Businesses can have many different goals that they are trying to achieve on a daily basis. These goals may also change within the processes of a business. It is important to make sure that each goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. SMART goals are important for a business to follow in order to have the best chance of achieving their goals.
Specific
Make sure that the goal is specific, and not too broad. For example, the goal to increase sales is not specific. Increase sales of computers by 10% over the next six months is a very specific goal.
Measurable
The goal needs to be measurable to determine if you have achieved that goal. This is important to track the progress of the company. As an example, a measurable goal may be to sell at least 100 computers this month.
Attainable
A goal needs to be attainable, or one that can challenge a business but still can be achieved. For example, selling one million computers in a year is probably not going to be an attainable goal.
Relevant
A computer company needs to make sure that its goals are relevant to the business. Decreasing the number of bad reviews may be a good goal, but is it really a goal that should be prioritized?
Timely
Goals should be time sensitive, but finding the amount of time to achieve a goal can be tricky. How many computers could this business sell in one week? How many could they sell in one month?
Establishing SMART goals can be beneficial for a company. Although striving to achieve large goals is always what businesses would like to do, achieving small goals along the way can be the most effective way to have long-term success. If a company’s goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely, a business should be able to track their progress and success.
