It’s Time to Set Goals for 2011
If you haven’t already sat down to plan out your marketing efforts for 2011, now is a great time to get started. The first step is to book time in your schedule to give yourself the opportunity to go into think-tank mode without any interruptions.
The second step is to find a place where you feel most relaxed and focused. Working in this type of environment can be very productive.
The third step in this process is to write down your goals. Without goals, you’ll have no idea as to whether your business has come close to meeting, achieving or exceeding your expectations.
The goal-writing process needs to be kept simple. State what you want to achieve as a number or percentage of your sales. Once you have determined this, you can set a date in which each goal will be achieved. Here are a few examples:
– To increase tire sales for XYZ brand by 5% by December 31, 2011.
– To generate an additional $1,000,000 in sales by June 30, 2011, compared with the same time last year.
– To grow overall donation revenue by 15% as a result of our legacy campaign by September 30, 2011.
– To increase Facebook fans by 85% by June 30, 2011, starting on January 5, 2011.
Goals that do not have a completion date and a numeric benchmark are not goals. They are most likely strategies. Strategies should not be developed until after your goals are clearly outlined in writing.