On target: the importance of SMART goal setting in marketing
How do you measure the success of your marketing campaigns?
How do you know if you are on track to hit your targets?
How do you check your campaigns are working?
Without properly defined goals, marketers can be left scratching their heads when it comes to campaign performance. To avoid suddenly finding yourself in this tricky spot, you need to make sure your campaign has a set of specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time based goals, all of which will need to have be agreed in advance. Set these at the start of the process, and no one is left in the dark about the ultimate goal. This clarity also gives you complete and constant control on campaign performance.
Vague goals are missed goals
When deciding on the objective of a goal you need to think about what is it, specifically, that you mean. When you say increase in website traffic, do you mean returning visitors, new users, unique sessions or something else? Don’t try and tie too many factors up into one single goal. Instead write a set of separate goals for each specific element that then act together. Make sure they all play their part in achieving your overall objective.
That said, it’s no good being specific if you don’t know how to measure your success. You need to choose a metric that will guide you when controlling your campaign and assessing its responsiveness. How many new unique users do you want to your site? An extra 10%? Defining a goal with pin-sharp focus adds a clear benchmark to aim towards and clarity when deciding if it has been met or not. This also allows you to control the campaign throughout its lifetime by alerting you straight away whether or not your campaign is on track. It will then be quicker for you to identify missed targets and sort out issues by setting a specific metric.
Be an achiever
It is also vitally important to your campaign planning, forecasting and staff morale that these goals are actually achievable. It’s not fair to say you want a 200% increase in website traffic if you have only seen an average of 10% increase year on year. Set the goal where it is achievable but still a challenge, say 20%. Do this by researching industry averages, looking at your own data, or just using your own common sense.
Don’t set goals just for the sake of it. Why increase website traffic if you have an extremely low conversion rate? Look at the overall objective of your campaign, and what you are trying to achieve then ask if this goal is pushing you forward in that direction. Not sure? Then it probably isn’t relevant towards your overall campaign so scrap it.
On time, on track
And finally make sure your goals are time-based. A goal without a time limit is just a wish. When do you need to hit your target by? By adding a time element to your goal, you are creating accountability, and a finish line. Then there are no nasty surprises when your boss asks for the end result. You know where you’re going and when you need to be there… and you can check at regular intervals to see how you are getting on and break the tasks down into smaller digestible targets to keep performance on track.
Well defined goals are proven to improve business performance and drive results by making it easier to visualise your end purpose. They act as a motivator, and the clarity means that communication across the board is simpler and targeted. When large undefined goals feel insurmountable it is because they usually are. Push for defined SMART goals when establishing the objectives for your campaigns, and set these in stone by getting senior sign off. Not only will give you a clear measure of success it will keep you sane along the way!
Not sure where to start with your campaign? Need help setting your campaign goals? Let us help you cut through the fluff and talk real KPI’s that can improve your business by emailing renee@blimeycreative.blimeystage.co.uk or calling 0115 981 6276.