Few projects are on time and under budget. These failures can be devastating to the individual, costly for companies and damaging to morale. Why do so many projects fall short of their initial expectations? There is a huge difference between who has a plan and hits the ground running, but maybe as important is making an impact or creating a burning imperative to get it done accomplishes more than any plan could ever do.
Who is best at creating a burning imperative than your marketing department? Is it not their job? Do you include them in your internal communications and projects? Are you ever forced to sell an internal project? Would it help if your marketing department was part of it? On the next important initiative work with marketing to sell the project within the organization! Marketing needs to play as important role in your internal communication as they do in your external communication.
Internal Marketing Suggestions:
1. Give it a name? So many times the office will call it a Company name and the shop will call it by the work order number. We cause a division between the office and the shop before it ever goes to the floor.
2. Next, work with marketing on the key milestones and the critical points of the project. Create an event on that day or reward. Plan celebrations based on the importance of the event.
3. A good project has completion criteria and save the biggest celebration for that. Have marketing recognize key contributors during the project and people that go above and beyond their normal duties to get something done.
4. The customer, did we forget him? Include them in your communication. Maybe even ask him to participate in certain celebrations or be seen during the process. Personalizing a project will always add more strength to a project.
Now, can you generate a few of your own ideas about how best to create a burning desire to complete the project?
This is a checklist for your marketing department to use when implementing a Marketing campaign for the project.
Preparation:
In defining the scope of the project, set a clear destination mission, vision, objectives, milestones, strategies and timelines.
Name the project.
Accept current reality – don’t over extend
Build a burning imperative into the project!
Build a quick win situation that can be celebrated.
Plan it:
Discuss the burning imperative what it will take to achieve the Burning Imperative
Build the project plan: framework, mission, vision, objectives, goals, strategies, plans.
Detail the quick win and the celebration?
Organize the milestones in order of importance, celebrate appropriately.
Determine how you will communicate, positives and negatives both internally and externally.
Build a scorecard to show progress.
Do it:
Execute with your project plan but keep marketing part of team by giving them this information:
On track
Lagging but will be made up
Missing milestone
Recognize people that are making it happen, personalize it.
Recognize immediately extraordinary achievements.
Market continuously to customer with accomplishments and issues when possible.
Celebrate milestones and project completion, include customer when possible.
Follow up:
Communicate the final results to all stakeholders
Gain testimonial from customer.
Release news releases on project to include end results for customer.
Live it: Use as basis for all other work.