If you were in pain, you’d probably seek some expert advice, wouldn’t you?
You’d want to know what was causing it, what you could do about it and, ideally, how to stop it happening again.
But what if your business was in pain?
Who would you ask then?
Because businesses can have their own aches, pains and niggles. And when you’re running a marketing business or agency, those problems can sometimes creep up on you without you really noticing.
Until suddenly, you realise you’re juggling far too much.
What might business pain look like?
It could be something quite straightforward.
Perhaps someone who handles your account management or client services is leaving, and you’re suddenly looking at a gap in capacity.
The work still needs doing. The clients still need looking after. And you’ve probably already got plenty on your plate.
Or perhaps things are going in the other direction.
You’re growing.
You’ve won some lovely new clients and some exciting new work, which is exactly what you wanted.
But now you need to onboard everyone, manage the workload, keep projects moving, make sure the team knows what’s happening and, of course, keep your existing clients happy too.
Growth is brilliant.
But it can also create a bit of a juggle.
And then there are those other moments.
You’ve dropped a ball.
A project hasn’t gone quite to plan.
A deadline has been missed.
A client is unhappy.
You’ve lost a client or two.
Or perhaps you’ve simply got to the point where you’re spending more and more time managing the work rather than actually doing the things you want to be doing.
Sound familiar?
Sometimes you just need another pair of hands
When things get busy, it’s very easy to think:
“I’ll just get through this week.”
Then another busy week comes along.
And another.
Before you know it, you’re firefighting, chasing, checking, reminding, planning, rescheduling and trying to keep everyone happy.
It can be exhausting.
And sometimes you don’t necessarily need another permanent member of staff.
You just need some extra experienced support for a while.
Someone who can come in, understand what’s going on, get stuck in and help you get things moving.
Someone who can take some things off your plate while you concentrate on the things only you can do.
But what if the problem is bigger than capacity?
Sometimes having another pair of hands is just the start.
If you’re regularly running into the same problems, it might be worth looking at what’s behind them.
Are projects getting stuck because nobody is quite sure who is responsible for what?
Are you spending too much time chasing people for updates?
Are clients getting frustrated because communication isn’t consistent?
Is the team constantly busy but struggling to prioritise?
Have the systems and processes that worked when you were smaller stopped working now that you’ve grown?
These things can happen gradually.
A business evolves, clients change, teams change and workloads change.
The processes you had a couple of years ago might simply not be right for where you are now.
That doesn’t mean anything has gone badly wrong.
It might just mean it’s time for a little rethink.
A little operational TLC can go a long way
This is where having someone with experience can really help.
Sometimes you need someone to take a step back and look at the bigger picture with you.
What’s coming in?
What needs to go out?
What’s urgent?
What can wait?
Who is doing what?
Where are the bottlenecks?
What could be made simpler?
And what do you actually need help with?
It might be a process audit.
It might be looking at capacity and workloads.
It might be helping you prioritise.
It might be putting some better systems in place.
Or it might simply be getting everything out of your head and into a plan that everyone can actually follow.
And sometimes, frankly, you just need someone to get on with it.
It doesn’t have to be forever
One of the nice things about this kind of support is that it doesn’t necessarily mean making a big commitment.
You might need help for a few weeks while someone is off or you’re recruiting.
You might need an interim account manager while you work out what comes next.
You might need some extra support during a particularly busy period.
Or perhaps you’d benefit from having someone alongside you on an ongoing, flexible basis.
There isn’t really a right or wrong answer.
It depends on what’s happening in your business and what would make life easier for you.
The important thing is that you get the support you actually need, rather than automatically assuming you need to recruit another full-time person.
And yes, sometimes there is a bit of firefighting
Let’s be realistic.
Sometimes things have gone a little bit wrong.
A client needs attention.
A project needs rescuing.
There’s a backlog.
Someone has left unexpectedly.
A new piece of work needs getting up and running yesterday.
In those situations, you need someone who isn’t afraid to roll their sleeves up and help.
That might mean picking up an account.
Getting a project back on track.
Speaking to clients.
Sorting out communications.
Helping the team prioritise.
Making introductions where specialist help is needed.
Or simply working through the list and getting things done.
But ideally, once the immediate fire is out, you can also look at why it happened in the first place.
Because the aim isn’t just to put a plaster over the problem.
It’s to help make things work better afterwards too.
So, what does your marketing business need?
If things feel a little stretched at the moment, it might be worth asking yourself a few questions:
Is it a people problem?
Do you need some additional capacity or someone to cover a gap?
Is it a workload problem?
Are there simply too many things happening at once?
Is it a process problem?
Could better systems or clearer ways of working make things easier?
Is it a client management problem?
Do your clients need more consistency, communication or day-to-day attention?
Or is it a bit of everything?
It doesn’t have to be a crisis to be worth looking at.
Sometimes having an experienced person come in, take a fresh look and help you work through what’s going on can make a surprisingly big difference.
A little help can make a big difference
Your business doesn’t have to be completely broken before you ask for help.
And asking for help doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
Quite the opposite.
Sometimes it means you know your time is valuable, you know your clients deserve a great service and you want your business to work better — without having to do absolutely everything yourself.
That could mean a short-term pair of hands.
An interim solution.
Someone to help manage your accounts and projects.
A fresh pair of eyes on your processes and systems.
Or someone who can come in, help you through the busy bit and then work with you on what needs to change longer term.
At Pinpoint, that’s the kind of practical, flexible support we provide.
We can help with the immediate things that need doing, while also looking at the bigger picture — from capacity and prioritisation to account management, client servicing, project delivery, processes and systems.
So if your marketing business is feeling a little bit… well… ouch at the moment, you don’t necessarily need to panic. You might just need a little operational TLC.
And perhaps another pair of hands to help you get things back on track.
If that sounds like you, let’s have a chat.
