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How to set SMART Goals and Objectives

When you really think about it, setting a goal is just stating a desire to be in a better position than the one you’re in now. To be bigger. To have more customers. To be more profitable. However, the way you define and word your goals can drastically alter their meaning, and even change how useful they are.

Setting effective goals is about more than just describing your general aspirations. After all, there’s not much to separate a vaguely written goal from a wish. You need to write goals that can be scrutinized, refined, communicated – and most importantly – put into action.

By far, the most widely-used method for writing effective goals is the SMART Goals framework (even though it’s sometimes misunderstood). In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know to develop your own SMART Goals, as well as some of the common pitfalls you must avoid. We’ll also take you through some real SMART Goals examples, taken from the world of business.

SMART Goals is a method coined by George T. Doran in 1981. He proposed goals should be SMART, an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.

As acronyms go it’s arguably not that effective. Why? Because clearly not everyone could remember what each of the five letters stood for! You can see this from a quick Google search, which shows many variations on the same SMART acronym, using a combination of different words.

These include: Simple, Sensible, Significant, Meaningful, Motivating, Achievable, Agreed, Attainable, Relevant, Reasonable, Resourced, Results-based, Testable, Time-bound and Time-limited.

We’ll explain how to deal with these variations later in the article, as well as some other interesting evolutions of the acronym including SMARTER and SMART ASSES.

But for now, we’ll stick with the 1981 original – SMART.

Normally, when we set goals and objectives, we start with a strong idea of what it is we’re trying to do, which has been loosely defined.

• Grow the business
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Launch a new product

Although they do give a general sense of direction, goals written like this are hard to quantify, open to interpretation, and are therefore difficult to put into action. Instead we should aim to make goals Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related. . This ensures we leave no doubt about exactly what it is we’re trying to achieve.

Here are the goals again, rewritten as SMART Goals:

• The new Sales team will increase revenue by 20% before the end of the financial year.
• Our CS team will maintain an average CSAT of 95% or above by Q2.
• Mike will design a new online course that is available to purchase by the end of June.

Notice these goals are more definitive. The test of a good SMART Goal is that it should be abundantly clear if you have achieved it or not.

It’s a common misconception that all goals should fulfill all five criteria of SMART. This will not always be possible or practical, particularly for goals that support wider objectives. Even the SMART Goals creator, George Doran, argued his method shouldn’t cause us to miss the benefit of more abstract goals.

You should use the SMART framework to strengthen and develop your goals, but don’t worry if SMART can’t be applied to every goal. You can always compensate for any weaknesses in your goal when you’re creating your action plan.

Most of the time, non-specific goals are the cause of confusion and inertia.

Take ‘grow the business’, for example.

We all know what the word ‘grow’ means, but in business, growth can actually be a vague term. Growth might mean an increase in revenue, profits, market share, orders, customers, investment, share price or something else.

Many of these metrics are independent of each other. That means it’s technically possible to increase customers without increasing revenue; increase revenue without increasing profit; or increase profit without increasing market share.

Furthermore, the same metric can often be defined in slightly different ways, this is especially the case when using different online tools and data sources. ‘Monthly Revenue’, as presented by your Finance Director, will likely be calculated differently to the ‘Monthly Revenue’ on your Shopify reports.

The point is, you should try to write your goals so they are not open to interpretation or debate. Use footnotes and additional definitions if necessary. And if you were not already clear, in your own mind, on what the focus of your goal should be – now is the time to pin it down. Because these subtle differences can have a profound impact on the tactics your team members use to achieve your goals.

Note there is a difference between being specific and being prescriptive .

Goals should be specific about the outcome you want. They should not be prescriptive about how to achieve it, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Otherwise your goal very quickly starts to become a plan, and this can stifle creative solutions.

If you can’t write your goal without being overly prescriptive, you should review whether or not it’s the right goal, or whether or not you are setting it at the right level. You might even consider splitting it up into a longer-term strategic goal, and shorter-term tactical goals.

• Non–specific : Increase customer satisfaction
• Specific : Increase our post-call CSAT score to 95%
• Prescriptive : Increase our post-call CSAT score to 95% by reducing the number of follow-up questions asked during each call.

Measurable goals help us to quantify what success actually looks like, so we can better plan how we’re going to get there. It should go without saying, but the metrics you set aren’t wishes, they should be rooted in evidence, experience or just plain common sense (see Realistic ).

Being measurable also gives you an opportunity to evaluate whether your goal is even worth pursuing in the first place. Imagine Tim, who is working on an outreach campaign that will cost $10k; it’s only when Tim calculates realistic success metrics he realizes the best case scenario for this campaign is $2k in new revenue. Writing measurable goals helps you to unearth these dead-ends before you start working on them, not after.

Ideally, when setting goals, you should measure performance or results, and not activity. Measuring performance, using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), helps us understand our impact, which is the thing we care about most. Another way of saying this is: “measure in the output, not the input”.

