The Importance of SMART Marketing Objectives

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"A failure to plan is a plan to fail."

I heard this warning a long time ago, and it has always haunted me. I'm a pretty spontaneous and admittedly sometimes-lazy person, so making concrete plans has never been thrilling for me. Something about the commitment, even if it's to something beneficial, is stressful because it feels constricting. Time is a precious currency that I often try to keep to myself. However, as the above quote states: plans, goals, and targets, along with their risks, are necessary for success. In order to gain momentum, there has to be an initial push in a specific and advantageous direction. 
Setting S.M.A.R.T. objectives is the best way to accomplish this! This technique helps businesses and individuals move beyond a vague goal to develop a clear framework of expectations, actions, and deadlines. The first letter in the acronym stands for "Specific." There are many paths one can take to accomplish a goal, and many different outcomes. However, it can be very easy to get lost and distracted along the way. Being detailed in what you plan to accomplish enables you to begin to understand how it will be done and the steps that need to be taken (Alexander, 2022). Aiming for a specific target with a clear purpose is more effective than blindly shooting in the dark and hoping for success.
The second letter in the acronym stands for "Measurable." When setting objectives, it is important to be able to see the results of your efforts. This data allows for businesses to reevaluate their strategies and implement new ones if need be. Numerical goals enable progress tracking, benchmark setting, and milestones. They also provide organization and efficiency (Alexander, 2022). 

The third letter in the acronym is "Achievable." While it is great to be ambitious, it is also wise to not bite off more than you can chew. Goals that have astronomically high expectations are very likely to set someone up for disappointment. Using previous experience to set realistic targets will improve morale and encourage further progress (Alexander, 2022).

The fourth letter in the SMART acronym is "Relevant." Your goals should be pushing you in a specific direction for a specific purpose. There should be a clear driving force behind all actions that aligns with motivators. Having a bigger, more meaningful reason to do something beyond sheer necessity is important for long-term success and implementation (Alexander, 2022). 

The final letter in the acronym stands for "Timed." Despite their grim sounding names, dead lines are actually incredibly useful. Without them, I'm not sure much would get done. They apply a necessary pressure to drive accomplishment. Setting a time limit on goals and projects enables progress tracking and moves ideas into reality (Chi, 2021). Goals that are open-ended are rarely effective, as they can be easy to blow off and ignore. Deadlines require accountability.

Once a business's objectives are created using the SMART method, it is important to align all marketing activities with them, as well as consider any legal and ethical issues that may arise. For example, if the objective involved increasing sales through email, the company should look into privacy laws and make sure that they are abiding by them. Then, they could craft the emails to drive the objective while maintaining legal and ethical standards. Other activities such as social media posts and website articles can reflect the company's objectives by acting as platforms to embed important information (Chi, 2021).

References:

Alexander, L. (2022, July 21). How to Write a SMART Goal [+ Free SMART Goal Template]. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-write-a-smart-goal-template?hubs_content=blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-strategy

Chi, C. (2021, June 23). How to Set & Achieve Marketing Objectives in 2021. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-objectives


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