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SMART Targets: A Guide to Effective Marketing Goals

Here are our SMART Targets on how to achieve that all important six pack...

Looking to set effective goals for the New Year? Consider using SMART targets, a great system for setting objectives. This framework improves productivity and decision-making, making it valuable in both personal and professional contexts. Here is a guide to SMART, what it means, and how to set them!

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S: SPECIFIC

The first point is that your target must be specific. This means it is clear and precise, and a great way to check this is by answering the 5 ‘Ws’:

  1. Who is involved in achieving this?
  2. What do I want to achieve?
  3. Where should this be achieved?
  4. When do I want to have to achieve this by?
  5. Why do I want to achieve this?

So, as an example, instead of saying ‘I want a six pack’, it would be something like, ‘I want to buy a gym membership for my local gym, and work out 3 days a week to grow my muscles’.

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M: MEASURABLE

You must be able to measure your progress in order for a goal to be successful, so you can determine if you are on track. Try asking yourself the following:

  1. How many/much of X do I want?
  2. How will I know when I have reached my target?
  3. What is my indicator of progress?

So, adding on to the goal in the previous section, you would add something like ‘I want to buy a gym membership for my local gym, and work out 3 days a week to grow my muscles. Every week I work out, I will aim to do 10 more sit ups’.

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A: ACHIEVABLE

Your goal should be obtainable. This will help you figure out ways you can realize that goal and work towards it. The achievability of the goal should be stretched to make you feel challenged, but defined well enough that you can actually achieve it. Ask yourself:

  1. Have others done it successfully before?
  2. Do I have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing?

The goal from above is achievable, because it is realistic to aim to do 10 more sit ups a week – but saying something like 100 more sit ups would be unrealistic, and your goal would be likely to fail.

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R: RELEVANT

Possibly the most important criteria is that your target must be related to your end goal. Ask yourself the following:

  1. Is my goal useful to me?
  2. How will this help me?
  3. Can I commit to this goal?

The goal here is relevant because doing these things will help you gain that all important six pack over time.

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T: TIMELY

A good goal has a start date, as well as a finish date in order to create more motivation to complete the task at hand. Ask:

  1. Does my goal have a deadline?
  2. When should I have achieved this goal?

‘I want to buy a gym membership for my local gym, and work out 3 days a week to grow my muscles. Every week I work out, I will aim to do 10 more sit ups,’ becomes ‘On 1st January, I will buy a gym membership for my local gym, and work out 3 days a week to grow my muscles. Every week I work out, I will aim to do 10 more sit ups. By the end of March, my goal will be complete if I can see a visible difference in my ab muscles’.

SMART targets

Template:

My goal is [what do I want?]. I will track my progress by [how will you know you’re on the right path?]. I will achieve this goal by [what’s your plan for doing this?]. This goal helps me because [how does this benefit me?]. I will complete this goal by [When should this goal be completed by?].

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Importance of SMART Targets

Setting a SMART goal for yourself allows you to clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, and allocate your time in a way that promises the most return and the highest chance of achievement. These are a great way to plan the steps to meet the long-term goals. It helps you take your goal from ideas to action. This keeps the project moving forward, helps with accountability and timing, and lets you know that you are accomplishing what you set out to accomplish.

Get in Touch

If you’re struggling to set goals like this or get your business going, Sokada are here to help. We are a small, dynamic group – each of us with different strengths and qualities – and we would love to help you! Whether it’s web development, digital marketing, or setting SMART goals, we’ve got you covered.

Get in touch with our team today. Either call us on 01435 817226, send us an email or fill in our contact form and someone will get right back to you.