Marketing agency VOCO Creative was having a hard time using email to communicate effectively with their internal team members as well as external clients. They worked out of two locations and had a number of clients in other cities. Plus, they were working on multiple projects simultaneously, which made it arduous to dig through emails to find important information.
On top of that, vital work information such as meeting agendas, drafts, and mockups routinely got lost in the email system due to lack of structure and disorganization. Thus, email became an inefficient tool for project management for this firm.
They realized that they had to find a quality project management software solution to output high-quality creative materials. VOCO Creative solved their problems by finding and implementing Wrike. What tools should creative companies look for in a project management system? We’ve compiled 10 important features that are included in Wrike creative project management software.
1. Organized File Management
Creative teams need to send and receive multiple revisions from clients. Therefore, they require a tool that allows effortless access to files and attachments at all times. They also need versioning — which provides a way to track the most recent versions for file attachments so your team does not end up handling different versions of the same file.
2. Seamless Communication
Creative teams need a simple system to discuss work. Email is not suitable for this task as it is laborious and inefficient. Wrike enables your team to have discussions in the same system where the actual work and the creative files reside. Team members can provide their feedback and views on the latest press release, a recently uploaded design mockup, or even ideas for a holiday party, and easily engage their colleagues to learn about their ideas.
3. Collaborative Editing
The software should allow multiple team members to access and contribute to files and documents simultaneously. It should ensure no one is locked out of a file when they need it for an urgent task. The system should also allow tasks to be shared effortlessly between team members.
4. Easy Time Tracking
Most creative agencies bill by the hour, therefore they should be able to track billable hours. The software should come with a built-in timer so that you are able to easily track your team’s hours.
5. Reporting Using Real-time Data
The software should allow you to generate reports easily from real-time data. These can include timesheets as well as weekly productivity charts that provide data on your team’s output. Even lay users should be able to generate reports effortlessly without needing technical knowledge.
6. Visual Timelines
To help you manage your schedule properly, the software should display how the different parts fit in the overall picture and where deadlines occur. This scheduling feature should be visual to provide a clear overview of the overall timeline, assigned tasks, and project milestones at a glance. In short, visual timelines aid creatives to visualize projects better.
7. Resource Management
It is great to be able to view which team members or resources are available for a project. Therefore, the software should give everyone visibility into team members’ workloads as well as booked and available resources. In short, when workload multiplies, you require a system for resource management.
8. Efficient Task Management
The tool should provide drag-and-drop functionality to enable you to effortlessly create project folders and organize tasks. You should be able to link your tasks, move things around, and add tags to enable your team to view the complete context of their work.
9. Native Mobile Apps
Almost half of email today is being viewed on mobile devices. Plus, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is becoming more popular by the day. Therefore, the vendor should offer a dedicated mobile app and not just access via mobile browser. More and more employees are beginning to use their mobile devices for work purposes and you should help them with this liberated style of functioning.
10. Customizable Workflows
Each creative team works in its own unique way. Therefore, you should be able to customize the software for your way of working, instead of making the team adjust to the platform’s limitations. Basically, you require a solution with customizable statuses and workflows.
How to Use Wrike’s Creative Project Management Features
Now that you know the top features offered by Wrike, let’s get on with how to use them effectively. You can also learn more about how Wrike helps you benefit from agile marketing in a separate post.
Empower Your Creativity
Get the freedom to focus on your creativity with a solution that incorporates Wrike’s Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud and takes care of the administrative requirements of creative projects from request management to review and approval.
Ideate and Plan
Everything starts with an idea, a request that changes into the brief that drives your creative journey. Easily assign, schedule, and balance your team’s project management workload.
Create & Perfect
Bring inspiration to life with the Adobe Creative Cloud Extension to read, reply, upload, add comments, and version files right inside your most used tools.
Review & Approve
Clear and actionable online feedback and proofing from everywhere you work (desktop or mobile) ensures only the right digital files make it out the door, while maintaining clear approval trails.
Launch & Report
Deliver your creative vision on time with custom workflows to enhance team satisfaction and reports to track performance.
How can Wrike support client communication and feedback loops?
