Why businesses should delegate their marketing
The delegation of tasks to a marketing team is not only beneficial for productivity but can also help foster collaboration among colleagues, allowing them to learn from each other and grow. Delegating tasks also ensures that accountability, responsibility, and ownership are shared by everyone on the team. This is also a great way to get fresh new ideas and concepts into your business and it can be a great way to open up your offering and allow for you to grow.
By delegating marketing tasks to others and sharing the load, you’re actually making your organisation stronger in the long run. With all of that in mind, marketing is a key function in any business. A good marketing agency will be able to help you in no end of ways too.
This can be a wise move from very early on
To produce sustainable profitable income, by anticipating and satisfying customer demand, requires a process of careful management, which is generally referred to as “marketing”. However, while the term “marketing” may often be defined differently, it is as a management process that it should properly be considered. Every successful manager has also to be a “leader”, and to be able to balance the respective needs of the task to be achieved, the team to carry it out, and the individuals of that team. Marketing managers are responsible for producing a flow of profitable income for the long-term benefit of the business, with the objective of maximising profitable income while minimizing costs and the use of assets.
To achieve this, they must manage resources, as well as be a leader and motivator. They must understand the market and their customers, as well as understand all the activities involved in getting and maintaining business. As managers, they must ask difficult and searching questions, avoid assumptions, and seek quantifiable proof of performance, but as a leader, they must know and understand the requirements of the marketing team and especially the individuals involved. Leadership and management are not about simply hitting goals and targets. Achieving business objectives can be met by “driving “the organization and its staff. However, experience shows that such methods are ultimately counterproductive, and may cause the most important asset, the experienced marketing staff “to vote with their feet” and leave.
This is key in no end of ways
Delegating marketing tasks is an important part of any successful business. It allows businesses to maximise resources and capitalise on the skills and expertise of individuals. By delegating appropriate responsibilities to a digital marketing agency, business owners can ensure that projects are completed in a timely manner without sacrificing quality or accuracy. The first (and most important) reason business owners delegate is to free up calendar space for the actual day-to-day work of running a company. There are many additional benefits to outsourcing your marketing efforts to the experts.
Next assess the best people available in your team
There are certainly people on your team who are better equipped to manage certain areas in your marketing. You just have to find out who and where they are. The ideal place to delegate is in-house if you have resources that excel in what you need. When hiring internally, make sure to choose those who are ready and are willing to take on more responsibilities. Then examine whether the tasks are aligned with their strengths and talents. Let’s say you already have a content writer but no one is managing your social media accounts yet. Try reaching out to the writer to see if they also have social media management skills.
Many tools, such as Zoho People, actually have built-in Skills functions that allow employees to list secondary skills. This is a great way to quickly take a look at people within your organisation. You need to see then who might be able to lend a hand outside of their department. Or seen even potentially be moved to a position that better aligns with their skills.
Have a plan of action
As with the delegation of any activity, an action plan should be created that clearly defines the desired goals and specific steps to achieve them. In typical practice situations, the doctor thoroughly understands the task and teaches it to the staff member, but developing a working knowledge of social media marketing may itself be one of the delegated tasks. In this case, the doctor and staff member(s) must work closely together. Selecting the best staff person to lead this effort is crucial. An understanding of the practice, the proper attitude, and superb organisational and communications skills are essential for success with online marketing.
With the initial social media in place, prioritisation of social media time should be determined. Decisions must be made regarding whether social media is to be used for strengthening relationships with current patients, broadcasting messages to potential patients, or developing relationships with other organisations and businesses in the community. Research must be done to find out what social media platforms are used in the area. Also then look at what are most likely to generate these outcomes. A schedule of frequency, length and content of social media updates must be created.
You do need to know how to let go
Your reasons may seem valid but when you want your business to move forward, you have to focus on larger responsibilities. That said, you need to determine which roles need to be delegated. Ideally, you will want to start with the smallest tasks and gradually work your way up. Social media, for example, plays a huge role in your marketing but it takes up a lot of time and effort. It also requires an expert’s knowledge. There are different channels you need to manage. Different audiences you need to engage with. Different metrics you need to track, and not to mention, the types of content you need to post on a daily basis.
Understandably, as a business owners, the social media arena is less likely to be your strong point. Even if it is, you generally don’t have enough time for it. So among the myriad of tasks, which one should you start giving out? Again, take baby steps. Scheduling of posts is a great place to start. Once you are comfortable with how things are running, then you can proceed to delegating another social media task.
There are also other important areas in marketing that needs careful attention and expertise. These may include email newsletters, blog writing, graphic design, lead generation and the list goes on. Consider delegating them, along with other marketing duties that are likely to take up too much of your time. Once you have freed up some of your time, you can focus on areas in which you excel.
Be clear
Even if the responsibilities seem comprehensible to you, make sure to provide detailed instructions for every assignment you delegate. Don’t assume your employees know what you mean. For example, don’t just instruct someone to “manage the email list,” set out clear expectations and goals. If you have particular requirements for how to do the job, be clear about that. If you have a strict deadline or milestones you need to hit, get straight to the point. This ultimately avoids communication gaps and will help your people tackle projects more effectively.
Training and properly communicating with the employees you delegate tasks to is essential. Yes, it may take up more of your time in the beginning, but if you put in the time and effort from the start, it will pay off in the future. If you clearly communicate your wants and needs and carefully train your employees, they will quickly begin to make your life easier and free up a lot more time for you to focus on the aspects of your business that you are most passionate about.
Have in place some effective systems
Be more effective in delegation by using the right system. There are a plethora of marketing tools and solutions out there – such as Trello, an app where you can create a workflow using colour-coded cards and boards. Hubspot is also one of the top players when it comes to marketing. Asana is an excellent tool for tracking progress of a collaborative project. With a solid system in place, you don’t have to be there for things to get done. You only have to create a task and assign the right person. It is also easier for you to keep track of how each project is moving. In addition, developing a system will help you understand the nature of your tasks and allow you to delegate efficiently.
Overall, what to take into consideration
As a business owner, you will come up with different marketing ideas. But for your ideas to turn into life, you need to take the right steps. With task delegation, you are in better position to put your ideas into action because you have the right people and the right system to back you up. Another good thing with delegation is that you have veto power over all marketing plans. People might take on different roles, but you always have the final say. You also learn different ideas from marketing experts which can ultimately help your business thrive and survive in today’s cut-throat market.
Delegating can be tough at first. The process may not always be black and white and mistakes are bound to happen in the process. The trick here is to consistently follow through, ask for regular reports from your people, and learn from your experiences. Keep these things in mind and you will be well on your way to successful delegation.
