If you want to thrive in the e-commerce world, you need to have a solid marketing plan in place for your business. Before you can build out that plan, you must first set specific and actionable goals to determine what you want your brand to accomplish.
In this blog post, we’ve put together a guide to help you understand 1) why business goals are vital to a successful ad plan, 2) how to set these goals, and 3) examples of goals you may want to consider as you develop your marketing plan.
Let’s begin with a few reasons why e-commerce business goals are vital to a successful advertising plan:
–Provides Direction: Setting clear business goals helps to provide direction as it enables you to focus your efforts and resources on achieving specific objectives that align with your overall business strategy. Without clear goals, your advertising efforts may lack focus and become scattered, resulting in wasted resources and poor results.
–Sets Expectations: Having specific goals sets expectations for your team and stakeholders. It ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands what needs to be accomplished. This helps to create a sense of purpose within the team as they work together towards a clearly defined objective, leading to improved motivation and performance.
–Enhances ROI: By setting clear objectives, you can allocate your resources more effectively and maximize your return on investment (ROI). For instance, if your goal is to increase website traffic, you can invest more in SEO and PPC advertising to drive more traffic to your website.
–Measures Success: Actionable business goals help you to measure the success of your advertising efforts. By setting specific and measurable goals, you can track your progress and adjust your advertising plan accordingly. This enables you to identify what’s working and what’s not, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your advertising campaigns.
So, how do you go about defining these goals? There are various goal-setting frameworks that can help provide structure as you formulate a well-developed action plan. Two of the most popular frameworks are SMART goals and CLEAR goals.
SMART Goals
SMART goals are a framework that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By setting SMART goals, you can ensure that you are positioning your business for success and tracking your progress along the way.
1. Specific: Your goals should be specific and clearly defined. Avoid setting vague goals that are difficult to measure or achieve. For example, instead of setting a goal to “increase sales,” set a goal to “increase sales by 20% in the next quarter.”
2. Measurable: Your goals should be measurable so that you can track your progress and determine whether you’re on track to achieve them. Use concrete metrics to measure your progress, such as revenue, traffic, conversion rate, or customer acquisition rate.
3. Achievable: While it’s important to set ambitious goals, it’s equally important to ensure that they are achievable. Consider your available resources, market conditions, and competition when setting your goals. Avoid setting goals that are too far-fetched or unrealistic.
4. Relevant: Your goals should be relevant to your business and aligned with your overall strategy. Consider the impact of achieving each goal on your business and whether it will help you achieve your long-term vision.
5. Time-bound: Finally, your goals should be time-bound, meaning that they have a clear deadline or timeframe for completion. This will help you stay focused and motivated as you work towards achieving your objectives.
Here are some examples of SMART goals for e-commerce businesses:
-Increase website traffic by 25% in the next six months through SEO and social media marketing.
-Increase average order value by 10% in the next quarter through upselling and cross-selling strategies.
-Launch a new product line and achieve $50,000 in sales in the first month of launch.
-Reduce cart abandonment rate by 15% in the next three months through improved checkout experience and abandoned cart email campaigns.
CLEAR Goals
CLEAR is an acronym that stands for collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, and refinable. CLEAR goals place emphasis on teamwork to achieve excellent results through emotional and logical reasoning.
1. Collaborative: Setting goals should not be a solo activity. Involve your team in setting your goals and encourage them to provide input and feedback. This will create a sense of ownership and buy-in from your team, making them more motivated to work towards achieving your goals.
2. Limited: You’ll want to aim high, while also making sure that your goals can be achieved within a reasonable timeframe. Avoid setting goals that are too broad or difficult to reach, as this can lead to frustration and lack of progress. Instead, set limited goals that are specific, measurable, and attainable.
3. Emotional: Setting goals that are emotionally compelling can provide an extra incentive for you and your team. Think about how achieving each goal will make you feel and how it will impact your business and your customers. This emotional connection will help you stay motivated and focused as you work towards achieving your goals.
4. Appreciable: Break down your goals into smaller, manageable steps. This will make them more appreciable, allowing you to track your progress and celebrate small wins along the way. Celebrating small wins can boost morale and enthusiasm, making it easier to stay determined and committed to accomplishing your goals.
5. Refinable: As your business evolves, your goals may need to be adjusted. Setting refinable goals allows you to adapt and make necessary adjustments based on changing market conditions, customer needs, and internal capabilities. Regularly review your goals and adjust them as needed to ensure that they remain relevant and achievable.
Here are some examples of CLEAR goals you may want to consider setting for your e-commerce brand:
-Increase website traffic by 30% in the next six months through a joint effort between the marketing and product development teams.
-Increase average order value by 15% in the next quarter through upselling and cross-selling strategies.
-Launch a new product line that aligns with our company’s mission of providing eco-friendly and sustainable products.
-Increase customer satisfaction ratings by 10% in the next three months by improving your customer service response time and implementing a customer feedback program.
-Increase revenue by 20% in the next year through a combination of expanding our product line and improving your email marketing campaigns.
What do you want your business to accomplish? Do you have specific goals in mind?
If you have any doubts or are unsure of whether or not these goals align with your business, book a free strategy call with us! Our experts will get to know your brand and help walk you through setting goals that suit your brand’s unique vision and needs.
References:
-https://www.aha.io/roadmapping/guide/marketing-strategy/how-to-set-marketing-goals#:~:text=Goals%20are%20an%20essential%20component,you%20build%20to%20get%20there.
-https://medium.com/swlh/why-smart-goals-are-necessary-for-every-marketing-campaign-b6a4b42d525a
-https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/goals-of-marketing