5 productivity tips for marketers
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” (Paul J. Meyer). Read on to discover our five productivity tips for marketers.
Time is of the essence. Particularly when you need to cram as much as possible into a working day to achieve your sales and marketing KPIs.
Have you ever made lists of priorities then gone home realising that you have been busy all day and still not managed to tick off one single item? That’s because the working day of a marketing professional is rarely a straight line. You need to be ready to respond to opportunities and threats quickly.
This is particularly true during sales peaks and troughs. For example, retail marketing becomes especially stressful in the lead up to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and January sales. Though some marketers find they work hardest between seasonal opportunities when sales levels dip alarmingly!
Whatever your business sales pattern, you will face deadlines and the pressure of meeting targets. Does all of this sometimes make you feel like you are chasing your own tail?
To help, here are five 5 productivity tips for marketing professionals.
Keep in mind not all of these marketing productivity insights apply to everyone. However, there could be one or two that make your life easier, so spare a few minutes from your busy day to read on.
1. The unnecessary meeting ‘epidemic’
Consider whether a meeting is a necessary use of your time and whether it truly adds value to your project.
The massive switch to virtual meetings has cut travel time but may have actually increased the time you spend collaborating and communicating with others. It’s tempting to set up a quick online check-in and chat, rather than do an email or make a phone call.
There’s lots of research into how much time people spend in meetings. Results start from ‘a lot’ and go through to ‘way too much’.
Give careful thought to whether meetings are necessary (actual and virtual). Could you duck out of the ones others create? This TED Talk video is spot on when it comes to saving time by not automatically accepting meeting invitations.
2. List are vital, but attach schedules to them
A task list can help you prioritise tasks to do, especially when you attach it to a schedule.
Whether you scribble it on a notepad or create a colour coded spreadsheet, a checklist of tasks ranked in order of importance can be invaluable.
However, marketing productivity improves if you attach a schedule to these tasks. In other words, a SMART to-do list (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely).
3. All work and no play makes….you tired!
Being productive isn’t about working 24/7. It’s important to take time out for yourself to have a break.
Finding yourself demotivated, low in energy or totally stressed out can really eat into your ability to complete your work in an effective and timely way. Has remote working made you even more prone to long hours and feeling guilty about taking a break?
One of the most important productivity tips for marketers is to be kind to yourself! During the day, take a walk, have a coffee in a breakout area (or your kitchen) and leave time for lunch. You certainly need to manage your work-life balance properly, to be 100% on your game.
4. Use the best digital marketing tools
Work smart, not hard! Capitalise on the many digital marketing tools out there to improve your productivity.
Technology has made marketing productivity easier. Particularly as it automates many tasks such as email marketing and gathering website analytics. Make sure you use all the tech tools for marketing. Including task management platforms such as Asana, ClickUp and Trello. They help you with project management and keeping track of marketing KPIs.
5. Schedule workload reviews and email clearouts
Keep on top of your inbox and task clutter by regularly clearing them out and using filters to help automate the process.
This is like housekeeping for marketing people. The more inbox clutter and task deadweight you accumulate, the more it demotivates and distracts you.
Do you keep lots of unread emails to ‘read later’ or have activities that frequently drop down your list when more important work crops up? We are all guilty of this sort of thing. Take a day to clear the mundane stuff. Including creating email filters to add inbound messages to different folders or levels of importance.
Periodic ‘spring cleaning’ of your tasks can be incredibly freeing and invigorating.
Pride before a fall?
Don’t be afraid to reach out for help if you’re stuck on a task. It’s more productive than spending a bunch of time on something and getting nowhere!
Here’s a piece of research that really matters to marketing productivity. Around 59% of people who work in office environments don’t ask for help when they need it.
Going it alone is not noble if you’re missing sales targets or feeling stressed out. The best way to improve your productivity as a marketing professional could be to admit you need a digital marketing expert to hit your KPIs.