In the process of goal-setting, it is extremely important to make sure that your goals are going to get you and your business exactly where you want to be in the short and long-term. When you choose to make SMART goals, they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. The purpose of SMART goals is to help companies better achieve their short and long-term goals with clear and easy-to-understand guidelines. Here, we go into more detail of each aspect of a SMART goal:
1. Specific
A specific goal clearly states what is to be achieved, by whom, where, when, and even why it is to be achieved. Without clearly writing out these important details, it makes it more difficult to actually follow through with your goal. A non-SMART goal would be something like “market my business in Miami.” Here, there are no specific guidelines to follow, making it much harder to actually carry out. By being specific, you know exactly what it is that you need to do and can achieve it much easier.
2. Measurable
Measurable goals help you assess if you are on the right track to achieving your goal. It answers the questions, how much, how often, and how many? For example, if your goal is to reach sales of $84,000 per year, your milestones could be sales of $7,000 per month. Breaking down your goal into monthly targets is much easier to measure and will help you stay focused and on track with your end goal.
3. Attainable
When setting your goals, make sure that they are actually possible to accomplish. If you believe that you can reach the goal, you will be more likely to get there. It is important to set your goals high, but setting unattainable goals is the equivalent to setting yourself up for failure from the beginning. When your goals are achievable, you can successfully utilize your resources properly to reach those goals.
4. Relevant
Your goals must be relevant to your company. When creating short and long-term goals, it is extremely important to understand how they fit into your organizational vision, mission, and purpose. It can be tempting to set goals that sound great in theory, but if they have no connection to what you want to achieve as an organization, they make no sense to follow.
5. Time-Based
Finally, it is vital that each of your goals have a set time-frame. Without setting certain time intervals in which you want to reach milestones in accomplishing your end goals, they will be much harder to achieve. For example, say your goal is to increase organic traffic to your blog by 30% in half a year. This long-term goal could be achieved by increasing traffic by 5% each month. Now you have a set time frame in which goals need to be met, thus improving your chances of achieving them. This will also help avoid procrastination, as you know you will reach your goal if you stick to your plan.
Goals should be a map of where you want to go. If you have vague, ambiguous goals, you’re not going to end up where you want. SMART goals give you direction, and you should think of them as a map as you continue to go towards your destination. With a smart plan in place, you will see your business grow in areas that you never even thought were possible!
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