Agency ADvisor Agency ADvisor
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Our Approach
    • Our Difference
  • Consulting Services
    • Agency Consulting
    • Agency Interventions
    • Workflow Best Practices
    • Comprehensive Agency Assessment
    • Agency Management Systems
  • Solutions and Resources
    • myADvisor
    • Resources/Tools
  • Workshops
    • Hands-On Learning
    • Account Management
    • Owner/COO
    • Financial Workshops
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Our Approach
    • Our Difference
  • Consulting Services
    • Agency Consulting
    • Agency Interventions
    • Workflow Best Practices
    • Comprehensive Agency Assessment
    • Agency Management Systems
  • Solutions and Resources
    • myADvisor
    • Resources/Tools
  • Workshops
    • Hands-On Learning
    • Account Management
    • Owner/COO
    • Financial Workshops
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Demystifying Traffic Management Systems – Part 1

August 22, 2016 / No Comments

There’s no doubt that agency management software is mandatory in today’s Marketing/Creative Industry. No other tool will track a jobs progress, monitor employee workload, create and aggregate multiple project schedules, track budget for various projects, and safely store documents and images – all at the same time.

Agencies struggle in a pile of unopened emails and missed deadlines because they are not utilizing a traffic management system to their benefit.

I have heard many reasons why agencies do not use these systems (like Advantage and Workamajig). In this post, I will demystify just a few of these for you.

1. A traffic management system will solve all of our workflow and process problems.

You must define your process. If you do not know what your processes look like, your system will not know either. Remember, computers are only as smart as the user. They do not know what you do not tell them. Briefly, this means identifying every type of project that enters your shop and then breaking them down into phases and into detailed steps that need to be accomplished to complete the phase.

2. I do not have time to use a Traffic Management System.

If set up correctly when you begin, a traffic management system will work almost automatically. This means creating templates for every “size” of each job. These should identify all of your typical steps and time frames. By doing the heavy work initially, you are making it easier to manage projects as they come in. These templates allow you to tweak schedules for individual situations.

3. If I buy a Traffic Management Systems, it should be ready to run our projects.

There are no industry standard templates available for sale to the highest bidder. You have heard that it is about the journey and not the destination. We all get to the same result – the finished project. How we get there is what makes your agency unique and efficient. Focus on how you can do it better with your culture, clients and staff.

4. Once I set up our system with templates, I will not have to do that again.

Your templates are never finished. This is the most dynamic part of what we do – how we do it. Technology is always changing. We always find ways to become more efficient.

5. We have tried other Traffic Management Systems, and they do not fit what we do. We are different from any other agency.

Traffic Management Systems are efficiency tools: just as a socket wrench is a tool. However, if you try to use a socket wrench designed in metrics on a non-metric socket, it will not work. If you try to use a Traffic Management System designed for someone else’s workflow, it too will not work. Getting it set up for your agency in the beginning is critical to its success.


Over the past 14 years I have heard of many obstacles for utilizing traffic management systems. This is just the first of many to come where I hope to help you solve any mysteries you may have.
Feel free to share your traffic management dilemmas here and I’ll do my best to help you solve  it!

Social Profiles

Recent Posts

  • Beat the Decompression Blues – Up The Game!
  • The Central Nervous System of Business Communication: Can You Stay in the Conversation?
  • Are You Ready for 2017? Take This Quiz and Find Out!
  • Your 2017 Business GPS
  • Start Thinking Outside the Box and Stop the Cliche Madness!

Categories

  • Account Management
  • Agency Finance
  • Agency Management Systems
  • Brand Management
  • Client Service
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Efficiency
  • Improving Your Agency
  • New Business
  • Productivity
  • Traffic Management

Archives

  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015

Social Profiles

© Copyright 2023 Agency ADvisor