#WeBuildWednesdays #39: Using SMART Goals to Improve Marketing

Hey guys. Happy Wednesday!

Today, we’re going to talk about SMART Goals and how they can improve your marketing. Before we do so, I want to talk a little bit about this. A lot of people come to us and say, “I should be doing marketing. I should be doing digital marketing. Everyone’s on Facebook, Google, and all these other platforms, and I’m not.”

“… I know I should be there. I know I should spend a small budget on marketing. I’m going to see what it does, and if it does well, then I’ll throw more towards it.”

Well, that’s not really what you should do. Really, you should have goals set in mind for your marketing.

Always Set Goals For Marketing

Really, you should set goals for everything, but specifically for your marketing. If you set SMART goals, you can hit and achieve certain levels of success that you wouldn’t be able to do If you’re just spraying and praying and doing things without any direction. As far as what a SMART goal is. SMART is an acronym. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

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What is Not a SMART Goal?

A goal like, “I want to be a millionaire,” is not a SMART goal. And it’s not an intelligence thing when I say a SMART goal. I guess it’s specific, but there’s no time period attached to it. Is it measurable? Yes. However, it’s really not relevant, timely, or even attainable.

What is a SMART Goal?

A better goal—an actual SMART goal—would be, “I want to capture 25 percent market share in Chicagoland by the end of 2020.” That is a SMART goal. That is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. That’s a great goal. Those are the kind of things you should be looking at.

Specific Goals

Let’s break these down a bit. When it comes to Specific, what does a Specific mean? Really, it means, what exactly do you want to achieve? If your goal is more sales… Then no, that’s not specific. If you want to increase sales by 20 percent… That is a specific goal.

Measurable Goals

What exactly will you see when you hit this goal? That is the measurement of it. You have to be able to actually measure it, so it can’t be anything that’s arbitrary like, “I’ll be happier when this happens.”

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How do you measure happiness?

That’s very subjective. That depends on your mood that day. It’s not going be a good goal for you.

Attainable Goals

That comes down to: Do you have the time, money, and talent to get it done? Is this actually a realistic goal for you? That would be what attainable is.

Relevant Goals

Why do you want to achieve this goal?
What is the objective behind the goal and will this goal really achieve that?
Think about what this goal means to you, and in the broader picture, why you’re setting this goal.

Timely Goals

You want to install a deadline for hitting the goal. If you don’t have a deadline for hitting your goal, and you just toss a goal out there, you’re going to let it fall by the wayside. It’s not gonna be something that you complete. It’s not something that has a sense of urgency attached to it like, “Alright, I have to get this done because, by the end of next month, I need to hit this goal…” That’s when you really start putting actionable items toward a goal, and when you really can help yourself succeed, especially with the marketing strategy.
Thank you!

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