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When businesses consider their next marketing campaign, one of the most vital tasks to complete first is to differentiate between the terms goals, strategies, and tactics. Most understand that goals are specific objectives that are delineated in the business marketing plan, and they “can be tasks, quotas, improvements in KPIs, or other performance-based benchmarks used to measure marketing success” (Staff, 2016). However, tactics and strategies can be easily confused. Tactics are the practical things the company will do daily to accomplish these goals, while strategy is the vision that guides the company in attaining these goals (charliesaidthat, 2019).
When creating marketing campaigns for any company, goals must be created in a specific form known as SMART goals. “The SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound” (Boogaard, 2022) or Time-Based.
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SMART Goals Expanded Definition
S stands for Specific.
Specificity is key as goals are determined. Questions need to be asked that answer the following:
- What is the ultimate objective?
- Who is responsible for accomplishing it?
- What steps need to be taken to achieve the desired outcome?
M stands for Measurable.
When crafting a marketing plan, companies “should incorporate measurable, trackable benchmarks” (Boogaard, 2022). Milestones or benchmarks are keys to tracking the progress of the goals so that everyone knows what the endgame looks like. Questions to ask include:
- What are the specific milestones that need to be set along the way?
- How will these benchmarks be measured and tracked?
A stands for Achievable.
This one is where a strong dose of reality must be injected into the development of goals. While a company may have goals based on lofty principles and even patterned after what similar companies are already doing, the big question to ask is, “Can this company achieve this specific goal with the measurable resources and time at hand?” Skipping this reality check is a recipe for a perfect disaster.
R stands for Relevant.
At this point, it is time to examine whether core values and beliefs match the goals. If the goal does not contribute to the long-term goals of the company, this is an ideal time to rethink it and ensure that it matches the company’s overall objectives (Herrity, 2022).
And finally, T stands for Time-based.
An end date can help with motivation and prioritization. (Herrity, 2022). All team members must be on the same page concerning the time frame, and if the goal is not achieved by the agreed-upon time, reevaluation must occur.
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How Marketing Tactics Align To Strategies To Support Goals
One of the easiest marketing traps can be marketing for marketing’s sake. In other words, publish a lot of content–whether it is relevant or not–just to get the brand out there in the public eye. Unfortunately, this scenario does not do much to support the company’s overall goals. Companies that experience unparalleled success ensure that their daily tasks (tactics) align with their vision (strategy) to support their objectives (goals).
One example of a successful business that has followed this model is Groove, a “help-desk software company” (Hakes, 2021). Groove defined its goals as gaining users and growing its revenue. They identified their key metrics as email signups and app trials. From those goals and strategies, they “developed a tactical plan for building their email list and funneling their readers into users and trial sign ups”(Hakes, 2021). They never lost sight of their main goal and strategy, and their case study demonstrates how this aligned plan continues to lead the way to financial success for their company.
Interestingly enough, this same technique works with companies that are somewhat niche, such as Fisher Tank, a welded steel company. While welding may not be the “sexiest” kind of business, once they defined their goals and strategies–“attracting visitors to the website, converting them to leads with content, and nurturing them with additional related content”(Hoppe, 2019)–they upgraded their website and optimized it for search engines (marketing tactics). The result was a 3.4 million increase in sales after just twelve weeks (Hoppe, 2019). Therefore, this proves that no matter what company utilizes the technique of aligning tactics to strategies to support goals, the ultimate result is success.
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KPIs
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, “are a measurable value that a marketing team sets out to achieve over a specific period of time”(Marketing Metrics & KPIs, n.d.). These KPIs all reflect the established company SMART goals. The best analogy is to view KPIs “as the goal post and the marketing activities that take place as the players that score the goal”(Marketing Metrics & KPIs, n.d.). Ideally, KPIs and SMART goals are so interrelated that the same principles can be applied to your KPIs—the metrics you use to measure each of your goals”(How to Use SMART Goals to Build Your KPIs, n.d.).
Specific: Instead of “tracking revenue,” try “this month’s revenue compared with last month’s revenue.”
Measurable: Track KPIs weekly instead of monthly.
Achievable: Ensure that the KPIs are attainable weekly or monthly, so they are not unattainable or untrackable.
Relevant: Connect the KPIs to the “goal,” not the “why.”
Time-Bound: Like the SMART goals, build in specific milestones along the way for tracking KPIs that keep the company accountable and ensure that the outcome will be accomplished by the time of the deadline. (Marketing Metrics & KPIs, n.d.)
References
Boogaard, K. (2022, February 17). How to write SMART goals. Work Life by Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/how-to-write-smart-goals
charliesaidthat. (2019, June 15). The Difference Between Marketing Strategy vs Tactics – An Example. Charlie said that. http://charliesaidthat.com/digital/digital/difference-between-marketing-strategy-vs-tactics-an-example/
Hakes, T. (2021, August 18). A Tactical Guide to Aligning Your Content Marketing Strategy With Your Real Business Goals. Optimist. https://www.yesoptimist.com/content-marketing-strategy-business-goals/
Herrity, J. (2022, July 1). How Do You Set SMART Goals? Definition and Examples. Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals
Hoppe, M. (2019, December 31). Inbound Marketing Case Study: Fisher Tank Company. Weidert Group, Inc. https://www.weidert.com/blog/inbound-marketing-for-specialty-manufacturers-a-case-study
How to use SMART Goals to Build Your KPIs. (n.d.). Grow.com. https://www.grow.com/blog/how-to-use-smart-goals-to-build-your-kpis
Marketing Metrics & KPIs. (n.d.). Klipfolio. https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/marketing
Staff, S. (2016, November 29). Marketing Goals. Skyword. https://www.skyword.com/marketing-dictionary/marketing-goals/