So, instead of writing a goal that measures activity (the input):

• Create and publish 30 LinkedIn posts this month

You should think about the impact you are trying to create, and write a goal that includes a measure of the results (the output) instead:

• Achieve 100,000 impressions on LinkedIn this month
• Produce 50 new MQLs through LinkedIn this month
• Grow our LinkedIn following to 25,000 this month

However, you should be careful about setting targets, which are several steps removed from your activity. It would not be helpful if this same Social Media Manager wrote a goal saying her LinkedIn posts should result in an increase in total company revenue, or overall customer satisfaction.

That’s because 1) these secondary results are largely out of her control, even if she is partially contributing to them 2) these results are affected by too many other factors to be used as a good measure of performance for the activity she is measuring, and 3) these results take so long to materialize that they cannot realistically be used to create a useful feedback loop.

Sometimes it’s genuinely not possible to measure the performance of a goal with a KPI. Either because the result is too abstract or because the metrics you need aren’t available. In these cases, you might explore proxy metrics – these are related metrics, which you would expect to track closely to the metric you care about. Beware, bad proxies create their own issues.

Otherwise, it is fine to have results-based goals that don’t use KPIs. You just need to ensure you are reviewing quality and judging effectiveness in other ways.

In other words: who will be responsible for achieving this goal? Accountability for a goal can be held by one person, or a group of people (providing all members of the group acknowledge and understand they are collectively accountable). Sometimes, a goal is split into multiple goals, assigned to different people at different strategic levels. This is known as a cascading goal.

Of all the concepts in SMART, Assignable is probably the word most replaced in favor of alternatives (‘Achievable’, for example). Perhaps this is because it’s slightly reminiscent of an old-fashioned style of management, where goals are dictated by managers, in a top-down manner.

More recent thinking suggests goal setting works best when it’s led by the person responsible for achieving the goal. This creates more ownership, and encourages intrinsic motivation.

Nevertheless, there are a number of benefits to a goal being assignable, or at least ‘owned’.

• In instances where two different teams are working towards the same goal. Deciding where accountability lies prevents the ‘silo problem’ where teams might pull in different directions.
• It helps you to appraise whether or not the goal is fair, and can realistically be owned by that person. For example, it wouldn’t be fair to let a junior member of the team set a goal that requires them to influence areas outside their control.
• In instances where a team decides on a goal, but nobody takes ownership. Unassigned goals are not very likely to be progressed, and may as well be on a wishlist

In general, setting unrealistic goals is demotivating.

People who come to work each day, knowing they are never going to achieve their targets, eventually start to ignore them. It becomes as if you had never set the goal in the first place. Realistic goals, on the other hand, are far more likely to become part of everyday thinking and team culture.

Realistic goals also help others approach their longer term planning decisions with confidence. “We feel like we can invest in this new hire now, because Laura is confident her team will hit next quarter’s revenue targets”.

Furthermore, a realistic appraisal of your goals allows you to make better strategic decisions, at a time when those decisions can still make an impact. This might include allocating extra resources, developing new skills or deprioritising other tasks.

And yet, there are still many businesses who recommend Stretch Goals , Moonshots , and Big Hairy Audacious Goals , making the argument that big (even slightly unrealistic) goals can be inspiring.

There are good reasons for this. In part, they are guarding against two common pitfalls of goal-setting – learned helplessness and sandbagging:

• Learned helplessness is when you incorrectly assume something is out of your control, based on previous experiences, even if the conditions have changed. For example, if a small team grows into a big team, but continues to hold a ‘small team mindset’.
• Sandbagging is when people lower the bar to set targets they know they’ll easily hit. This results in unrealised potential, and is particularly dangerous when applied to high-level or long term goals, because it can sap momentum.

How high you aim will likely depend on your team culture and outlook. But even BHAGs and stretch goals should be there to do just that – stretch. Not be the stuff of fantasy. Ask yourself, where, as a manager, do you see the bigger risk – lowballing your ambitions, or damaging morale from failing to achieve your goals?

One way to create more realistic goals is to use internal or external benchmarks.

For internal benchmarking, look at your previous attempts to achieve a similar goal. How did you do? Taking everything into consideration, what would be a realistic goal for next time?

For external benchmarking, you can compare yourself to industry standards. Customer Satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores are examples of metrics with well-documented industry averages. Be careful, however. Context is key. There will be many instances where an external benchmark will not be appropriate for your company, or even your industry.

You should only use external benchmarks if the source is transparent about the sample of companies used, and how the metrics are calculated (some reports use different calculations). There are also some metrics for which benchmarking is never appropriate, because it’s too affected by other factors. A website's conversion rate would be an example.

Is being time-related just the same as saying your goal should have a deadline?

Basically, yes.

As well as helping to set expectations and assess realisticness, time-related goals are obviously important if your goals have dependencies – other people who are planning their own goals, based on how quickly you can achieve yours.

Beyond these practicalities, deadlines can also be important for motivation (particularly if the stakes are high) as well as creating a natural point in time to reflect on your success and failures, and review your approach for the future.

Over the years, many have proposed alternative versions of SMART, using different words. (Perhaps they thought the acronym could be improved, or maybe they just misremembered it!)

One of the most common alternatives today is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based . Achievable is just a synonym for Realistic, so the major difference between this version of SMART and the original is that Assignable has been replaced by Relevant.

