My marketers and agency owners have said this, me included, that when they win the next piece of business then that will be the time they need an account manager or project manager, either outsourced/freelance or recruited. I have been there, I am one of you and I have walked in your shoes …
Sound familiar?
Do you need an account manager?
Recruit or outsource?
According to data from a Google search, the average sales lead time for marketing is around 84 days. This can of course vary depending on the industry, product complexity, and sales channel used etc. But assuming this average, if you/your business waits to win the next piece of work, and if you decide to recruit which can take 40 days plus on average, that’s more lost time, more time stressing and more late nights and weekend working!
The benefits of a marketing account manager or project manager
A marketing account manager is a liaison between a marketing company and its clients. They work to develop and maintain client relationships, and coordinate marketing campaign. And a marketing project manager is responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing the completion of marketing projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with overall marketing objectives by coordinating various team members and managing resources effectively.
Either or both roles require an element of juggling and flexibility, focus, KPI’s to adhere to, good briefs, relationship building, customer service, accountability and being value adding to clients and also to client’s clients.
A good account manager or project manager should aim to:
• Stop the bottle necks in comms and processes, including ones which might unintentionally be you
• Dull down the noise from clients and take away the number of emails and messages, unless important
• Act as a filter and give you back time, headspace and thinking space and resource
Is using an account manager or project manager on a freelance basis expensive?
The estimated total pay for a Marketing Account Manager is £36,906 per year, with an average salary of £32,375 per year. (according to Glassdoor).
My clients who have me a day a week are paying less than £20,000 p/a assuming I work 52 weeks a year. So you can see where the savings can be made financially (plus no NI pay, sick pay, no supplying of laptops, phones etc), as well as all the other reasons and benefits.
A day in the life of …
So what does an AM or PM do? Here is a snippet of what I have supported clients with just last week alone:
Onboarding
Client management and support
Comms – internal and external
Competitor research
Tone of voice work
Associates liasion
Persona/ICA research
Event management
Diary management
Market research
Product/software/app research
HubSpot
Project management and task delegating
Travel
Quotes
Attending meetings/calls
Is an AM or PM different to a marketing VA?
No offence intended to VA’s but yes! We can do what a VA does BUT all with a marketing head on, with a marketing angle and POV. With experience and a decent brief, bwe can hit the ground running on projects.
Clients have said things like “Love how pro active you are – thanks again!!” and “Love how on top of things you are”. We have marketing experience and will ask questions and add value, whilst getting the work done as I myself am a Chartered Marketer with the CIM. Use me as PM but with marketing experience. We don’t wait around for instruction.
Do you need an account manager or project manager?
If you aren’t sure, visit the website or book a call and we can run through your questions, concerns and so on. A lot of this is answered on the webpage, but always more than happy to chat.
