Examples of Smart Goals

We explain that what are examples of Smart Goals? Smart objectives are defined as the objective that is used to make more acceptable decisions to obtain good success in your business. cc

In any company it is important to have clear objectives that allow for good success, for this it is essential to know where to direct your efforts and also what is the point at that time.

Why is it important to set goals?

Think about what you currently want to achieve, buy a new car, take a trip, boost your business? Every project begins with certain questions: what do I want? How do I want it? When? How long?

And on a professional level, this situation does not differ much, because in any company, in addition to having a specific mission and vision, it is necessary to set clear objectives . Establishing them seems simple, but if we are not concise we can get lost along the way.

For example, saying “I want to change jobs” is very different from setting a specific date and time within which you want to achieve it.

Purpose is not the same as objective

Many startups fail because they seek to achieve a scalable business model or increase their sales, without taking into account the essential aspects that gradually lead to that purpose . We could say that your purpose is also your goal, and this can have negative consequences.

In any organization, it is essential to have clear objectives to grow intelligently , but establishing them is not the same as choosing clothing sizes, where if you did not have the small sweatshirt, buy the medium one and that’s it.

Rather, it is about carrying out an analysis of the situation of your company, your collaborators and clients, to define precise goals that, in the short, medium and long term , help to channel the actions to fulfill their purpose.

In short, if your purpose is to increase sales , your goals are the actions you will take to achieve it. You need to understand this so that you don’t confuse the end with the means to achieve it.

What are SMART goals

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and temporary. They are specific goals that allow us to analyze the performance of our efforts, whether in marketing or in any area of a company that requires ordering and measuring their work in a systematic way .

SMART is an acronym that refers to each of the characteristics that a good goal must have. Thus, a SMART objective is:

Specific
Measurable (measurable)
Achievable (achievable)
Relevant (relevant)
Timely (temporary)

Let’s look at each of these features separately.

Objectives must be measurable

Very in relation to the above, we have that the objectives must be measurable. Otherwise, we could not set a starting point and a destination point. We would not know if the evolution and the results we are obtaining are positive or negative. To avoid this situation, we recommend establishing a measurement metric.

Keep in mind that with digitization, we have access to a large amount of data that we can measure. Take advantage of this data that your users generate and turn it into useful information.

Let’s go back to our example of training courses. As we mentioned before, “selling more than 20 courses” is in addition to a specific objective, a measurable objective.

Goals must be achievable

For your goals to be achievable, you must know your resources. With this we refer to aspects such as the workforce, time, tools, financial resources, etc.

That your goals are achievable is essential. Setting goals that are too hard to achieve will become a frustration for you and your team, thus creating a negative feeling. On the contrary, if the objectives are too easy to achieve, it may happen that motivation is lost and 100% effort is not applied. Find a balance!

Objectives must be relevant

When we talk about defining relevant objectives, we mean that your objectives must always be oriented towards the achievement of results and the advancement of your project.

Goals must have a time

And finally, for your SMART goals strategy and business productivity to be effective, you must set time limits.

Set work discipline and set a date to meet your smart goals. Let’s go back to our example. A Time-bound objective would be: “sell more than 20 online courses in 7 days”.

This is how the SMART method helps you in goals

Now that you know what SMART objectives are, let’s see all the advantages that developing this strategy can bring you:

Know your starting point and your destination point: The internal analysis of your business will make you strong and, by setting goals, you will know how far you want to go.

Improve the distribution and organization of tasks with your team: Remember that when everyone knows the goals and their practices, the more productive they will be!

Measure evolution and progress: You can no longer avoid studying performance and comparing it with the past. You will learn from the previous mistakes and the benefit will be greater.

Detect deviations or weak points: Knowing where to act, you will turn your weaknesses into strengths!

Have a more balanced and justified distribution of resources (time / costs): Linked to the organization of tasks, the members will know which areas of action are theirs and what is expected of them.

Remember: SMART goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and temporary to be effective. Use the smartest way to act in your organization and experience the growth of the company in the short term.

Building a mental image of how your project is going to be is fine, but everything becomes more real and much more organized when it is put in writing.