Questioning if a goal is Relevant is certainly worthwhile – particularly as most goals are designed to support some wider purpose or mission. And as we discussed, Assignable is sometimes associated with micromanagement, so it’s understandable why this has been replaced.

You will also sometimes see SMARTER being used, or you may have even seen Geckoboard’s contribution: SMART ASSES . Here, it’s just the same concept, but covering important areas that the original SMART misses.

Remember the SMART Goals framework isn’t some precise, scientific concept. (In fact, it first emerged as a short article in Management Review.) We use it because it helps us think critically about our goals, and how they can be improved. If you want to make your goals Simple, Motivating, Agreed-upon, Relevant, Testable, or any other adjective you can think of, that’s fine. It’s all about making your goals stronger.

Just be careful not to use a SMART acronym that contains synonyms: like Achievable and Realistic, or Testable and Measurable. You will confuse your team members, tying them in knots, because they will assume the different words mean different things.

When we take each aspect of the SMART Goals framework, we can see it is entirely compatible with OKRs

• Specific : OKRs are designed to take big ambitious Objectives and pin down exactly what we mean by them, in the form of Key Results.
• Measurable : Each Key Result should be measurable (usually on a scale of 1-10)
• Assignable : OKRs are created and owned by people at every level of the organization.
• Realistic : Because OKRs are designed to be aspirational, they are definitely on the more ‘ambitious' end of the spectrum. (It’s often said that if you always achieve all of your Key Results, then you are not setting them correctly.) However, with OKRs, it's a very conscious decision to be ambitious. This means it doesn’t create unfair or unrealistic expectations.
• Time-related : OKRs are designed to cover a short time frame – they are often set quarterly, not annually.

Here are some real examples of SMART Goals, mainly taken from the world of business. In each example, you can see how the writer has thought carefully about the wording of each goal, to produce clear definitive goals that are not up for interpretation or debate.

But even seemingly well-written goals like these are only SMART when used in the right way.

Many of the metrics used, such as MAU or Revenue, are only specific if they’re supported by strong definitions showing exactly how those metrics are calculated. Also, a metric like Brand Awareness might well be measurable for an FMCG company running regular Brand Tracking research, but probably not for a small startup.

And of course, it’s impossible to tell whether any of these goals are realistic without knowing more about the person who set them.

Examples of SMART business goals

• The Founder will secure $3 million in VC funding before the end of the year.
• Achieve $10k in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) in our first year of operations.
• Increase our number of Monthly Active Users (MAU) to 20,000 by 1 September.

Examples of SMART sales goals

• Miriam will bring in £300,000 worth of revenue this financial year.
• Every week, the outreach team will pass on at least 50 new leads who are expressing purchase intent.
• This month, the sales team will sell all remaining winter season stock, for over $30K.

Examples of SMART finance goals

• This financial year, the company will increase its cash reserves to $4 million.
• By the end of the month, the Invoicing Manager will reduce the number of debtors (with payments overdue by 30 days or more) from $99k to less than $50k.
• This year, the Finance Director will reduce the average time taken to report on MI requests from 5 days to 2 days.

Examples of SMART marketing goals

• Increase brand awareness in the 18-25 year old University Student segment, from 17% to 30% by the end of the year.
• Grow our LinkedIn following from 10,345 to 15,000 by the end of next quarter.
• This quarter, increase trialists signing up through our website by 10%.

Examples of SMART personal goals

• Be able to run a marathon in under 3 hours by next year.
• Visit 50 US states before I turn 60.
• Pass my driving test before we go on our honeymoon.

Before you set your goals, you have to have a clear strategy, so we’d recommend these books first:

• Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt — a jargon-free guide that explains what strategy is and isn’t
• Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz — a practical guide on how to break your strategy into things that can be measured

And once you start setting your goals, these books are full of practical advice:

• Measure What Matters by John Doerr — case-studies from famous companies who’ve used OKRs for explosive growth
• Practical Performance Measurement by Stacey Barr — if you go for KPIs, this is the ultimate guide along with the Measure Up blog
• The Practice of Management by Peter Drucker — fundamental principles for management by objectives, with a great explanation of why teams should own their goals

Easily create live dashboards that get eyes on key metrics, company goals and KPIs.

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Work Life is Atlassian’s flagship publication dedicated to unleashing the potential of every team through real-life advice, inspiring stories, and thoughtful perspectives from leaders around the world.

Contributing Writer

Work Futurist

Senior Quantitative Researcher, People Insights

Principal Writer

How to write SMART goals

It’s easier to succeed when you have clearly defined objectives that are based in reality.

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5-second summary

• Teams often fall short of meeting their goals due to a lack of consensus on the definition of success.
• SMART goals use a specific set of criteria to help ensure that objectives are clearly defined and attainable within a certain timeframe.
• Working through each step of creating a SMART goal can reveal instances where priorities and resources are out of alignment.

Meet Jane. She’s a product manager at a mid-sized tech company – let’s call it Techfirm, Inc. Jane has been tasked with increasing usage of Techfirm’s mobile app.

