December 14, 2015
You are not the first person to ask. Sometimes I even ask myself that very question. What I do all day is in my title. I coordinate accounts. Did that help explain my position? Ok, great. End blog post now.
To sum up my day:
- Read A LOT of emails
I read a lot of emails. I am constantly on email at my desk. I also check my emails on the go and when I am at home and reply as needed. Almost all client requests and communications come through email. When a request comes in, it is my job to assign them to the necessary team member whether it is the creative team, public relations team, etc. and open a job in Workamajig (explaining Workamajig is a whole other blog post).
I flag A TON of emails so I can easily go back to them for reference and to make sure the request has been completed. I also make sure to archive emails in the necessary folders. Organization is key for an account coordinator and luckily I LOVE to be organized!
- Create a to-do list
Not only do I flag emails, but I also create a to-do list on paper. I still find that a traditional to-do list works wells for me as I can easily reference what needs to be done. The projects and tasks that make this list are big things that I need to complete that day or within the week. Not only are they easy to reference, but it is so satisfying to cross items off of my lists!
- Client communication
It is also my job is to communicate with the clients on the various accounts I work on. All of my clients have weekly or biweekly calls which are used for project tracking and to discuss upcoming items. Besides the standing call appointments I have on my Outlook calendar (which is color coordinated by client- organization FTW!) there are various conference calls scheduled to discuss specific items or projects.
- Proofread
My real-life “inbox”, a plastic box on the edge of my desk, has items that need to be proofed such as press releases, blog posts, print ads and web banners. I then route these items through the team. For some of the items, I have to create a change order so the creative team can make the changes before sending to the client. Once the edits have been made and the items are client ready, I send to the client for their review. Once approval has been received, I then direct the correct team member to send to the necessary contact. It’s at this point that I wish I could run down the hallway high fiving people!
- Reporting and Work in Progress
I regularly track and update work in progresses for my accounts. I also gather various reports based on client requests. Excel, PowerPoint and Word are my friends. I am working with them all day long (when not on email).
I also work on presentations for the client when needed. At this stage in the year, we have almost wrapped up 2016 planning; however, this summer involved getting very close and personal with PowerPoint. We have a love/hate relationship, but we made it through.
- Communicate & Update the team
I communicate with the team regularly. It is important we update one another so I can pass on the information to the client. Our team communicates in various ways, but our main communication is through Slack, which is a relatively new addition to our office.
Slack is like AOL Instant Messenger on crack (sorry!). You can direct message various team members and open channels for specifics projects to communicate with the team. You can upload files, links and most importantly memes. Plus to add dramatic effect you can throw in emojis AND make your own emojis!
*Slack has not sponsored this post.
Being an account coordinator is not the easiest job in the world, but it sure is fun! Do you now have a better understanding of what the hell I do in a day? Good. So do I.
This post was written by Merrill Henderson, account coordinator.