Your business matters to you! You want your company to thrive, and to do so, it is essential to employ effective methods that add value to the business and make sense for the future. Much of your company’s success depends on your marketing strategy. Developing marketing goals tailored to your specific company will help you identify your direction, enhance the value of the business, increase productivity, and enable company growth. 

When developing your marketing plan, it is important to set goals that are specific to your needs, attainable, measurable, and relevant to your objectives. When you create a plan that is unique for your company, your business can thrive, becoming more efficient in its procedures and purpose. 

Determine the Marketing Goals That Will Benefit Your Business 

The more specific your goals are, the easier it will be to meet them, analyze them, and adjust them as needed. You may want to use the well-established SMART strategy to help develop your company’s goals. 

• S: Specific – What are a couple of specific enhancements you want to achieve for your company?
• M: Measurable – Consider how to track or measure your progress.
• A: Achievable – Are you using the right strategy that enables you to achieve your goals?
• R: Relevant – Do your goals meet the needs of the company’s purpose?
• T: Time-bound – What is the timeframe you have in mind for achieving your goals?

When you consider the SMART strategy, you will find that your goals evolve into well-defined objectives that are practical, useful, and measurable. 

For example, instead of having a goal like “Increase the number of users on our Facebook page,” you can have a goal such as “Increase the number of Facebook followers by 10% within the next two months.” The second example is specific, measurable, achievable with the correct actions, relevant to the growth of your company, and has a timeline. 

Create Goals That Are Specific and Realistic For Your Team

• What are your objectives? Not every objective can be met immediately, so choose the ones that will have a significant impact on your business.
• What are the priorities of the stated objectives? Which goals are most important? Do you want to meet the goals within a year, quarter, or month? 
• Determine the main focus. Examples: Increased website traffic? Increase lead conversion? Offering new services? 
• Do you have the necessary resources to meet your goals? 

Put Goals Into Action

Once a list of goals has been established, and keeping in mind that not every goal can be achieved all at once, it is time to convert those goals into action. You can now move from the “what are the goals” to “how to achieve my goals” status. Consider each task that is needed to meet each goal. Once the functions have been identified, then put them into action.

For example: Let us say your goal is to increase your Facebook followers by 10%. Your actions may include enhancing the appeal and functionality of your Facebook page, promoting your page on various platforms, or posting engaging comments that invite customers to interact with you through Facebook. 

Measure Goals Routinely and Readjust As Needed

Based on the marketing goals you have created, you will need to select the most appropriate metrics system to measure the progress and success of these goals. 

The metrics are often referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Examples below:

• Goal: Increase website visitors
• KPI: Website traffic
• Goal: 300 website sessions
• KPI: Total website visitors 

Once your goals have been put in place for the designated time you chose, then you can review the changes and progression that have occurred. Regular reviews should be performed to easily identify which techniques are working and which ones need adjustment. Bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly reviews are reasonable guidelines for most companies. 

When your actions are moving closer to your goals, celebrate the success! If the actions are not helping with progress, then you may need to adjust the goal(s) or the actions involved. One key thing to remember is to remain flexible so that you can keep goals aligned with your company’s mission and success.

Bottom Line 

Setting proper marketing goals for your company is an often-overlooked activity for busy team members; however, targeted goals can add significant value and efficiency to any business. 

When you decide to formulate marketing goals, it is essential to consider what is best for your company, how you plan to implement your goals, measure their progress, and make adjustments as needed. When time is spent creating goals for your business, you can reap numerous benefits.