How Setting SMART Goals is Beneficial for Your Business
What is a SMART goal?
The acronym SMART refers to the five elements of Specific-Measurable-Attainable-Relevant-Time-based goals. This strategy can help you in setting and achieving your business goals more effectively and efficiently.
· Specific: A comprehensive and clear idea/goal that you want to achieve.
· Measurable: Identification of the key target and markers to keep a track of your progress.
· Attainable: The manageability of the goal you have set; whether it is achievable or not.
· Relevant: The goal must align within the confines of your business model.
· Time-based: An estimate of the time required to achieve the goal.
“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” — Phil Knight
To reach greater heights, you need to start small. This is what the SMART goal strategy teaches us. For visionaries like yourself, you need to take one step at a time to ensure that your dreams are achievable.
However, if you already have an existing business or an idea that you do not consider productive enough, maybe you need to devise a strategy to grow it into something bigger.
Now that is where the SMART goal comes into play. Here are a few examples that can help you comprehend the idea better.
Example I: Starting a small business
Specific — I want to sell hand-knitted sweaters on eBay.
Measurable — I can prepare one sweater in two days, which means I will sell three sweaters per week.
Attainable — I will establish myself on eBay first, and when I am ready with an inventory of at least 20 sweaters, I will move forward and promote my business. At first, it will be through word of mouth via friends and family, and through social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.).
Relevant — My knitting skill can benefit me financially in the long run.
Time-based — If things work out as planned, I will have at least three clients in the first month.
Example II: Growing an existing, medium-scale business
Specific — I will increase the revenue by at least 5% through elevated customer satisfaction and a wider dissemination of my business across greater masses.
Measurable — I will improve the customer turnover by raising sales up to six sweaters per week and by reviewing the customer feedback on how to improve the product.
Attainable — I will work on improving the promotion of my business through advertisements, referrals and networking.
Relevant — Analyzing customer feedback will help me prepare a more desirable product which will help me reach a greater customer base.
Time-based — By the end of this month, I will have attained an increase in sales and of course, a greater revenue.
Takeaway
These were just some of the examples to assist you in navigating toward your business goal. Mapping out the pros and cons and striving through those to achieve the target, is not as challenging as one may presume. With proper planning and strategies, you can overcome almost every difficulty that crosses your path to success.
The SMART goal measures how realistic your goal is, whether it is attainable or not, and provides an estimated time frame that you may require to work on it.