From playing football outside to doing business, goals are the directions we move forward. It is a part of a lifestyle, a moving aspect, an engine that drives humans toward a destination. Goals define motivation and direction and provide a target to shoot your arrow.
Marketing doesn't overpass the concept of goal setting and reaching, either. Among marketers, it is called SMART Marketing Goals. The acronym "SMART" stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Thus, a SMART goal implies covering and including all of these aspects. SMART is like a map for marketers to identify how much of what, when, how, and why they aim to achieve something.
Setting and achieving your SMART goals has multiple benefits, such as:
- Boost in team motivation
- Time restriction helps stay put and on track
- Excitement for the end-result
- Point out weaknesses and areas to be improved
- Get out of your comfort zone
- Guarantees satisfaction thanks to the dedication
The time of waiting when your goals are SMART is worth the payoff.
Some examples of SMART marketing goals are:
- Increase website traffic by 10% in the next 6 months by publishing 3 well-research and targeted website content each week.
- Appear on the first page of the SERP from the second page, with the keyword' online designer' in 3 months by integrating SEO activities and strengthening the website.
- Lose 10 pounds in two months by attending the gym twice a week and eating more healthily.
The last one is a "personal marketing" goal to help you see the picture wider from an everyday aspect.
Components of setting effective SMART Marketing Goals
Specific Marketing Goals
The naming already implies being specific. You should precisely know the What, Who, Where, When, and Why of a goal. By specifying a goal, you detail how you will activate it. Specific goals are much more feasible to achieve since you know what you will tackle. Details are of utmost importance when setting specific goals—set objectives for investing and revenue and branding and marketing. Imagine you want to create a logo for your brand; you should know exactly what tools to use, what colors, fonts, and styles you can apply to communicate your brand ideas. Precision will make it easier to fulfill what you are set for.
There are many different SaaS tools available for small businesses or you can create a Slack bot for these purposes. However, the three that are listed above are some of the most popular and useful ones as a helpful suggestion you can try Salesrobot for your lead generation through LinkedIn
Measurable Marketing Goals
When your goal is set, it is time to prepare the metrics to track the performance. Progress requires criteria to measure. If there is no metric, you will never know how your performance goes. The questions to check on to provide the goal's measurability start with "How much/many". To measure your goals in the process you need an indicator of progress, the KPI (key performance indicator). KPI helps assess the success factor of your campaign.
Moreover, Google Analytics KPIs can greatly enhance marketing goals' measurability and offer insights into the effectiveness of paid ads, ensuring strategic adjustments for optimal results. Regular check-in on the performance meetings will help your teams stay on track to following the exact criteria. Efficiency and management platforms will help you monitor the process better.
Attainable Marketing Goals
Our next best ad network for publishers will be on Mars; however, sticking to reality will only do you good. Your marketing goals must suffice the attainability checkpoint. Your goals are welcome to be challenging, but they should also be achievable endeavors.
We never know the scope of our abilities. Nevertheless, we have data to rely on, people to talk to, and objectives to move with. Instead of daydreaming of how to land the billboard on Mars, you'd better analyze the previous marketing data. The experience you have had hitherto will tell a lot about your capacities. You can measure the risks, state the actions to avoid, and highlight the strengths of your team.
Your team is the best place to start. Instead of crafting the goals yourself, consult with your team, and brainstorm over what is achievable. They are after all the people who shall carry out the task. Give your team a place to stretch. As mentioned earlier, our capacities are sometimes hidden behind our fears. Having a broader version of the set goal will let your team go over their fear and discover the potential.
Realistic Marketing Goals
Being realistic or relevant reveals how your marketing goals relate to wider business goals and objectives. Realistic goals address an issue. Not to be disappointing or cause discouragement goals need to be pertinent to the matter in hand. To do so, base a goal on an already existing marketing goal. Your business has a broader version of what to achieve in a longer period. That is your long-term business objective.
When setting a campaign goal, keep the broader goal in mind. This will not let your diverge from realistic goals. What comes next? Your goals should not represent your dream numbers but be specific and real. A guarantee that your goals are realistic is aligning them with your resources. Before setting a goal, ask yourself if your resources will suffice to fulfill it or you need to cut down on expenses. Only with these adjustments can you pass on to the next checkpoint.
Time-bound Marketing Goals
Deadlines are what keep the process going and people working. Time-bound marketing goals mean to be around a timeline of completion.Timeline templates are a great way to create an accurate timeline of projects. They allow you to organize your thoughts and plan out your project in a clear and concise manner. If this component is missing in the goal, people might get halfway, feel demotivated, and end up procrastinating until ... until infinity or until there is a deadline. Some goals require a long time, while others require shorter periods. Your teams can deliver double outcomes if your time frames are real and achievable. To avoid the trap of procrastination, integrate a realistic deadline into the goal. Address the deliverability expectations and keep everyone on track to the target date.
Summing up
Life, work, business, and marketing, no matter what we speak about, all evolve around goals. We have aims to accomplish at work, for life, when running a business, or when marketing our products and services. It would be purposeless to do anything without exactly knowing what we endeavor to achieve.
In turn, goals must follow the criteria of being SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound marketing goals will set a team up for success and put everyone on the same page.At the same time, your communication and teamwork should stay dynamic and open. Next time you think of a dreamy goal, put it in the SMART framework and adjust to the criteria.
