StrategyDriven Project Management Article | 5 Tips for Successful Project Management

5 Tips for Successful Project Management

StrategyDriven Project Management Article | 5 Tips for Successful Project ManagementProject management in business can be challenging and so hiring someone who knows what they’re doing and having the right tools in place can make a big difference between your project being a success or a flop. Managing a budget, resources, and the team takes some serious organizational skills so if you want your business project to be a success, here are 5 tips to help you along the way.

Making a Solid Plan

Before you can manage a project, there needs to be a set plan in place that identifies the role of every team member and the goals for the project. It should be both clear and short. Having a solid plan for your project provides you with something to measure your success from or to change tactics if what you’re currently doing isn’t working against your plan. Planning ensures clarity for all team members and can help bring you back to the main goals of a project during the busiest times.

Hire a Project Manager

If you don’t already have a project manager in your team, now is the time to get one. A project manager is trained to know how to run projects in the most efficient way. A project manager knows how to choose a team, explore their strengths and weaknesses and use these to deliver a task to each team member. They can work alongside the team to reach the goals of the project and your business. There are countless benefits of hiring a project manager for your business.

More importantly, this specialist must know how to calculate ETC or the estimate to complete. It refers to the expected expenses from the present moment until the project is completed. This ensures that resources, costs, and efforts are aligned until the project’s completion. This is a vital aspect of the project, so in case anything goes awry, you can apply contingency measures appropriately.

When you decide to hire a project manager, carefully check their portfolio and don’t hesitate to ask for references. Project managers are crucial in the timely completion and turnover of big-ticket projects, hence their expertise is indispensable.

Communicate

Within any project, communication is key to avoiding mistakes and to achieve clarity throughout the team, as well as with any clients. Effective communication must take place often between your business and clients, so they are always up-to-date. The project manager should keep in contact with all team members, regularly checking in to ensure they understand their role and are working well towards their deadline. One of the biggest failures within a project is poor communication.

Nowadays, it’s pretty easy to streamline communication using technology.  Since all tasks have a digital footprint, the project manager will know if team members are falling behind in their assigned tasks. This allows the manager to confer with them to identify issues that cause the delay and address them accordingly.

Use a Project Management Software

Project management software is used by companies worldwide and is there to make your project that much easier. Rather than saving file after file and using several communication platforms to speak to team members, project management software allows for everything in one place. The Digital Project Manager has compiled an expert review on the top 10 project management software that is available for your business. Within this, you can check features, price, and usability of each software.

This software allows you to delegate tasks easily, monitor completion, and evaluate quality anytime. Team members will also have a library of resources, and mentorship can be easily assigned, so everyone learns something new every time.  Another great thing about this tool is it will help elevate collaboration within the team. Feedback forms can be easily created and disseminated. Measuring success to recognize those who deserve commendation will be timely accomplished. Hence, improving the team’s morale and productivity may be expected.


Evaluate

This is one that many businesses forget yet evaluating can make a big difference in how you run your project next time. We cannot improve if we do not evaluate. Use your project as a learning tool. Review what went well and what didn’t and how these mistakes could have been avoided or fixed quickly. Ask team members for their opinions too, as this allows for a total evaluation.

Successful project management is all about clarity and communicating well together. Hiring a project manager will ensure that all your projects are a success.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article|Marketing|Seven must-haves of a marketing communication strategy

Seven must-haves of a marketing communication strategy

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article|Marketing|Seven must-haves of a marketing communication strategyAs an owner of your business, your first and foremost goal is to attract maximum revenues and sales. Unless you master this skill, your business will always go through uncertain scenarios and yearn for stability. Do you know why some of the brands are particularly good at this job? it’s because they have crafted an impeccable marketing communication strategy.

Marketing communication strategy is a broad term that covers so many small aspects. However, you should not miss out on the following must-haves while designing a marketing communication plan for your company.

Identify Your Target Audience

If you don’t have in-depth information about your audience, you can’t expect any of your marketing campaigns to be successful or even come close to the desired results. The same stands true here. The more information you have about your customers, the better it is.

You can develop buyer personas around questions like:

  • Who currently buying your products?
  • Which geographical location is adding most to your bottom line?
  • Which pain points are pushing people to purchase from your brand?
  • Which age group and gender are more inclined towards your products?

Answers of these questions will give you a complete picture of your target audience. You can find out more about your online customers through Google Analytics and other tools.

However, in case your brand is fresh and lacks the necessary details to build buyer personas, you should invest in surveys and researches. Once you have identified the target market, you don’t have to be an exceptional salesman to deal with customers. When people are getting what they are looking for, why you would have to influence them?

Come up with an effective branding message and Be Consistent

Every famous brand has done and achieved this. Brand messaging is something that can be dubbed as the philosophy of your brand. The brand message is what appeals to the audience, makes them curious and eventually pushes them to buy your product.

