by Jim Komara, Digital Media Director
“If you don’t define your goals, you’re unlikely to reach them.” Does this sound familiar? Chances are you’ve heard this line from a success story, a seminar, while listening to a podcast or even from the uncle who never made it. The best advice you can give someone on goal setting, yet not everyone follows through. Why is that?
Often, our goals exist only in our heads, which in my experience is a bad place to keep them. Our thoughts of what our goals are can be easily morphed when the challenges of every day life occur. With no physical record of them, they can become lost, forgotten or prioritized so far down the list that they barely exist. That’s why writing down your goals and making them physical is the first step. Now, let’s take it a step further.
Enter your goals and successfully measure.
Entering your goals into tracking software such as Google Analytics or HubSpot can transform your ideas and aspirations into solid reality. They’re now attached directly to an activity that is measurable and can indicate how close you are to achieving the set goal.
Although you may not be able to ‘enter’ your goals exactly how you imagined, you can define a larger goal into something quantifiable with a little creativity and a bit of math. This measurable component of the larger goal is often referred to as a Key Performance Indicator or KPI.
KPI’s are a measurable value that shows how effectively an organization is achieving key business objectives. For example, if your goal is to grow your business, buy a Maserati, or send the kids to college, you’ll need to start working your goal backwards into activities that happen at a predictable frequency.
The formula for goal setting success.
A business goal might look something like this. Let’s say that within the next 12 months, we want to increase our business sales by 30%. To achieve this goal, we’ll need to acquire 30 additional accounts. At a closing rate of 20%, we’ll have about 150 good quotes to work from. Assuming a 5% conversion rate on our website quote page, we’ll then need 3,000 potential customers to visit that page.
The formula provides us the key to entering our goal into Google Analytics. By using a ‘Thank You’ page on your website quote form, you’ll be following best practices and giving Analytics what it needs to easily track your goal conversions. So, referring back to the math above you’ll need 150 visits to the ‘Thank You’ page to acquire 30 more accounts.
Goals should be a strategic part of your game plan for growth.
Setting achievable business goals is the heart of any good business strategy. A well-defined goal that’s well measured will lead you into the direction you wish to move forward in.