How to Define Smart Objectives
Starting Point For A Great Marketing Strategy
Developing Marketing Objectives
Before you start planning your marketing strategy, you should think about your short-and-long-term objectives. What better way to define effective objectives for your campaign than using a SMART model?
Keep that in mind, and you will have a clear procedure to follow when defining a strategy that is transparent, time-bound, and measurable. Your objectives should have the following characteristics:
S — specific
Having a specific objective refers to a well-defined and an easy-to-understand goal for your business. Better to focus on a single goal, and try to perfect it for better results, than more goals that will be difficult to follow through.
Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don’t provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the direction you need to take. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want by defining precisely the end of your journey.
To be specific, an objective should have a description of a precise or specific behaviour, achievement or outcome which is or can be related to a percentage, frequency, rate or number.
M — measurable
The next step is to make sure your objective is measurable. In the end, you must be able to use actual numbers to find out if your business target has been achieved or not. For example, a measurable goal can be to increase your November sales by 15%.
It’s important to have measurable goals so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. Assessing progress helps you to stay focused, meet your deadlines, and you feel like your destination is not out of reach.
A — achievable
Deciding on an achievable objective refers to take into consideration what it’s possible or not within the available skills, budget, and time. You also need to take into account the potential constraints or limits that exist.
Important questions to take into consideration:
- What is the allocated budget for this goal?
- How can you accomplish this goal?
- How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors or team’s skills?
- How many hours per week it is required for your team to work on this?
- What things may stop the team from reaching their goals?
R — relevant
Marketing objectives need to fit in with the overall business objectives and drive the direction of your marketing strategy. Is your objective aligned with the implementation plan and the business’s strategic plan?
Important questions to ask yourself:
- Is it a worthwhile investment?
- Is this the right time?
- Does this match our other efforts or needs?
- Is this the right team to reach this goal?
T — time-bound
How can you know if you completed your goals if you don’t have a time-period to measure your results?
What’s more, setting a deadline will help you figure out how aggressive you need to be with your marketing efforts. Ask yourself if the objective can be accomplished in time, bearing in mind other possible problems that may cause a delay.
If the goal is not time-constrained, there will be no sense of urgency and motivation to achieve the goal. It reduces the urgency of those required to perform the tasks.
“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” ~ J.C. Penney
Why You Should Write Them Down?
Scientifically speaking, writing down goals helps you have a perspective of what you want to achieve, therefore, there are more chances to complete them.
Besides the fact that you are organized in your marketing actions, there are other benefits like realizing what is possible or not for your business, and not get stuck in rational thinking.
A Harvard Business Study shows that 3% of graduates from their MBA who had their goals written down, ended up earning ten times as much as the other 97%, after ten years from their graduation.
Mistakes In Setting Objectives
I often see that objectives are not separated by departments, such as overall business, marketing objectives, and digital marketing objectives. Big long lists of objectives, without a structured framework, can’t help you develop a better strategy. On the contrary, you will have a lot of tasks to follow, but no closer to achieving your goals.
Align your objectives to strategies and KPI’s. There must be a logical way in which your objectives are defined. So group them by importance and type. Begin with awareness, then consideration, and finally, conversion.
Many marketing efforts fail to be delivered in time due to stakeholder’s lack of communication and coordination. Statistics show that 84% of managers say they can rely on their boss and their direct reports most of the time, but only 9% of managers say they can rely on colleagues.
If managers cannot rely on other departments or colleagues, the execution of the project will be affected. They will fail to coordinate on delivering tasks, which leads to conflicts and reduced productivity. As a result, projects will be delivered after a significant delay (38% of the time), resolved quickly but poorly (14%), or simply left to fester (12%).
Brainstorm Next Year’s Goals
Before deciding your next year’s resolutions, begin with a quick brainstorming about last year’s performance. What worked? What did not work? Did you succeed in achieving your plans? If you had to do it over again, what would you change in your approach?
You can’t set goals for next year if you don’t get a complete image of the current year’s performance. So start evaluating your procedures and make changes that will increase your chance of achieving your business goals. Work on better collaboration with your team, organize a meeting with your stakeholders to share ideas and opinions.
Final Thoughts
Each SMART goal you create should have these five characteristics to ensure it can be reached and benefits the employee: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Using the SMART framework to set marketing goals will help keep your company focused, efficient, and results-driven. More importantly, goal setting is a dynamic process. You can always adjust your goals and change your approach toward new challenges.
Thanks for reading.
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