Wearing All the Hats
What’s up friends? Damian here from Master of One Marketing, and today I wanted to dive into something I call the Tom Sawyer and the Apple dream: the idealistic vision we all have when entering agency life. You know, the one where we cleverly offload tedious tasks while kicking back a little more.
When I first started in agency work, I wore every hat imaginable. We did keyword analysis, A/B split testing, SEO, CRO, social media management, and even dabbled in content writing and coding. It was exhausting, but the upside was complete control. Towards the end of my tenure at that agency, we shifted toward a more collaborative model. Requests went in, and specialized teams handled each segment: web dev, SEO, content, etc.
Finding the Right Model
It was great in theory but not executed very effectively there. Fast forward to my current position at a company that genuinely nails this model, and I can confidently say it’s life-changing.
Going from being a Director to a Senior Account Manager might seem like a step backward, but it was actually a leap forward. Why? Because communication, rather than doing everything myself, became my primary responsibility. If you’re in account management, you understand the delicate balance of advocating for clients and your internal teams simultaneously. You become the conduit, the mediator, and yes, the occasional scapegoat.
It’s a classic case of choosing your “hard.” Do you want the stress of doing everything yourself, or do you prefer the stress of managing communications? Trust me, I’ll take communication any day.
The Reporting Struggle
One thing hasn’t changed, though: reports are still the toughest part of agency life. Reports consume at least 10 days out of every month; about 33% of our time. That’s huge. At a previous agency, we tried automating data collection. However, having someone who didn’t fully grasp analytics prepare those reports ended up creating more work. You can’t hand off data analysis to someone who doesn’t understand data and expect accuracy. Ultimately, the agency moved to quarterly reviews with limited context. Not my style.
Leveraging AI for Reporting
In my current role, we handle reports individually, and I’m always looking for ways to make it easier. Enter ChatGPT. I’ve found it invaluable for cleaning up my writing, especially since my ADHD sometimes scatters my thoughts everywhere. It streamlines my messaging, makes emails clearer, and turns complex explanations into digestible content.
Naturally, I suggested we adopt ChatGPT more broadly, but the immediate pushback was predictable: “It takes too long,” or “I have to explain everything.” Ironically, these were the same complaints we had about delegating reports to other team members. And guess what? Humans make lazy mistakes too, sometimes even fudging data to avoid extra effort. Blaming AI for similar errors seems unfair.
Building a Custom AI Solution
I recently spent a Sunday off-hours, building a custom GPT specifically for reporting. I provided it with detailed instructions and screenshots, and guess what happened? It still needed more context. For instance, our dashboard legends might label impressions and clicks clearly, but the graph’s colors didn’t match the legend, confusing the AI, and honestly, anyone unfamiliar with the setup.
Yes, AI can misunderstand data points, just like a person new to analytics might. However, AI does excel at basic analysis once it has clear instructions. The key is patience. Like training a new employee or teaching a child something new, ChatGPT requires clear guidance, patience, and a willingness to refine your instructions repeatedly.
AI vs. Human Storytelling
In reality, AI won’t eliminate our jobs anytime soon, especially not in nuanced fields like client reporting. A crucial part of reporting is storytelling. You must know your client intimately to determine what’s important. For example, showing year-over-year data might be disastrous for a client who recently experienced setbacks due to algorithm changes. AI, or even a less-informed human, wouldn’t inherently grasp that context. But you, as a seasoned account manager, can.
When crafting reports, I use ChatGPT to help retain details, structure my narratives, and enhance clarity. For instance, when a client asked about split-testing plugins (Lucky Orange vs. Crazy Egg), my initial explanation confused even me. I fed it into ChatGPT, and it transformed my ramblings into something clear and concise; exactly what I meant to convey. That’s the real power of AI.
Patience and Realistic Expectations
Despite occasional frustrations (yes, I’ve cussed at my AI), the benefits outweigh the headaches. AI won’t magically complete every task without your input, nor does it understand your client relationships better than you do. But it can significantly streamline your workflow.
Ultimately, leveraging AI effectively means adjusting expectations. Treat ChatGPT with the same patience you’d extend to a child or colleague learning something new. It won’t replace your insights or intuition, but it can significantly amplify them.
Moving Forward
So let’s not abandon the quest for better, easier reporting. Instead, let’s recognize how far we’ve come from manual Excel sheets and fragmented dashboard screenshots. With the right approach and patience, AI can become a reliable ally, allowing us to focus less on tedious tasks and more on meaningful client conversations.
Keep pushing forward, stay patient, and remember: Tom Sawyer had the right idea. Sometimes it’s smart to let others paint the fence for you.