You just have to open a document in Word or write by hand in your notebook the objectives you have set for yourself. Once you have established the strategy you will take, it will be more difficult to forget.

The mind can imagine situations from an overly idealistic perspective. Therefore, another advantage of writing them is that when you have it in front of you, you can see more clearly what you developed and its possible defects.

In this step, the best thing you can do is adopt the role of detective. Examine every last target with a magnifying glass and find the weak holes to strengthen them!

When you find the points to improve, you can re-establish your goals and update the SMART objectives in marketing. Starting from the new premises, redesign your strategy.

Go back to see all the objectives together, if possible, with your work team. It is always positive to take into account other points of view that provide you with feedback and advice.

Once everything is fixed and all the parts addressed, you can proceed to take action. Do not let anyone be left without knowing the objectives and work effectively for the growth of the company.

Finally, we present a series of examples of different SMART objectives to further reinforce what you have learned.

Imagine a dealership that wants to increase visits to its website. In this case, you could establish that for the next quarter you intend to achieve 25% more, carrying out an arduous weekly content campaign through social networks.

Now let’s say that a Human Resources company plans to renew its workforce. To do this, a limit of two months is set to find the ideal candidate. First, take a week or two to make an appeal on work-focused social networks like LinkedIn or Infojobs.

Then, as interested parties arrive, plan the interviews for the following week. The remaining weeks are reserved to consider options and in case you have to redo a selection process.

The third example is about some tourist apartments that are intended to improve the seasonality of their business.

They prepare their strategy in summer (high season). Thus, while customers are choosing their offers for summer, they will be able to find offers at incredible prices for autumn-winter. They use the entire June-August quarter for it and set the reasonable goal of getting 15% more than last year.

A store specializing in Nazarene tunics and accessories wants to increase visits to its website. This market niche is very specific, so it will also have a reduced but more defined target (Easter penitents).

In this case, you could try to use social networks where brotherhoods and religious operate to carry out advertising campaigns. You can even create content like blog posts to engage with digital content marketing. Carrying out this strategy for two months and increasing sales by 20% would be a specific goal.

The last example is about a veterinary clinic that aims to retain its most recent clients. After the owners have left their first consultation, the marketing team will follow up with the customers through email marketing.

When the first month is over, you offer clients the opportunity to have the newsletter with tips to help them with their care. Once that happens, 40% can come back at the next visit.

Go back to see all the objectives together, if possible with your work team. It is always good that there is another external look that gives you feedback and advice.

Once everything is fixed and all the parts addressed, you can proceed to take action. Do not let anyone be left without knowing the objectives and work effectively for the growth of the company.

Some examples of SMART goals

Below we list three examples of SMART objectives to complete the explanation provided.

First example: Increase traffic to the website by 100% (from 300 to 600 monthly visits) in 60 days, doubling the content creation , to generate more leads.

S: Increase traffic to the website

M: from 300 to 600 monthly visits (100%)

A: duplicating content creation

A: to generate more leads.

T: in 60 days

Second example: Increase sales by 20% (from $ 300,000 to $ 360,000 pesos per month) in the next 6 months, through email marketing campaigns with our clients, to cover the cost of redesigning the website.

S: Increase sales

M: from $ 300,000 to $ 360,000 pesos per month (20%)

A: through an email marketing campaign with our clients.

A: cover the cost of redesigning the website

T: in the next 6 months

Third example: Achieve that the turnover of product X, which today represents 20% of the total turnover of the company, goes on to represent 50% of the turnover by the end of next year, through specific digital marketing campaigns for that product (content, email, Ads , social networks), to stimulate the competitiveness of the company.

S: Product invoicing X

M: now represent 50% of the total turnover (today 20%)

A: through specific digital marketing campaigns for that product

A: to stimulate the competitiveness of the company.

T: by the end of next year

Organize your efforts

Using SMART goals is one way to organize your work. To create your own goals, give yourself space and allow yourself to play with ideas. With a little creativity it is possible to use this methodology for almost any task or goal that you need to complete.

To achieve great results, small steps are essential. Your first SMART objective could be this: make a list of five SMART objectives for the next weekend and write them down in a file, to learn how to create and apply them to your business.