I- General understanding of SMART model
1. What is Smart Model?
S.M.A.R.T is an acronym used to describe a goal setting process. Acronyms are shorthand for the words “specific”, “measurable”, “achievable”, “relevant” and “time-limited”, which are essential features of set goals.
SMART is a model that helps companies set, build feasibility and reasonableness of goals in marketing plans, business plans, etc. In addition, the SMART model provides a way to measure progress. your department and take responsibility for your success.
SMART goal setting allows you to realistically assess what you are trying to achieve by assessing the actions that need to be taken to achieve the goal.
2. Benefits of SMART model for companies
In the 4.0 era, the application of a smart model to build goals will help companies identify and accurately measure work efficiency and set plans. Here are some of the benefits of Smart goals for companies.
2.1 Concretize the goal
At the end of a month or a quarter, managers and employees often begin to set new goals. In particular, many businesses will set goals for the next new quarter. But most companies have not yet concretized their business goals and are not realistic.
The SMART model will help businesses concretize all business goals with specific metrics. From there, helping businesses see the overall picture, clear.
2.2 Increase the clarity and accuracy of the goal
The SMART model tells you exactly when that goal is reached. This will make it easier to see when you've succeeded and harder to procrastinate. By the SMART principle, the manager will eliminate the goals that do not match the set goals. Thereby helping companies have a new orientation and strategy with defined goals.
2.3 Track goal progress easily
If before it was difficult for you to measure and track the progress of your goals, the SMART model will help you stay motivated and engaged. Because SMART goals are measurable, you'll quickly recognize when you're deviating from your goals and adjust your course.
2.4 Suitable for company
Each department, department will have its own goal and so does the business. The Relevant element of Smart helps to link the individual goals of the department with the overall goals of the company. When the goals of the departments are consistent with the goals of the enterprise, it will increase the strength of solidarity, helping the business to achieve the goals quickly.
2.5 Increase employee performance
One benefit of the Smart model is that it helps employees have a clear direction in their work to accomplish the set goals. Setting goals according to the SMART model will help businesses evaluate employee performance. Thereby, employees will be more motivated to work and contribute to the success of the company.
II- How to determine Marketing goals according to Smart Principles
1. Specific
The more specific your goal, the clearer the path to success: you will know what it takes to achieve it. The clearer your goal, the faster you will achieve your goal.
2. Measurable
The second criterion for the goal is measureability. So you can track, quantify, and measure your progress toward your goals. If you don't measure your goals, you won't know what your goals are and to what extent.
3. Feasibility
A stands for Attainable. This is an important factor in the implementation of the group or company goals set out. SMART goals take into account the team's ability to achieve their goals and available resources. If you don't have enough resources, you should adjust your plan.
In fact, there are goals that are not achieved because they are not feasible. Because setting goals too high will make you easily discouraged and difficult to avoid negative emotions. Therefore, to achieve the goal, you need to analyze its performance in order to minimize the risk.
4. Relevancy
Relevant is assessing the relevance of your goals. You have enough resources and time, but is the goal profitable for your company? Is this the right time? Analyze your situation and ask yourself if your goals are appropriate. Is increasing your newsletter subscription right for your company? Ask yourself what does this mean for you and your company?
5. Implementation time
Time is one of the important factors that determine whether you achieve your goal or not. Any plan that does not have a start and end time will make it very difficult for you to achieve your goals. Therefore, you need to schedule and set specific milestones and speed up the implementation time to reach the set goal soon.
III- How to build effective marketing and business goals according to SMART criteria
Example with building marketing goals according to SMART model
Example: Set a SMART goal of website visitors
SMART goal: In mid-October will increase the number of articles from 5 to 10, the number of traffic from organic search will increase by 10% compared to September
- Specificity: Increase website visits from organic search sources.
- Feasibility: When increasing the number of blog posts to 10 with lots of useful content that customers are interested in, increasing website visits from organic search will increase by 10%.
- Relevance: By increasing the number of visitors to the website, it will help the company's brand be expanded and bring many new opportunities for sales staff.
- Limited time: At the end of October.
Example: Set a target for email marketing subscribers
SMART Goal: Increase email subscribers by 15%, to receive posts in February vs January by creating 2 more email flows per week
- Specificity: Increase email subscribers to read new articles by increasing the number of emails from 2 to 6 weekly emails
- Measurable: Increase email subscribers by 15%
- Feasibility: Increasing the number of weekly email flows with useful content will help customers receive important information. Thereby the number of email subscribers is also more, an increase of 15% is completely possible
- Relevance: When increasing the number of email subscribers, consultants will have more potential and quality data sources. Thereby helping to increase the conversion rate and sales revenue of the company quickly
- End time: In February
Example: Set a SMART goal of how many people like fanpage
SMART goal: Increase the number of people who like fanpage about products and services in the first quarter of 2022 by running facebook ads and inviting friends to like fanpage
- Specificity: Increase the number of people who like fanpage about products by running ads on Facebook
- Measurable: Increase the number of people who like fanpage about products and services by 14%
- Feasibility: When you pay a higher facebook ad budget, increasing fan page likes will be possible in Q1 2022
- Relevance: When the number of people who like fanpage increases, the image and brand of the company will increase
- End time: 1st quarter of 2022
Thus, the above content has introduced to users about the SMART model as well as the benefits and application of SMART in companies. It can be seen that building goals with this model will help each individual and company have a clear direction and strategy with each specific goal. Thereby helping businesses achieve much success for each of their goals and projects.
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