Louder Than Ten

As a modern marketing partner, ZGM is a true force. Numbering around 80 (busy) individuals, the folks at ZGM handle everything from media planning and buying, branding, lead generation, and even crisis management. Alumnus Conlan Seder, Digital Project Manager, and Peter Bishop, Partner and Director of Conversion, spoke to Louder Than Ten about the impact that the apprenticeship had on them personally and ZGM as a whole, from implementing a diagnostic discovery phase to optimizing their billing and client onboarding process.

When OTM reached out, the digital marketing agency was growing, but it was also hitting several operational issues. After completing the Digital PM Foundations course, OTM’s Chief Creative Officer, Val Kailburn, knew a custom engagement with Louder Than Ten was the answer. This is the story of how the next nine months transformed OTM’s PM operations, workflows, and accountability structure, and the rippling effects they are still experiencing over a year later.

Results and highlights

• Improved sales and onboarding experience for clients that accounts for risk and ROI from day one
• Increased net profit from 17% to 30% through better project scoping and estimation
• Converted to an autonomous pod structure and team members that have the skills to lead and generate business value for clients
• An improved QA process that encourages senior team members to pass on skills to more junior members
• The ability to answer the questions, “are we okay?” and “are we going to be okay?” at all times
• All projects now go through a thorough team driven scoping and project planning phase
• Increased project value by 20% without reducing the win rate
• Reduced the number of projects in the shop by 10% but generated 30% more revenue