When you look at your marketing results, can you say that they're delivering as much as you'd like them to? If not, it could mean that your approach needs to change. You see, whether the objectives of your marketing relate to increasing revenue, generating leads, or boosting conversion rates, it's wise to adopt a smart goals marketing strategy.
By setting up SMART campaign goals, you'll gain clear insight into how effective your marketing efforts are, as well as allow you to track the business benefits they offer. Come with us now as we take a closer look at SMART targets and why savvy businesses swear by them.
What Exactly Is SMART Goals Marketing?
The appropriately-named SMART approach to setting business goals can be broken down into 5 distinct parts, with each letter of the acronym relating to a different aspect of your targets. So, let's take a look at each one in isolation to find out how and why each is included.
S = Specific
The first letter stands for SPECIFIC, which means that your goals should include an exact figure and be easy for anyone to understand. For example, if your aim is to obtain 200 subscribers or sell 10,000 units, these defined numbers need to be documented and focused on. This allows you to be certain about exactly what you're trying to achieve.
Questions to ask yourself include:
- What are we wanting to accomplish?
- Why are these particular goals important?
- Who is involved in the process?
- Which limits or resources are involved
- Where is the objective located?
M = Measurable
Another important aspect of SMART targets is measurability because, obviously, your results need to be trackable for review purposes. That's why the goals you set must relate to quantifiable factors like revenue, website visitors, or conversion rates. These metrics are typically expressed and reported in numbers, percentages, or as a straight achieved/not achieved status.
Questions required at this stage include:
- How many/much are we trying to achieve?
- How will I know when it is accomplished?
A = Achievable
You'll be in the real world when you and your team are striving to meet your targets, which is why the next letter in the SMART goals for eCommerce marketing acronym is A for Achievable. As such, you need to be realistic about what's actually within your reach based on your resources. Be honest with yourself about your objectives, and you'll set a target that can actually be hit - meaning you don’t get disheartened when you fail to hit pie-in-the-sky figures way beyond your reach.
Achievability questions here include:
- How can I accomplish this goal?
- How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors?
R = Relevant
The next letter in the SMART acronym is R for Relevance. This step is necessary in order to ensure that your goals are relevant to what matters to you and align with other relevant business goals. Your whole team is involved in achieving your goals, so be sure that the reasons behind your targets are clear and that everyone's on the same page.
Questions relating to goal relevance include:
- Is it worthwhile?
- Is now the right time?
- Does the target match our other needs?
- Are we the right team to reach this goal?
T = Time-bound
The last, but by no means least, letter of the acronym for SMART goals marketing is T for Timebound. Every target you set needs to have a defined beginning and end, allowing everyone to focus on achieving the desired level. The time-bound nature of your marketing campaigns means that these important tasks aren't pushed down your list of business priorities.
Questions relating to time-bound elements include:
- When does the campaign start/end?
- What can we do 6 months from today?
- What can we do 6 weeks from today?
Ensuring You Include Short & Long-Term Goals
When putting together your business SMART targets, it's vital to ensure you include short-term goals as well as long-term objectives. The reason is that when all your goals are long-term, it can be difficult for you and your team to remain focused and enthusiastic. The longer this goes on, the tendency to veer away from your original plan increases.
If you set short-term goals as part of your SMART goals marketing strategy, they'll help not only help keep you on track, but if the results you get aren't quite what you expected, you can readjust to hone your approach.
- A Short-term SMART Target Example
A fictitious clothing company wants to increase blog traffic by
25% and boosting conversion rates by 10% by the end of the
current quarter. - Long-Term SMART Target Example
Within 12 months the clothing brand also wants to have
250 new email subscribers, as well as boosting sales across
the company by 30%.
As we can see, the short-term target is easier to achieve and may only need extra focus for a short amount of time. However, the latter is a loftier target, but it's longer-term, meaning it's an objective that you'll move towards more slowly. Both are equally important and align with each other.
Using SMART Goals Marketing For Business Success
Back in 1981, SMART goals were introduced to the world by George Doran, James Cunningham, and Arthur Miller. Over 40 years later, the SMART goals marketing strategy is as relevant as ever, meaning that it's an approach that can help you to achieve both your short and long-term goals.
Offering much-needed structure and a mechanism for monitoring your campaign progress - its use in marketing is considered best practice by industry experts. If your in-house marketing team or agency is not using the system to guide their efforts, now's the time to start.
A well-constructed marketing plan is essential in modern business, and you can rightly assume it's an approach your competitors are using. So, the sooner you act, the better.
