Do you have a problem like Julia?

Last week I met Julia. She is marketing executive at an Association.

The Association enjoys good membership and has individual and corporate membership.

The membership is scattered around the country.  Large events as well as some local events are organised that promote the. These events are sparsely spread. This gives the corporate staff time to organise, plan and execute each event properly.

The Association also encourages training. The corporate office regularly holds training sessions. Smaller sessions are also held at local venues around the country.

During the pandemic, all their events went online. The Association has suffered in more than one way. Now in 2022, they must get on track and even play catchup.

Julia already has a very demanding role, and the last two years have brought its own challenges. The teams have had to get used to remote working, and online meetings. There is now a different way to promote and host events.

Coordinating events from their homes had its own challenges. From makeshift offices to dining tables all became work tools.

It was quite normal to hear dogs barking or children crying during one of these sessions. To be fair, some key events were cancelled as they were not practical.

Meeting Julia

My meeting with Julia was set up in December. When I met Julia, she was clearly excited.

Julia wanted 2022 to be an exceptionally different year. Her vision for the Association was to get a cover for what they did year-on-year and a lot more.

Julia had come prepared with a list of events they do every year. Some dates were final. Others were provisional as a ‘few things’ needed to fall in place.

Julia had already identified reasonable gaps. In fact, she could squeeze extra events and opportunities to her plan.

Before our meeting, she had talked to her colleagues. One overseeing admin and the other membership. Together they had all ends covered (for print requirements – as much as was possible).

It was a long meeting, I was taking-in everything she threw at me. This plan gave us both a ‘birds-eye’ view of entire years’ projects. I got a good understanding of what Julia needed and when she needed these for.

Planning is everything

Though our remit has always been printing.  Clearly, the plan identified items that needed printing. We also managed to discuss her ‘other’ requirements we could help with. Email signatures, event banners, social media images, promotional items, etc.

We could also help Julia with storage, and distribution.

We identified areas where we could step in and provide more support. The additional requirements will shorten the production cycle time. This alone, would free Julia and her team’s time and a great deal hassle to deal with more pertinent matters.

We had a plan though it was far from complete.

I recalled a quote, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything” by former US President Dwight D Eisenhower (1890-1969).

Back in the office, I uploaded the information to our Projects software.

I then split each project identifying key milestones and mapped tasks needed at each stage to ensure the project stayed on track and to plan. Detailed specifications and expectations were added at each stage of the plan.

Together with the automation, the CRM gives, I could set all reminders. The more granular the information the more effective we could plan. Importantly it can be flexible to change if so required. We could see the impact of delays as well as flexibility in loading a bit more.

This way, Julia’s projects will stay on track.

I am looking forward to working closely with Julia to ensure the year is far more successful and fruitful than even pre-pandemic era.

Would you benefit from a planning tool as Julia has?

PS: A planning session is important. It will save you a lot of hassle and money. Simply book a time slot that works for you.

PPS: A birds-eye view of your print projects brings clarity and reduces anxiety. It’s worth the investment!