She knows she’ll need all hands on deck to make this happen, but when Jane has set team-wide goals in the past, they’ve quickly fallen off track. Nobody seemed to have a clear understanding of what success should look like; progress wasn’t monitored closely enough, and inevitably, that important objective slipped to the back burner (before toppling off the stove entirely).

That’s why, this time around, Jane plans to leverage SMART goals for setting an action plan and staying the course.

Want to get started right now?

Use our template to define the different components of your SMART goal.

What are SMART goals?

The SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Defining these parameters as they pertain to your goal helps ensure that your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame. This approach eliminates generalities and guesswork, sets a clear timeline, and makes it easier to track progress and identify missed milestones.

An example of a SMART-goal statement might look like this: Our goal is to [quantifiable objective] by [timeframe or deadline]. [Key players or teams] will accomplish this goal by [what steps you’ll take to achieve the goal]. Accomplishing this goal will [result or benefit].

Let’s use Jane’s objective to work through each component.

S: Specific

In order for a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific. A specific goal answers questions like:

• What needs to be accomplished?
• Who’s responsible for it?
• What steps need to be taken to achieve it?

Thinking through these questions helps get to the heart of what you’re aiming for. Here’s an example of a specific goal Jane might come up with:

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns.

M: Measurable

Don’t underestimate the outsized impact of short-term goals

Specificity is a solid start, but quantifying your goals (that is, making sure they’re measurable) makes it easier to track progress and know when you’ve reached the finish line.

Jane and her product team want to grow the number of their mobile app users – but by how much? If they get even one new signup, that’s technically positive growth – so does that mean they’re done? Same goes for their strategy – how many platforms will they advertise on? 

To make this SMART objective more impactful, Jane should incorporate measurable, trackable benchmarks.

Increase the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

A: Achievable

This is the point in the process when you give yourself a serious reality check. Goals should be realistic –  not  pedestals from which you inevitably tumble. Ask yourself: is your objective something your team can reasonably accomplish?

Jane might look at her goal and realize that, given her small team and their heavy workload, creating ad campaigns for four social platforms might be biting off more than they can chew. She decides to scale back to the three social networks where she’s most likely to find new clients.

Increase the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Safeguarding the achievability of your goal is much easier when you’re the one setting it. However, that’s not always the case. When goals are handed down from elsewhere, make sure to communicate any restraints you may be working under. Even if you can’t shift the end goal, at least you can make your position (and any potential roadblocks) known up-front.

R: Relevant

Here’s where you need to think about the big picture. Why are you setting the goal that you’re setting? Jane knows that the app is a huge driver of customer loyalty, and that an uptick in their app usage could mean big things for the company’s bottom-line revenue goals. Now she revises her statement to reflect that context.

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns for three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Because mobile users tend to use our product longer, growing our app usage will ultimately increase profitability.

T: Time-bound

To properly measure success, you and your team need to be on the same page about when a goal has been reached. What’s your time horizon? When will the team start creating and implementing the tasks they’ve identified? When will they finish?

SMART goals should have time-related parameters built in, so everybody knows how to stay on track within a designated time frame.

When Jane incorporates those dates, her SMART goal is complete.

Grow the number of monthly users of Techfirm’s mobile app by 1,000 within Q1 of 2022. This will be accomplished by optimizing our app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns, which will begin running in February 2022, on three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Since mobile is our primary point of conversion for paid-customer signups, growing our app usage will ultimately increase sales.

Knowing how to set goals using the SMART framework can help you succeed in setting and attaining goals, no matter how large or small.

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The Science & Psychology Of Goal-Setting 101

How would you feel?

Goal-setting in psychology is an essential tool for self-motivation and self-drivenness – both at personal and professional levels. It gives meaning to our actions and the purpose of achieving something higher.

By setting goals, we get a roadmap of where we are heading to and what is the right way that would lead us there. It is a plan that holds us in perspective – the more effectively we make the plan, the better are our chances of achieving what we aim to. Rick McDaniel (2015) had quoted,

“ Goal-setters see future possibilities and the big picture. ”

Setting goals are linked with higher motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence, and autonomy (Locke & Latham, 2006), and research has established a strong connection between goal-setting and success (Matthews, 2015).

This post is all about understanding the benefits of goal-setting and implementing that knowledge in our day-to-day lives. In the following sections, we will take an in-depth look into how goal-setting influences the mind to change for the better, and contribute to making smarter decisions for ourselves.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

What is goal setting a psychological definition.

• The Psychology of Goal Setting

How is Goal Setting Used in Psychology?

Goal setting and positive psychology.

• A Look at Goal Setting Theory
• Psychological Studies and Research on Goal Setting

3 Interesting Research Findings

3 goal setting case studies, goal setting and the brain: a look at neuroscience, a take-home message.

Goal setting in psychology refers to a successful plan of action that we set for ourselves. It guides us to choose the right moves, at the right time, and in the right way. In a study conducted on working professionals, Edwin A. Locke, a pioneer in the field of goal-setting, found that individuals who had highly ambitious goals had a better performance and output rate than those who didn’t (Locke, 1996).

