, it’s still something that’s happening for every project we complete. Do you and your team have a different process for handling project management? Let us know in the comments!