Before you start any advertising campaign, it’s a good idea to review your goals to make sure you don’t waste any time – or money. We are crazy goal oriented here at Falcon Creative. Not having goals is like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks. (That seems like a bad, and messy, idea.) Instead, KISS with SMART.
Hellllloooo acronyms!
KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid – it’s just a nice reminder to not get too out of control with complicated goals. Keep it simple – easy enough, right? Just in case, we have the next acronym….
SMART = Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely. Whew, that’s a mouthful!
Just so you know, we didn’t create either of these acronyms. But, they WORK and that’s what’s important, so we totally support that.
S – (Specific) – You want to have specific goals that are simple (KISS!) and communicate what is expected. Think about the “who, what, where, when & why” that you learned in English class, or was it creative writing? I digress. Who is involved in the goal? What is expected? Where is it going to happen? When is it going to happen? Why is it important to your business?
M – (Measurable) – Having goals is great, but you need to be able to measure results so you can determine if you’re on track for success or if you need to make adjustments. Measurable goals go hand in hand with tracking results. I know it’s a drag, but it’s SO important! Otherwise, how will you know if your efforts are doing what you want?
A – (Attainable) – Is the goal you set realistic? Will your team be able to meet this goal? If not, it’s time to revise!
R – (Relevant) – Does your goal matter to your business? Does it address a core initiative? If not, you know what to do – start over.
T – (Timely) – Your goal needs an end date or a date that you expect the goal to have been reached.
Here’s an example of a non-SMART goal:
“We want to make gobs of money.”
Well, yay for that goal! But, we can do better with the SMART system while keeping KISS in mind (never forget to keep it simple!):
“We want to double last year’s 3rd quarter revenue during this year’s 3rd quarter. The marketing team will generate X number of new, local leads using social media and content marketing while staying within a budget of Y. The sales team will track their conversations to conversions and report back to the marketing department so the quality standards remain high.”
You’ll want to have company goals, individual goals (that tie back to company goals) and then campaign specific goals so you’ll know when to ramp it up or shut it down.
If you find that you’re stuck in a goal setting rut – let me know, I’m happy to help!