In order to set achievable goals and objectives that suit your business. You must first know the difference between the two. Although they may seem synonymous, your marketing goals should be different from your marketing objectives.
Your goal is what you want to happen, the finish line of your journey. It is broad and general and something you are aiming for and is not defined in measurable terms. Objectives, on the other hand, set the right direction towards your goal. You create specific measures to track your objectives and this is how you will know that you’re going the right path.
What Should be Your Goals for Your Business?
In setting marketing goals, keep in mind that they should be attainable. They will depend on what stage your business is currently in. It’s just natural to take your time in evaluating your current position.
Typically, I set my goals for 12 months and then break them down into quarters. This way, they will be more manageable. Think of them as milestones leading to your overall goal.
What is your overall goal? What are you working towards? Some of the goals you may want to achieve for your business and can be attained through your marketing strategy include:
- Increase sales
- Improve brand reputation
- Build brand awareness
- Grow market share
- Launch new products or services
- Target new customers
- Enter new markets locally, domestically, or internationally
- Enhance customer relationships
- Increase profit
- Increase prospect pipeline
- Diversity lead sources
- Acquire new customers from existing market
- Increase customer advocacy
- Increase traffic to your website
Your Objectives Need to be SMART
In order to achieve these goals, you now need to have marketing objectives that are aligned with your business objectives, which will drive the direction of your marketing strategy. For example, if you want to increase your sales or your profit, your objective should define the target percent increase or the exact amount. If you want to increase your website traffic, your objective should define how many monthly visitors you need to achieve.
Your objectives must be SMART:
- Specific – The objective must precisely state what is to be expected. To set a specific objective, ask yourself the six W’s and one H:
- What needs to be done?
- Who is involved?
- Where will the goals come from (demographics, organic or paid, repeat or new customers, etc.)?
- When should this be achieved?
- Why is this objective important?
- Which are the requirements and constraints?
- How do we achieve this?
- Measurable – Objectives need to be measurable so you can track your progress. It helps you maintain your focus and stay motivated to meet deadlines.
- Achievable – While your objective should take your business to the next level, it’s also important that it’s possible and achievable at your current state.
- Realistic or Relevant – Check your objective if it is relevant to your overall goal. This step makes sure that your objective is worthwhile and applicable.
- Time-bound – Set deadlines that you need to work towards. This will help you set your priorities straight.
Now that you know where to start with your marketing goals and objectives, keep in mind that the purpose of these steps is to help you clearly identify where you want to be and how you can achieve it through measurable objectives. Now, the next thing you need to do is to be diligent in monitoring these objectives and create actionable plans to meet your goals.
We Are Emersyn uses an inclusive definition “female” and “women” and we welcome trans people, women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who identify, have identified, or have been identified as female, women, or non-binary.