Why it’s important to set deadlines for your marketing project

The word ‘ASAP’ (or acronym, if we’re being technical) is no friend to marketing agencies. It’s a term that means nothing and everything at the same time. Does it mean in an hour? A day? By the end of the week? It has a fairly open interpretation and therefore doesn’t make for very clear communication between you and your agency.

When discussing your project deadlines with your agency, communicate clearly from the start. Using a clear brief as your guide, set out what needs to be done, who’s going to do it, how long it’s going to take, and when it needs to be done by. And think through each step and the potential challenges you might face so you can factor in enough wiggle room to handle the worst-case scenario.

Most of us work better when we’ve got a to-do list to work from that’s been written out in order of priority. So if your marketing project has every task listed out with equal importance, or says that everything needs to be completed “yesterday”, both you and your agency will eventually feel submerged under a never-ending tide of work.

Setting deadlines allows both you and your agency to effectively prioritise your workload, meaning you can identify which actions should be completed first – keeping your project on track.

Procrastination is just about everyone’s worst enemy. And failing to set deadlines can often lead to unproductivity, as there’s no sense of purpose or urgency for getting things completed.

Setting deadlines will enable both you and your agency to manage your time efficiently, meaning that every minute of billed time will be well worth its weight.

If you've been landed with a last-minute project, we can help. We find that taking the time to determine exactly what's needed at the start of the project is time well spent, even when it's limited. Our approach is always to draw up a project plan which highlights exactly what’s being delivered and when, helping everyone involved in the project to manage their workload and turnaround a project quickly.

If this sounds like the right approach for you, get in touch.