While Wrike is well-suited for internal collaboration, managing client communication and feedback is equally critical for creative teams working on client-driven projects. Using Wrike to streamline and enhance communication with clients can improve project outcomes, build stronger client relationships, and reduce the chance of misunderstandings. Here are ways Wrike can be leveraged for effective client interactions:
- Client-Specific Project Portals
Set up dedicated project spaces for each client, ensuring that all relevant materials, timelines, and updates are in one location. This allows clients to view progress without navigating through unrelated tasks, enhancing their user experience and making it easier for them to stay engaged. - Transparent Feedback Channels
Create clear channels within Wrike where clients can provide feedback directly on project files, designs, and mockups. This allows team members to view comments in real time, eliminating confusion and ensuring timely revisions that meet client expectations. - Automated Status Updates
Use Wrike’s automation features to send clients regular project updates. Scheduled notifications or weekly progress reports help keep clients informed, fostering transparency and reducing the need for frequent check-in emails. - Visual Timelines and Milestones
Share visual timelines with clients to help them understand the project’s scope, expected deadlines, and key milestones. A visual overview can clarify deliverable timelines and give clients realistic expectations for each phase. - Approval Workflows for Key Deliverables
Establish approval workflows within Wrike that notify clients when a deliverable is ready for review. Clients can easily approve or request revisions on a structured timeline, keeping projects moving without bottlenecks or delays. - Customized Client Access
Wrike allows you to customize permissions, enabling clients to access only the information pertinent to them. This setup provides clients with full transparency while keeping internal discussions private.
Conclusion
Creative companies leverage Wrike’s functionality to improve the quality of their assets across the board, make sure they are consistent, and to enhance their employees’ efficiency. With Wrike, they are able to manage and organize multiple jobs and projects concurrently, and complete them successfully. Subscribe to the Wrike free trial today to learn how your company can benefit from the creative project management software features detailed in this article.
Key Insights
- Centralized Communication: Wrike enables seamless communication by integrating discussions within the same platform where the work resides, eliminating the inefficiencies of using email for project management.
- Organized File Management: The software provides versioning and easy access to files, ensuring that team members always handle the latest revisions and attachments without confusion.
- Collaborative Editing: Wrike allows multiple team members to access and edit files simultaneously, promoting collaborative efforts without the risk of locking anyone out of essential documents.
- Comprehensive Time Tracking: Built-in timers facilitate easy tracking of billable hours, crucial for creative agencies that bill clients based on time spent on projects.
- Real-Time Reporting: Users can generate reports from real-time data, such as timesheets and productivity charts, without needing technical expertise.
- Visual Timelines: The software’s visual timelines provide a clear overview of project schedules, deadlines, and milestones, aiding better project visualization and management.
- Resource Management: Wrike offers visibility into team members’ workloads and resource availability, helping manage resources effectively as project demands increase.
- Efficient Task Management: Drag-and-drop functionality simplifies the creation and organization of project tasks, linking them and adding tags for complete contextual visibility.
- Mobile Accessibility: Dedicated mobile apps ensure that team members can access and manage projects on the go, supporting the BYOD trend.
- Customizable Workflows: The software allows customization of workflows and statuses to fit the unique working styles of different creative teams.
FAQ
- What are the main features of Wrike’s help desk software for creative project management?
Wrike’s help desk software for creative project management includes organized file management, seamless communication, collaborative editing, time tracking, real-time reporting, visual timelines, resource management, task management, native mobile apps, and customizable workflows. - How does Wrike improve communication within creative teams?
Wrike integrates discussions directly within the platform where the work and creative files reside, allowing team members to provide feedback, share ideas, and engage with colleagues efficiently, thus eliminating the need for inefficient email communications. - Can Wrike handle multiple revisions of creative files?
Yes, Wrike offers organized file management with versioning capabilities, ensuring that team members always access the latest revisions and can track changes effortlessly. - What makes Wrike’s time tracking feature beneficial for creative agencies?
Wrike includes built-in timers that make it easy to track billable hours, a crucial feature for creative agencies that charge clients based on the time spent on projects. - How does Wrike facilitate real-time reporting?
Wrike allows users to generate reports using real-time data. This includes timesheets and productivity charts, which can be created without any technical knowledge, providing valuable insights into team performance and project progress. - What is the purpose of visual timelines in Wrike?
Visual timelines in Wrike help manage project schedules by displaying how different parts fit into the overall project, where deadlines occur, and providing a clear overview of tasks and milestones. - How does Wrike manage team resources?
Wrike provides visibility into team members’ workloads and resource availability, helping managers allocate resources effectively and avoid overbooking or underutilization. - Is Wrike accessible on mobile devices?
Yes, Wrike offers dedicated mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices, allowing team members to access and manage projects on the go. - Can workflows in Wrike be customized?
Yes, Wrike allows for the customization of workflows and statuses, enabling creative teams to tailor the software to their unique working styles and project requirements. - How does Wrike ensure efficient task management?
Wrike provides drag-and-drop functionality for creating and organizing project tasks, linking them, and adding tags, ensuring that team members have complete visibility of their work context and can manage tasks efficiently. - What benefits do creative companies gain from using Wrike?
Creative companies using Wrike can improve the quality and consistency of their assets, enhance employee efficiency, manage and organize multiple projects concurrently, and complete them successfully. Wrike’s features support seamless communication, collaborative editing, real-time reporting, and customizable workflows, among others.
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