Frank L. Smoll , a Ph.D. and a working psychologist at the University of Washington emphasized on three essential features of goal-setting, which he called the A-B-C of goals. Although his studies focused more on athletic and sports-oriented goal-setting, the findings held for peak performers across all professions.

ABC of Goals

Smoll said that effective goals are ones that are:

• A – Achievable
• B – Believable
• C – Committed

Goal-setting as a psychological tool for increasing productivity involves five rules or criterion, known as the S-M-A-R-T rule. George T. Doran coined this rule in 1981 in a management research paper of the Washington Power Company and it is by far one of the most popular propositions of the psychology of goals.

SMART Goals

S-M-A-R-T goals stand for:

• S (Specific) – They target a particular area of functioning and focus on building it.
• M (Measurable) -The results can be gauged quantitatively or at least indicated by some qualitative attributes. This helps in monitoring the progress after executing the plans.
• A (Attainable/Achievable) – The goals are targeted to suitable people and are individualized. They take into account the fact that no single rule suits all, and are flexible in that regard.
• R (Realistic) – They are practical and planned in a way that would be easy to implement in real life. The purpose of a smart goal is not just providing the plan, but also helping the person execute it.
• T (Time-bound) – An element of time makes the goal more focused. It also provides a time frame about task achievement.

SmartER Goals

While this was the golden rule of goal-setting, researchers have also added two more constituents to it, and call it the S-M-A-R-T-E-R rule.

The adjacents include:

• E (Evaluative/ethical) – The interventions and execution follow professional and personal ethics.
• R (Rewarding) – The end-results of the goal-setting comes with a positive reward and brings a feeling of accomplishment to the user.

Cecil Alec Mace was the first person to carry out empirical studies on goal-setting (Carson, Carson, & Heady, 1994). His work emphasized the importance of willingness to work and indicated that the right plans could be a sure shot predictor of professional success (Mace, 1935).

Locke continued his research on goal-setting from there, and in the 1960s, came up with the explanation of the usefulness of goals for a happier and more content life (Locke, 2002).

Today, planning goals is an essential part of educational and organizational psychology. Many organizations encourage employees to undergo screening for goal-setting and use the resources to measure their productivity at work (Kleingeld, van Mierlo, & Arends, 2011).

The Psychology Of Goal Setting

Tony Robbins, a world-famous motivational speaker, and coach had said that “ Setting goals is the first step from turning the invisible to visible. ”

Studies have shown that when we train our mind to think about what we want in life and work towards reaching it, the brain automatically rewires itself to acquire the ideal self-image and makes it an essential part of our identity. If we achieve the goal, we achieve fulfillment, and if we don’t, our brain keeps nudging us until we achieve it.

Psychologists and mental health researchers associate goals with a higher predictability of success, the reasons being:

Goals involve values

Effective goals base themselves on high values and ethics. Just like the S-M-A-R-T-E-R goals, they guide the person to understand his core values before embarking upon setting goals for success. Studies have shown that the more we align our core values and principles, the more likely we are to benefit from our goal plans (Erez, 1986).

Goals bind us to reality

A practical goal plan calls for a reality check. We become aware of our strengths and weaknesses and choose actions that are in line with our potentials. For example, a good orator should set goals to flourish as a speaker, while an expressive writer must aim to succeed as an author.

Realizing our abilities and accepting them is a vital aspect of goal-setting as it makes room for introspection and helps in setting realistic expectations from ourselves.

Goals call for self-evaluation

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These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.

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4 Steps To Successful Goal-Setting

To break down goal setting, start with these four steps.

1. Make a plan

The first step to successful goal-setting is a brilliant plan.

Chalking out our goals by our strengths, aspirations, and affinities is an excellent way to build a working program. The plan makes habit formation easier – we know where to focus and how to implement the actions.

2. Explore resources

The more we educate ourselves about goal-setting and its benefits, the easier it becomes for us to stick to it. We can start building our knowledge base by taking expert advice, talking to supervisors at the workplace, or participating in self-assessments.

Assessments and interactions help us realize the knowledge gaps and educate ourselves in the areas concerned.

3. Be accountable

A crucial requisite of goal-setting is accountability. We tend to perform better when someone is watching over us, for example, it is easier to cheat on a diet or skip the gym when we are doing it alone.

But the moment we pair up with others or have a trainer to guide us through the process, there are increased chances of us sticking to the goals and succeeding in them.

4. Use rewards and feedbacks

Rewarding ourselves for our efforts and achievements makes sticking to the plan more comfortable for us. Managers who regularly provide feedback to their employees and teammates have better performance in their teams than ones who don’t interact with employees about their progress.

Setting goals gives our mind the power to imagine our ideal future, the way we want to see ourselves in years to come. By gaining insight into our wants and needs, we become aware of our reality and can set reasonable expectations.

Goal-setting impacts both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and this is why most successful athletes and business professionals rely on a sound plan of action before diving into any work.

There are many instances of how goal-setting is effectively used as a psychological intervention.

