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Welcome to the The Marketing Source e-newsletter! Our goal is to provide
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Seven Rules for Best Managing the Production Process
 Your sales team is screaming for the brochure that you promised in time for their sales blitz. The copy revisions you sent four departments for approval were due back a week ago and no one has responded. The annual report you need for a major board of directors meeting is late coming in from the printer. Your e- newsletter was due out four days ago and you don't have an idea for a topic yet.
Whether you're a small business or a non-profit marketer, trying to get materials created, produced and printed on time and with the requisite approvals can be enough to make you hide under your desk. But before you surrender to the chaos that often surrounds production, here are our top seven rules for bringing some order to your world.
It has to be right
They'll never remember that is was two weeks late, but they'll always remember it was wrong. It goes without saying that you want to produce top quality pieces - and that you'd like to meet your deadline. But sometimes - usually just as you're getting to the finish line - there is a small mistake, a brilliant idea that requires additional changes, a headline or photo or layout that can't be ignored. Listen to your instincts. If you print a two-year supply of brochures, that's a long time to think, "Wow. I really wish I had changed that."
Plan backwards
Start with the date you need your piece or publication, and work backward from there. Build in some time for planning the piece, writing an initial draft, a couple of rounds of copy approvals and revisions, design and revisions to design, production and distribution time (like mailing or setting up an e-newsletter distribution). Once you have the tasks listed and how time each will take, you'll know when you need to start. If your timeline shows you should have started last month, don't panic. Just shorten up your writing and approval times, and try to get back on schedule.
Be careful what you promise
It's so tempting. When you say the brochures will take 12 weeks, the sales manager pleads for delivery in 8. How can you say no? Simple. You say no because saying yes means two months of squeezing everyone's schedule, begging for favors from designers and printers, rushing through copywriting and generally stressing out your entire marketing team. Sure, there are always times when you have to rush a project. But all too often it's the rule, not the exception.
Manage the input, or it will manage you
We're all for getting input, opinions and expertise from around your organization (and from outside). But it's a double-edged sword. Be very, very careful who you bestow "final approval" privileges upon. You can have lots of people look at your copy and layout without giving them official approval status.
Start with typed copy that isn't in a layout yet. Have technical and "front line" people (and the legal department if you need that) look at the draft copy for errors and to see if any key facts are missing. You'll also want the CEO or anyone will have final sign off to see the copy at this stage also.
Lots of marketers don't show materials around until the copy is placed in the design. That's usually a tremendous time waster, as the copy may need major rewriting or your reviewers get "stuck" on design details, rather than the copy.
One last word about too many cooks in the kitchen: All too often we see powerful pieces or publications watered down by incorporating too many viewpoints and a mishmash of advice from well-meaning reviewers. All that work and money goes into materials that really weren't all they could have been.
Automate
If you are producing a regular newsletter, e-newsletter, sell sheets or other materials, see which parts of it you can automate. Develop specific sections or features in your newsletters that are in every issue. Keep a running list of content you might use for those sections. Set up a photo library you can use across publications so you're not always searching for a photo. (If you don't have enough photos, save money and time by hiring a professional photographer to regularly shoot events, employees, etc.) Set up a production schedule you can use over and over and put the start dates on your calendar.
Build in some margin
Our best tip? Get an estimate of the time required for design and printing or e-distribution. Add at least one week to each of those estimates so you have some room for last minute changes, technical difficulties or plain old mistakes. If your piece is for a specific date or event, make that margin even bigger.
Know thy vendors
There's nothing like having a designer you can go to and say "I need this in a day" or a printer who will rush a special job for you. But ask for that too often and it becomes hard for your vendors to come through. And if you are using a new vendor for a job, you'll need to build in some extra margin.
Need help managing your production and getting things under control? We can help!
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