“Setting Smarter Marketing Goals For The New Year.” Or “How To Use SMART To Achieve Business Goals” - Austin Stanfel

Introduction

The time around New years’ is one of the important parts of the year for business. They consider the previous year and make changes and improvements in their business tactics. The goals business sets must be attainable in order to be realistic and doable. Otherwise, these goals are sure not to be met and doomed to failure. No one likes to fail, and especially when it comes down to companies. It costs them even more, to fail on their goals. There is a business management technique that is known as SMART. It does look smart, but it is actually an abbreviation of features that a business’s set goal might include.

This method is fool-proof and widely used in the technology world; Specific, Measurable Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. This technique is meant for business professionals, but just about anyone can use it as a quality pattern to success. Here is the explanation of how each of these 5 qualities is going to help you succeed in topping your goal’s limit statistic in the business world.

Specific

There is a famous English proverb that says “The one who chases one rabbit probably will catch one, and the one who chases ten rabbits probably will catch none” the old generations were surely wise. If you don’t have a specific goal, chances are high you don’t get to it. This is also true for having many goals. Setting goals requires a specific definition, what is it that you want. Set a single goal and know all its details. Visualize it clearly to understand even the questions that are surrounding your goal or ways to achieve it. This walks us to the next point.

Measurable

As Austin Stanfel teaches in the Stanfel Media courses: Once you have a clear idea about the details of your goal precisely. It is countable? If yes, how many in a duration of time? Know the exact numbers that define your goal’s size and timeline. This helps you even to have a better overview of what you have set as your goal. This also helps that your goal has clarity and remove it from vagueness.

This part is highly important, and while setting you must keep in mind to be realistic about all these numbers. You may have to do some research about the market statistics and the people who have already achieved this specific goal. Revise the measurable and ask if they are correctly set.

Achievable

Failure can actually cause damage to your process and stop you or your team from thriving. This is mostly due to this section of setting goals; the achievability of goal setting. It is important to keep realistic. Optimism must be kept to the minimum; It is, of course, nice to do the impossible but is it doable? Humans have proved that they can always push the boundaries of their limits, but they have done it through small steps and achievable ones; one at a time.

If the goals are not achievable, they cause harm to your process by setting the expectations high, creating disappointment and at last, a goal that is sure to fail. Before you start spending tie and energy on a goal, ask yourself, “Is my goal achievable?” and then answer your question while being honest and realistic based on your statistics. You can set goals for long-term achievements that may not resonate with your current state, but you must have milestones of the achievable pathway towards it. This ensures success on your journey towards your objectives.

Relevant 

You may specify a goal to yourself and then have it measured correctly. Then you revise it and see if it is achievable. But the next step while ticking your goal setting checklist is to ask “Do I have what it takes?’’ you may know all about a subject and the ways you can get to it. But having the right team, instruments and other side elements that are necessary to reach it is another essential point to your goals. It is important to understand the side influences and account for them. If all that is required to reach a goal is not available, that goal is likely to fail.

Time-Bound

Many experts consider this element in goal setting, the most important of all.  It is the thing that organizes the stream of energy and action. It directs them to the goal while bringing it into a timely reality. A goal that is having the quality of being Time-Bound can determine the right action at the right time.

If a goal is left open-ended, it is likely to stay where it is; in the future. It doesn’t matter how long is the time duration, it just needs an exact time frame; a vivid deadline. You can set your goals in a time frame, as much as you think it may be crucial for your goal-reaching based on the previous factors. It is only important that the goal is Time-Bound. You and your team (if any) are required to follow the milestone deadlines to be successful in meeting your goals.

Conclusion 

The goal-setting by using SMART takes the vagueness from the total idea. It makes it clear and sheds light on the step-by-step process as well as all the requirements. Goal setting needs to have an integral view over all the details of your goal. If you keep a closed eye on any of the mentioned elements of SMART, it is likely for you to collapse your goals.

This method has been used by many successful business interpreters and has proved itself many times as a key to goal success. It is important to add in all the required details to your process and have a clear vision. Take notes for the purpose of track and record to avoid any surprises. Keep timely targets for yourself and team members so the duties are distributed well.