Begin with the tagline. It should be woven into words in such a way that people do not have to put any effort to remember it. Apart from that, you should craft a single paragraph conveying your brand values and the mission you want to accomplish. You can even assess the effectiveness of the message with a certain group of people before finally settling for it.

Remember, people will forget your tagline if you don’t repeat it everywhere. So being consistent is very important. Be it your social media accounts, website or application, your tagline should be all over the place to represent your business.

Uncover your business objectives

Increasing sales, expanding reach, and building brand awareness: all of them are the key objectives for any business. Some owners would like to take one thing at a time. They would pick one objective first and then the others will follow. So if you happen to be one of those businessmen, it is obligatory for you to outline the particular objective you want to achieve first and then move on to the second one and so on.

At times when you are trying to incorporate too many things in your marketing campaign, people don’t get a clear message and walk away out of sheer confusion. How can you be successful when people don’t know what you are trying to convey to them?

Focus on the unique selling proposition

A unique selling proposition (USP) means emphasizing one factor that makes you “unique” from the rest of the competition. Here, you need not mention the features which people readily find in the other products. In other words, USP is a problem that nobody can solve better than you.

When you want people to change their old brand and shift to yours, the first thing they ask is “what makes your brand different than the others?” That’s where USP swings into action. People won’t come to you unless you address their pain points better than others. To sum up, a compelling USP separates you from “noise” and gives you “voice”.

Pick the right marketing mix

Today, we have too many podcast hosting sites to market a brand. We are no more limited to billboards, print media or TV advertisements. There are options like email marketing, content writing, social media and much more. However, the drawback of having too many alternatives is that you could pick the wrong medium where you may or may not find your targeted audience and end up wasting your resources.

For example, if you choose to market your brand on social media then you have to realize all social media channels are not the same. What appeals to a Facebook user might not charm an Instagram user. That’s where you have to pick and choose very smartly. Make sure you don’t throw all your eggs in one basket. Always market on a variety of platforms for good results.

In order to be on top of your media campaign, you need to have a calendar by your side and schedule your posts at optimal times. if you feel confusion, SEO service in Singapore can help you to design the best digital marketing strategy that will make a clear strategy for you to woo your online customers.

Determine success metrics

As they say “what can be measured, can be improved”. You must measure your performance to know where you are heading so that if the performance is not up to the mark, you can improve it. The list of various key performance indicators (KPI) is given below:

  • Social media shares
  • Number of website visits
  • Number of leads generated
  • Mentions on social media
  • Backlinks acquired from quality websites
  • Retention rate on your website
  • Number of followers on social media channels

As you can see, every platform has different criteria for performance. There are so many other metrics that we have not mentioned here, for example, likes and retweets. It is because relying on these metrics will not do any good for you.

Communicate your success to people

Once you are done with measuring your success, make sure you share it with your audience. It is a way to thank your consumers and make them feel important for being part of your success journey. Of course, nobody would like to be a part of a failing business. That way, not only old customers will show more faith in you but new ones will also start to engage.

The final verdict

As mentioned above, a marketing communication strategy is a blend of a variety of things. You can’t take any of them lightly. From the first to the last step, all of them need to be undertaken with thorough planning. We have sketched out the must-haves of an ideal marketing communication strategy, you just have to implement them and wait to be awed by the results.

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article|AI|How Has Ai Revolutionised Our Daily Lives For The Better?

How Has Ai Revolutionised Our Daily Lives For The Better?

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article|AI|How Has Ai Revolutionised Our Daily Lives For The Better?Ai and its capabilities have rapidly increased in recent years with at-home devices and mobile devices using their own Ai to increase performance. But how else has it revolutionised the way that we go about our daily routines? Whether this is in business for the use of artificial intelligence in sales, or at home to turn on and off the heating and other electrical appliances, there are a number of ways that Ai has become incredibly useful. In this article, we will be looking at the implementation of Ai and how this has revolutionised the way we conduct daily activities.

The Rise In Digital Assistances

One of the biggest ways that Artificial Intelligence has affect our daily routine is through the use of Assistances. Whether this is Amazons Alexa, Google or Siri, each of these use an Ai software to revolutionise our daily lives and make jobs easier to complete. Whether this is searching on the internet, placing directions in maps or looking for videos on Google, this ai algorithm helps to streamline the daily process and learn your daily preferences for a fully personalised experience.

Product Recommendations

Another way that Ai has helped to better people’s lives is through the use of product recommendations. Whether this is shopping on Amazon or even taking advantage of Google shopping capabilities, Ai will recommend products to you based off of your search history as well as other items that you have been looking at. This is the same with Google ads as it implements cookies that track your spending and search behaviour. This not only makes repurchasing items much easier for those of us that regularly shop online, but it also helps businesses to see more of a return of investment from their remarketing campaigns.