For example:

• Popular therapeutic practices like the CBT or Anger Management often use weekly goal planners or charts to record the progress of the clients and help them keep track of the exercises they are supposed to practice at home. Even in child therapies, counselors often use mood charts or set weekly exercises for the kid, and provide positive reinforcements to the child on accomplishing them.
• Almost all educational institutions today agree that setting clear goals makes it easier for the students to realize their strengths and work on building them. It boosts their self-confidence and lets them identify the broader targets in life .
• Goal-setting as a personal habit is also beneficial to hold ourselves in perspective. Personal goal-setting may be as simple as maintaining a daily to-do list or planning our career moves beforehand. As we have a clear vision of the end-goals, it becomes easier for us to advance towards them.

Types of goals

There are three main types of goals in psychology:

• The Process Goals These are the ones involving the execution of plans. For example, going to the gym in the morning or taking the health supplements on time, and repeating the same action every day is a process goal. The focus is to form the habit that will ultimately lead to achievement.
• The Performance Goals These goals help in tracking progress and give us a reason for continuing the hard work. For example, studying for no less than 6 hours a day or working out for at least 30 minutes per day can help us in quantifying our efforts and measuring the progress.
• The Outcome Goals Outcome goals are the successful implementations of process and performance goals. They keep us in perspective and help to stay focused on the bigger picture. Examples of outcome goals may include winning a sport, losing the desired amount of weight, or scoring a top rank in school.

The E-E-E Model Of Goal-Setting

The E-E-E Model of goal-setting was mentioned in a journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2017). It is a person-centered approach that describes the way a successful roadmap contributes to bringing about the change.

Author Nowack (2017). stated that goal-setting ensures success by serving three purposes:

• Enlightening Us Providing meaningful insight into our abilities and weaknesses, and by helping us prioritize our goals depending on our needs.
• Encouraging Us It provides the motivation and courage to implement the goals and execute the plans efficiently.
• Enabling Us Goal-setting enables us to achieve the balance between our real and ideal self. By implementing the goals and succeeding from it, we regain self-confidence, social support, and can evaluate our achievements.

Goals direct our actions and open us to a host of new possibilities. They help us stick to the relevant activities and get rid of what is irrelevant for goal-satisfaction.

Martin Seligman ’s research and findings on positive psychology aimed to shift the focus of psychology from problems to solutions. His works emphasized on interventions that would increase managerial productivity and help leaders enhance their performance holistically (Luthans, 2002).

Positive psychology incorporates the principles of goal-setting in several ways:

• It commits to a specific set of actions for goal-setting.
• It considers individual ethics and core values before setting goals.
• It aligns actions to individual capacities and character strengths.
• It has space for introspection and insight into one’s thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.
• It helps in setting realistic goals and expectations, thereby aiming to boost self-confidence and energy by task accomplishments.

Professor Gary P. Latham (University of Toronto) emphasized the role of positive psychology and the interconnection of it to goal-setting in his groundbreaking work on life goals and psychology. He mentioned that optimistic people have a strong sense of self, which helps them derive the motivation to set goals and extend them for self-improvement.

Positive psychology, according to Latham, intersects with goal-setting in the sense that it calls for building self-efficacy and create a sense of mastery over our internal and external environments.

Author Doug Smith (1999), in his famous book “ Make Success Measurable! A Mindbook For Setting Goals And Taking Actions ” mentioned that successful goal-setting mainly involves asking three questions to the self:

• How important is the goal for us?
• How confident are we about reaching and accomplishing the goal?
• How consistent is the goal with our core values and beliefs?

Smith said that successful leaders and management professionals use this systematic approach when striving for goal accomplishments and use threads of positive psychology such as optimism, thought replacement, strength , and resilience .

The emerging field of positive psychology provides a stronger base for effective goal-setting and management.

A Look At Goal Setting Theory

Locke’s prime concern was to establish the power of setting accurate and measurable goals.

He believed that rather than focusing on general outcomes, professional goal-setting and management should focus on meticulousness of the tasks and address specific goals for each area of accomplishment. The goal-setting theory Locke designed, set an impetus to increased productivity and achievement.

Principles Of Locke’s Theory

Locke’s theory of goal-setting is the roadmap to today’s workplace motivation and skills to build it. In his argument, he mentioned that effective goal-setting directly contributes to productivity and increases employee satisfaction at all professional levels.

Locke believed that there are five key principles of goal-setting:

• Clarity – How specific and comprehensive the goal is.
• Challenge – How difficult the goal is and the degree to which it requires us to extend our abilities.
• Commitment – How dedicated we are to reach the goal and what value it renders to us.
• Feedback – How our achievements are perceived and recognized by others. Positive feedback increases satisfaction after achieving the target.
• Complexity – The difficulty of the tasks that we need to accomplish for reaching the ultimate goal.

Core Concepts Of Goal-Setting Theory

Locke said that there are four core components of a goal that makes it useful. These are the key aspects that we should keep in mind before committing to a plan.

1. Difficulty

Difficult goals imply more significant achievements. Easy and comfortable goals are seldom productive, as we don’t have to exploit much of our abilities to achieve them.

Although while selecting a target, we may tend to shun away from choosing the harder ones, difficult goals are undoubtedly more motivating, energizing, and satisfying after accomplishment.

