How to set Clear Business Goals and Objectives

What are Business Goals?

Business goals are targets that helps shape the path that the business will follow. Put it more simply, they are short-term and long-term goals you want your business to accomplish.

They can be general, with the best example being the mission statement or precise, measurable goals. Well, in reality, you need both general and specific objectives.

The general goals will help with the overall business culture. Smaller, measurable goals help attain the general ones.

Why is Setting Business Goals Important?

When starting a business, a crucial, unavoidable step is to set clear and precise goals and objectives.

Why?

Because business goals provide clarity on what the business wants to achieve. In this manner, employees know what is beneficial for the company and what is not. It also helps cultivate the company’s culture to have a common goal. It allows the company to focus on one direction and eliminates the risk of straying in different directions.

Moreover, it allows tracking of the company’s performance. By having goals, every stakeholder knows what “SUCCESS” means. If the company fails to target measurable goals, it will be hard to measure performance.

It also eases the management’s workload. Indeed, if you have a set of clear goals available, employees can refer to it when making a decision and do not need systematic approval from the person in charge. The same goes for managers. When in doubt, they can refer to the goals: does the decision brings the company closer to the short-term or long-term ambition? Depending on the answer, the manager can make a decision.

Writing a Business Goal

Your company’s goals will only be effective if you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve–and how.

When writing your business goals, many would advise following a framework. The most famous one is the SMART framework.

1. Specific

Goals are specific when they identify a tangible outcome. Thus, avoid “I want to increase the company’s visibility.” and prefer: “I want to increase the company’s visibility by increasing the number of app users by X% by December 20XX.” Identify what you want to achieve and what resources you will leverage to reach this target.

2. Measurable

Goals are measurable when you have a clear way of assessing success. Thus, if you wish to increase your company’s visibility by increasing the number of app users, you will track the number of new users, returning users, the time spent on the app, etc. If the target does not have a clear way of being measured, it will be unsure whether your work is bringing you closer to achieving your aim or not.

3. Attainable

Goals are attainable if they are challenging but feasible. If you aim at becoming the new social media app of reference worldwide in just a few months, the chances are that your employees are not going to be too happy about it. Goals should not bring despair upon your employees every time they think about them. On the contrary, your business objectives should motivate your employees to strive and achieve them. Instead of aiming to become the new unavoidable social media app worldwide, target a country or a region. Not too easy, but not impossible.

4. Relevant

Goals are relevant if they are aligned with what the company stands for.

5. Time-Bound

Goals are time-bounded if you have a clear idea of the limit at which you should attain the objective. Short-terms go from a few hours to a year. Long-term goals are usually set for 5-10 years, but they do not always require a precise time limit.

Writing goals is a continuous process, especially for short-term business objectives. Update them and write new ones regularly.

Business Goal Example

Finally, we want to provide you with an instance of a SMART business goal (it might or might not be one of Neuwelt’s own goals!).

Broad Goal: I want to grow my business’ online presence

• Specific: I want to increase website traffic by 50%
• Measurable: I will measure my performance by tracking metrics, namely the number of users and returning users.
• Attainable: I will define a clear strategy for my online plan, post regularly qualitative blog content, and improve my website by performing SEO optimization.
• Relevant: Increasing my website traffic will make me more visible to potential clients, thus growing my online presence.
• Time-Bound: I want to accomplish this in 2 months

Bonus tip: SMART goals are not limited to businesses! Want to take part in a marathon? Or maybe you want to learn a new language? Set your own SMART goals and see results quicker!