A Guide to Effortless Workflow Optimization

How efficiently agencies execute their workflows will ultimately determine their productivity and efficiency. 

A successful agency workflow can take your business to the next level. By having solid workflow management you will have a better chance of reducing agency bottlenecks, staff burnout, and client churn. All while retaining revenue you would otherwise lose through inefficiencies such as poor team cohesion. 

In today’s fast-paced digital world, it is more important than ever to have a well-optimized workflow. There are many different ways to optimize it. But the aim is to free up your and your team’s time. So that you can focus on more important tasks by using workflow optimization tools. However, you have to make sure that your team is trained on how to use them effectively. In this way, the right tools can make a big difference in the efficiency of your agency’s workflow.  

Workflow management is defined as the coordination of tasks that builds up within a team or organization to complete larger projects. In this perspective, workflow management tools, such as time tracking tools, and workflow tracking tools, are the solutions that help agencies automate and manage their processes. These tools refer to a system that aids in the completion of workflows and oversees repeatable processes from a macro-level perspective. 

They can be used to set up a defined set of tasks along with their sequence, collaborate with team members, and define different workflows for different types of processes and applications. These tools can also help reduce manual efforts and automate redundant tasks. 

Workflow software reduces the time needed for transferring pending work between tasks and allows for continual tracking and notification. It allows users to automate and streamline processes, typically in a sequential manner, helping to ensure all tasks are done correctly and in the right order.

Here are some benefits workflow automation can bring you:

• Fewer mistakes 
• Better communication and collaboration
• More work done in less time
• No more wasted time on repetitive tasks
• Handle more things at once without getting overwhelmed
• Everyone knows what’s going on and can see where things stand
• More positive and productive environment

The workflow tools also track progress and offer visualization, thus improving collaboration, productivity and reducing errors. Workflow management tools reduce the time needed for transferring pending work between tasks and allow for continual tracking and notification.  

Let’s check it on a particular example.

A smart workflow management solution, Screendragon, offers much more than simple workflow software: real performance improvements for agencies! The platform provides you with best practices for change management, gaining leadership buy-in, developing training plans, and much more. It also allows you to create shared workspaces for your clients, where they can view documents, collaborate on tasks, and leave comments. So that you can also use this tool for your client workflow management.

With its agency management software, you can build scopes and predict future revenues, benefit from real-time creative collaboration, and integrate with many apps including Office365, Google Drive, Trello, Slack, PeopleSoft, MS Dynamics, and many more. 

Agencies mostly prefer using digital marketing tools for handling their marketing operations or projects such as email marketing, social media, content marketing, marketing analytics, and project management operations. If your agency is having difficulties in managing tasks & projects and organizing documents, it is time to invest in workflow process management software!

Scroll down to see the different examples of workflow management tools with their pros and cons:

Screendragon

Screendragon is a hub to manage all your marketing operations for your agency and also optimize your resources. The marketing workflow tool allows you to customize your flows in order to suit your ways of working.

Pros

• User-friendly 
• Integration with many apps
• Create shared workspaces for your clients
• Real-time creative collaboration
• Technical support

Cons

• Having plenty of features might be confusing

Price Range 

Starter: $20 pm /Agency: Contact Screendragon

Productive

Productive is a one-stop shop for agencies of all types and sizes. You can run your sales, budgeting, resource planning, project management, reporting, and billing in one platform.

Pros

• Easy to track
• Real-time- Updating

Cons

Price Range 

Essential: $9 pm / Enterprise: Contact Productive

Monday.com

monday.com is an open platform designed so that anyone can create the tools they need to run all aspects of their work. It includes ready-made templates or the ability to customize any work solution ranging from sales pipelines and many more.

Pros

• Organize all project information
• Clear processes
• Great document management

Cons

• Unwanted emails
• Poor customer service

Price Range 

Temel: €8 pm / Pro: €16 pm

*They offer a free plan

ClickUp

ClickUp is known for its project management capabilities. It lets you automate all repetitive tasks in your workflow to help you save time and money. It helps agencies set workflows to handle both internal tasks and client-related tasks. 

Pros

• Easy to manage projects
• Creative design

Cons

Price Range 

Unlimited: $7 pm / Business: $12 pm

*They offer a free plan

Workamajig

Workamajig is a cloud-based HTML5 project management solution designed for creative ad agencies and in-house advertising teams of all sizes. It enables users to create project tasks, assign them to people, and collaborate on these tasks from a single message portal. 

Pros

• Real-time- Updating
• Estimating function

Cons

Price Range 

In-house: $41 pm / Enterprise: Contact Workamajig

PageProof

PageProof is an online proofing tool that makes the review and approval of work feel effortless. It offers greater customization through an abundance of UI options. In one case study, it doubled marketing output while cutting production time in half.

Pros

• Makes project management easier
• User friendly

Cons

Price Range

Team: $249 pm / Team Plus: $399 pm

*They offer a free version

Zapier

Zapier is a web-based solution that enables companies to connect various applications together to automate their workflow and boost productivity. It provides the right set of tools to teams to accomplish more with less effort and errors.

Pros

• Organizing and tracking tasks
• Automating repetitive tasks
• Exchanging data in real-time
• Matching data elements between systems

Cons

• Poor third-party integrations 
• Pricey business plans
• No Collaboration on the professional plan

Price Range

Starter: €18.55 pm / Company: €91.88

*They offer a free version

How to Choose The Right Workflow Management Tool For Your Agency?

Workflow automation technology can be a powerful tool for improving productivity, customer satisfaction, and so on. Streamlining processes, eliminating manual tasks, and reducing errors are some key benefits that smart workflow automation technology can provide you. However, the decision process is not that easy when it comes to selecting one. Each one has different features, capabilities, and functions. Here are helpful tips for choosing the right workflow automation software for your agency:

• Identify your needs
• Take your budget into account
• Consider your team’s requirements
• Evaluate the features
• Read feedback from other users
• Give it a test run

Choosing the software for your agency requires careful consideration and thoughtful evaluation. With the right workflow management system, you can boost overall agency efficiency, increase profits, and improve customer experience. 

An intelligent workflow task management software can help your agency streamline processes, delight your clients, and grow your bottom line. Don’t settle for anything less than the best. Invest in a solution that is tailored to your agency’s unique needs and give your agency a competitive edge in this competitive digital world.