2. Specificity

Specific goals imply more certain task regulation. Before setting a goal plan, we must be clear to ourselves about the outcomes and which part of our personal or professional lives will the target achievement improve.

Having a vision of the result strengthens our intentions and helps to sustain focus.

3. Reward reminders

Locke emphasized the importance of following inspirational musings and motivational speeches for goal accomplishments. He said that the human mind is too used to getting reminders from its internal or external environment when it faces a lack of something.

For example, lack of food or water is triggered by feelings of hunger and thirst that motivates us to achieve the equilibrium again. But with professional targets or life goals, it is not absurd to lose motivation unless we keep reminding ourselves of why we should attain it.

4. Goal efficacy

The success of Locke’s theory owes to its cut-throat practical approach. While mentioning about optimism bias in his opinion, Locke said that we often tend to select goals that excite us temporarily.

For example, we may choose a profession by getting lured about the financial benefits of it, failing to notice the hard work that we will need to put in for enjoying the benefits. As a result, we are likely to fail motivation and lose commitment after delving into the reality of the work.

Thus, before setting goals, it is vital that we choose only the ones that are truly rewarding to us, no matter how much we need to push ourselves to achieve it.

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – John Doerr

Psychological Studies And Research On Goal Setting

Goal-setting is an area in psychology whose roots lie in scientific data and empirical evidence. It is a flexible theory which is open to modifications according to the changing times, and yet serve the purpose of:

• Maximizing success.
• Minimizing failures and disappointments.
• Optimizing personal abilities (Latham & Locke, 2007)

A study on the effects of goal-setting on athletic rehabilitation and training revealed that groups that followed a solid plan of action were more prepared, had higher self-efficacy, and were more organized in their approach (Evans & Hardy, 2002).

The experimental population had three groups, only one of which received the goal-setting intervention. Post-experimental measures showed there was a significant difference in the levels of spirit and motivation among the group that received the goal-setting interventions and the other two groups.

George Wilson’s study on “ Value-Centred Approach To Goal-Setting And Action Planning ” also put forth some groundbreaking revelations. He based the survey of the seven practices Seligman had mentioned in his research on positive psychology and goal-setting (Kerns, 2005).

Wilson called them ‘key takeaways’ and urged organizations to consider these seven highlights while setting up their goal-management programs:

1. Values Commitment

Wilson coined five core values using a value-based checklist . His study showed that when goal-setting focus on the core values, it increased the likelihood of achieving success from the target plan.

The five core values he mentioned were – integrity, responsibility, fairness, hope, and achievement.

2. Goals and Values Alignment

Wilson set the goals in his study based on the core values, such that each goal satisfies at least one or more of the purposes mentioned above. Results showed that the goals which were associated with the values gave more satisfaction to the participants than the ones which were not.

3. Character Strengths and Actions

Seligman’s findings strongly stated that goal-setting and achievements must take into account the character strengths of the individual.

In the absence of character alignment, there will remain a chance of selecting actions that are too easy or way too complicated for the person to accomplish. Wilson extended his study based on this finding and used the Values in Action (VIA) inventory to rule out the strengths and abilities of the participants before choosing the right goals for them.

4. Self-confidence

Positive psychology research on goal-setting spoke about how confidence and goals tend to complement each other. Wilson’s study incorporated regular self-checks for one year post the survey to examine the level of self-confidence of the respondents and determine its influences on their achievements.

5. Persistence

Frequent investigations in the form of self-assessments, interviews, or feedbacks are essential in gauging whether the participants are consistent with their targets. Seligman and his colleagues considered perseverance and consistency hugely critical for ensuring successful execution of the target plans.

6. Realistic outlook

The importance of setting realistic expectations cannot be stressed enough when talking of successful goal-setting. Wilson’s research on goal-setting encouraged participants to take the Seligman Optimism Test for gaining insight into the self-perceptions and followed three approaches to maintain an optimistic perspective in the participants:

• Separating facts from negative thoughts and ruminations.
• Encouraging positive self-talk among the groups.
• Using at least one positive statement in each of the weekly reports where he mentioned the target plans and goals associated with it.

7. Self-resilience

Wilson suggested that measuring the Resilience Quotient ( RQ ) of participants before assigning goals to them is a great idea for optimizing success and promoting happiness (Kerns, 2005). On administering resilience scales to the respondents, the goal-setting and task assignment be came more accessible and guaranteed better outcomes.

There are even more interesting studies, and we share three interesting findings here.

1. A Study On The Interrelationships Among Employee Participation, Individual Differences, And Goal-Setting

Yukl and Latham published this research in 1978 where they explored the interconnections between goal-setting and individual personality factors.

For 10 weeks, 41 participants received goal plans that were either set by supervisors or chosen by the participants themselves, and the results revealed that:

• Participants with difficult goals achieved greater success than others.
• Participants with higher self-esteem did better on task accomplishments.
• Participants with a greater understanding of why the goal was necessary for them had more chances of being successful with the target plans.

2. Dr. Gail Matthews’ (2015) Study On Goal-Setting

A study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University sought to find evidence for claims coming out of  Harvard Business School that well-planned and well-written goals impact students’ performance and achievements.

