Photo By: Ronnie Overgoor

No matter what industry you are a part of, to be successful you must be setting goals and achieving them. So why is it that nearly 90% of businesses fail to meet their strategic goals? With a large emphasis put on these goals at the beginning of the year, why are we so often falling short by the end? 

Let’s start with the beginning and why the goals we set might have little chance of succeeding. It is time to move into strategic planning. Strategic planning is the process that helps organizations/individuals determine and stay focused on the goals established. The first step would be to conduct an STP Analysis which stands for Segment, Target, Position. You must segment your consumer base and then figure out which segments align best with your goals to create your target audience. Then you must find out the position that you want to take. Whether you are setting goals to position your company or a product, it is best to find one that aligns directly with your organization’s beliefs and mission statement. 

If you are unsure about what goals to create or where you need to improve, it would be best to create a SWOT analysis. This will help you identify key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats so you can ensure that your time and effort is being spent in the right area. Getting back to the basics, let’s remind ourselves that any great goal consists of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Specific

You must define your goal with every detail possible. When it comes to this step, there is no such thing as being too detailed. Answer the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

Measurable

In the modern age of social media and technology, you can find data about almost anything. The key here is to find what specific data points are going to allow you to measure your progress toward your goal. Do not become overwhelmed with so many options and focus on only a few.

Achievable

When creating a goal, you must make sure that it is attainable. You must find the in-between ground of setting a goal too low and it is easy to achieve versus setting a goal so high that it is almost impossible. Some things to think about for this step are available resources, worker backgrounds, time, and processes.

Relevant

To make a relevant goal, you must have a good understanding of the current marketing and trends that are associated with your industry. Having a goal that is relevant for all those participating in reaching it provides extra motivation for them to achieve it.

Time-Bound

Procrastination can be the downfall of anything you do in life. By setting a specific time for the goal to be achieved by, you prevent this and create a sense of urgency to stay on top of making progress. However, you must find the middle ground between too soon and creating a stressful situation versus too far away so that you do not have to worry about it and can keep pushing it off.

By following these steps you are helping set yourself and your business up for success to reach your goals. The hardest part is consistently working towards reaching them as they can be overlooked once the stress of everyday life comes into play. It is important to have checkpoints throughout the goal to check in on the progress being made and find ways to refocus your efforts toward the goal. Having the best interest of each person and collaborating on a way to efficiently reach the goal will not only help you make progress but also create a better work environment where everyone is on the same page.

 

Author: Joseph Scalzo

Joseph Scalzo is a Social Media Strategist Intern at the National Institute for Social Media. He graduated from California Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing. He is currently attending San Francisco State University where he is a student-athlete playing baseball and working towards getting his second Bachelor in Communication Studies. He has also completed many courses in International Relations.