One-size-fits-all is fine for baseball caps, but there’s a reason people get their clothes tailored before a wedding or other big event. When it really matters, finding the perfect fit becomes extremely important. The same is true when choosing project management software for your in-house creative and marketing team. To get the most out of your software, you need a custom tool that caters to your unique needs. If you’re in the market for a new project management tool, here’s why it’s so important to choose a solution that understands your niche.
Faster software implementation
Apart from having the proper functionality, “ease of use” was cited as the most important factor when choosing new project management software, according to a survey of buyers conducted by Capterra. This is understandable because switching to a new project management tool can be extremely disruptive to your team’s productivity. Not only does everyone need to learn how to operate the new software, but they also have to adjust to any new processes that software creates. With project management tools designed for your niche, this software implementation process becomes easier because team members are already familiar with the terminology, workflows and overall logic of the new system. This familiarity allows you to shorten the learning curve for your team, minimize training time and achieve a fast and successful implementation.
Creates better alignment
Adding project management software to your technology stack is all about making your team’s lives simpler, faster, and more productive. These goals are far easier to achieve with a tool that was designed for your niche because the software should mimic the way you already work. The templates, workflow structures, time-tracking, review, and reporting features should all align with or be easily customized to your established processes. With RoboHead, project management software built exclusively for marketing and creative services departments, you can customize the platform to ensure everything is exactly right for your team.
A project management solution that was designed for IT departments isn’t going to match up with the way your creative team works, and a generic system won’t have the details you need to truly elevate your projects. Avoiding these small hang-ups is key to getting the most out of your new software. Simply put, if you’re adding a project management tool to better organize and enable your team, your project management system should also align with your goals and operations from the outset.d
More than just software
Project management software is more than just a tool you use, it’s a “living” and evolving entity that should drive how your team gets work done. To get the best recurring ROI, you should work with a vendor that has the specific needs of your team and industry in mind. You want your vendor to understand your use cases and obsess over them. You want them to make updates to the platform that advances your style of working, not the style of other industries. When you reach out for support or training resources, you want them to speak your team’s language and not have to spend time figuring out what your goals are. It’s very common to see companies move away from software because the updates and changes did not align with their needs. So, finding a tool in your niche can help to eliminate that risk of disruption, giving you more than new software, but a true partner to help your company succeed.
As you begin your end of year planning with a look ahead to 2021, consider the impact new technology tools could have on your team’s ability to achieve your strategic goals. By choosing project management software that truly understands your niche, you can streamline operations, improve team alignment, and get the support you need to elevate your work to a new level.