Tv And Music Recommendations

In addition to product recommendations, Ai is also used on some of our favourite platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Youtube streaming services. Ai is used to not only recommend programs or channels for you to watch, but they also send you notifications for up to date content that may interest you. This has revolutionised our daily lives as many of us now opt for media of this form rather than watching traditional television as there is much more variety for anyone looking to watch new content from some of their favourite actors.

Googles Algorithm

The final way that Ai has revolutionised our daily routine is through the websites that we choose. Not only does Google’s algorithm provide us with reliable information quickly, but it also encourages us to find reliable sources with new and refreshed content every day. Whether it is a website search for a specific key term or a recommended video on YouTube, this all makes our lives much easier when using the digital space. Though it does take time for the Google algorithm to get it right, this will help you to organise your life as well as enjoy media in a brand-new way.

Though this is still in the early stages, the implementation of Ai in our everyday lives is only set to make our lives easier than ever before whether this is online or in the home. Only time will tell where this will go.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article|Startups|Four Things Your Company Needs To Stay Alive

Four Things Your Company Needs To Stay Alive

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article|Startups|Four Things Your Company Needs To Stay AliveThere is so much more to business today than just money, charm and good looks, which means that there is more for you to do to stay successful. There are new startup that are emerging into the business world every minute, and staying up to date with them is not always easy. Only 50% of those new startups are going to survive, which means you need to make sure that you’re in that 50%.

There is a lot of pressure for you to stay relevant, and you need to communicate to others how valuable you are as a business. If you don’t know your value, you’re not going to be able to do better for others, and you’re not going to be able to keep your business thriving and alive for others. So, let’s take a look at four things that your business needs to stay alive.

A Purpose. More than anything, you need to know what you’re doing it all for. Your business should be a solid one, and it can be if you are careful about how you treat people. You need to be able to offer something to society, whether that’s a business that has a good handle on its technology (read more about this here) or a good handle on its finances. What do you have to offer? Ask yourself this again and again. If you can’t come up with an answer, you’re in trouble.

Exploration. You want to make a difference to the world and the only way that you’re going to be able to do that is to keep educating yourself, keep learning and keep exploring what you can offer other people. You want to be able to connect to others and learn from them all in one go, and you can do that when you are open to diversification. Diversifying is going to keep you alive!

Sociability. Are you online? No? It’s a problem. You need to be on social media in the same way you need to save money – your business depends on it. You need to be out there and sharing your ideas with your customers, and you need to get as much engagement going as possible. Without it? Well, you’re going to fail. We don’t mean to sound doom and gloom, honestly. It’s just that your business depends on you – so don’t let the side down.

Feedback. If you are asking your audience what they need from you, then they’re going to give you the feedback that you need to stay current. Always check online forums and review sites to know that you are doing enough for your customers – without them, you wouldn’t have a business at all. Feedback and reviews are what keep your business alive and kicking, and you shouldn’t discount even the negative ones. There is always something to learn, and customers need to feel heard by you. This is the way to do that!

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Tech Consultant|Three Reasons Why You Need a Tech Consultant

Three Reasons Why You Need a Tech Consultant

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Tech Consultant|Three Reasons Why You Need a Tech ConsultantThere are many things that you’re good at in your business. You know you’re product inside and out, you’ve got a track record at driving through sales and you’re a great manager.

While you can be great at many things, there are some things that you’ll always lack and one of those might be an in depth knowledge of IT. You know what you company needs, but how to put it in place? That’s one for the experts. In this blog we take a look at three reasons why you need to get a Technology Consulting Company on board and how they can help you.

Getting Outside Help Gives You the Competitive Edge

You’re talking to teams who have a great deal of experience in helping businesses like yours and if you’re serious about investing some money in your technological and IT infrastructure then this is where the best advice is going to be found.

Yes, you could talk to your local internet provider about setting you up some business broadband but a consulting company goes much further than this and gives you IT solutions that put you ahead of the game.

The only thing you’ll be limited by is your vision and your budget.

Integrated Systems

Your consultant takes the time to look at your business needs as a whole. While it’s often cheaper to provide piecemeal solutions to the various IT problems that arise while setting up a business, having someone who sees the bigger picture is, in the long run, a more efficient and cost effective solution.

Integrated systems also mean that your team works better together, that mistakes are less likely to happen and that you can offer your customers a seamless experience when they deal with you.

Future Proofing Your Business

Having an IT strategy in place means that while your business continues to grow and succeed, your IT systems can support that growth and contribute to it. By setting out your growth forecasts with your consultant you can put in place the kind of technology that helps support an increase in sales, more visits to your websites and so on.

No need to panic as your software struggles to cope with the growing demand on its functionality. Instead you can rest assured that your technology is running exactly as it should be with the capability of handling much, much more.

It’s time to let the experts work their magic on your business and get in place tech that will help drive your business and your profits forward. You’re not an IT expert and you don’t have to be, just find a consultant that comes with a stellar reputation and the experience to know exactly what it is that your business needs.

Do your research, take a look around and give your business the edge over the competition. Your tech should support and help your business to grow so get it doing just that.