In this study, 267 participants were recruited from businesses and professional networking groups to take part. These participants were then divided into five groups:

• The first group set no goals and had no concrete plans.
• The second group set goals but did not prepare a plan to execute them.
• The third group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action to achieve them.
• The fourth group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action, then sent these to a supportive friend.
• The fifth group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action, then sent these to a supportive friend, together with weekly progress reports.

Results revealed that the fifth group, who had their goals written with concrete plans of action and drew on the support of a friend to hold them accountable, accomplished significantly more than all the other groups. This study serves to highlight the benefits of writing down goals and action plans, as well as the benefits of public commitment and accountability as drivers of goal achievement and success in life.

3. A Study On Success And Goals

This was a small enterprise-oriented study that explored how goal-setting and entrepreneurial qualities affected the productivity of the employees and the overall success of the organization. Results indicated the importance of marketing abilities of the organizational head to be a significant influence in the company’s goal-setting plans (Ioniţă, 2013).

1. A Case Study By Emily van Sonnenberg

Emily VanSonnenberg (2011), a psychologist specializing in positive psychology and happiness coach, presented her case study on undergraduates to explain the importance of having goals in life.

The target group of her research was young adults who came from a non-psychology background. She mentioned about starting each session with positive interventions like brief meditation, mindfulness, and task planning, and urged her subjects to journal the tidbits of these positive interventions daily.

Over a while, Emily found that individuals who kept a detailed record of their daily goals and planned their tasks accordingly were more productive, less bored, and showed signs of higher self-contentment than others.

She further mentioned that asking questions to the self like “ What do you intend to do today? ”, or “ What do you want to achieve in life? ”, etc., can clarify our motivations and help in setting our goals more effectively.

Although her study targeted only a particular age-group, the findings are valid for people across different ages and professional backgrounds.

2. A Goal-Setting Case Study By Redmond

This case study was based on professional goal-setting and the use of S-M-A-R-T-E-R goals in achieving success (Redmond, 2011). Following the critical findings of the book ‘ Contemporary Management ’ by Jones and George, researcher Brian F. Redmond suggested the participants create smart goals for them and report their progress to the supervisors regularly (Redmond, 2011).

One participant of the study, John, received a Professional Development Plan (PDP) intending to build his potentials and maximize his achievements. The PDP allowed him to evaluate his character strengths closely and identify the areas that needed improvement.

John set his goals based on his powers and kept reporting his progress and task accomplishments to his supervisors, who kept extending and modifying the targets based on whether or not they were achieved.

This individualized case study asserted the role of setting smart goals in achieving success and building personal skills.

3. Goal-Setting Case Study By Hardin

Deedra Hardin had published a valuable collection of fascinating case studies on goal-setting and success at different organizational levels.

Out of the series of studies,  one case research on the effectiveness of goal-setting in the military service is noteworthy to mention here (Hardin, 2013).

A group leader of a commander team, who was in charge of training over a hundred soldiers, had the responsibility of ensuring that his team members met the physical, systematic, and operational requirements of the top in their field. The goals that the commander set for his army focused a lot on physical fitness and set smart goals that would help his team achieve the same.

Hardin said that the reason why the commander succeeded in creating quick goals for his teams was his intuition and insight into the exact requirements for the team.

Extending the study from there, authors of the research stated that for successfully building a goal plan that can guarantee satisfaction for both the administrator and the respondent, it is vital to understand what the team precisely needs and how the goals can help them achieve so.

Furthermore, the study also indicated that goal-setting could only become successful after the results were reviewed and monitored by the authorities or the participants themselves (Hollenbeck & Klein, 1987).

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

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Goal-setting gives a boost to our Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) which makes us readily act on it (Granot, Stern, & Balcetis, 2017). When the goal is tricky and yet achievable, the SBP gets an enhanced spike that increases our zeal to act and achieve it.

Impossible or challenging goals, or the ones that make us question our abilities, are linked with low systolic thrust and they do not provide the spike for ready action. Extensive studies have shown how neural connections and the brain activities pump up our motivation to set and achieve goals.

For example, the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) deals with the present orientation of the goal-setting process. The MPFC activation allows us to think about what we need to do right now to achieve our goals, and we set the targets accordingly.

If the goal seems too distant or is too future-oriented, the MPFC activation lowers significantly which is why we may lose interest in sticking to the goals or lose the vision of what might be the best ways to achieve them.

Usually, goals are the incidents that have not yet happened to us, but we want to make them happen. And since they cannot occur on their own, we follow a set of rules or a plan to ensure achievement (Balcetis & Dunning, 2010).

The sense of struggle and power testing that involves the goal-setting process is what makes it so engaging to us. For example, a primary drive or intrinsic motivation that forces us to do well on a new or challenging assignment is the ability to demonstrate and validate our skills (McClelland, 1985).

The underlying neurochemical changes that cause this motivation to keep burning is therefore vital to understand before we embark on setting the goals.

RAS And Goal Setting

Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in regulating our goal-setting actions. The RAS is a cluster of cells located at the base of the brain that processes all the information and sensory channels related to the things that need our attention right now.

An exciting fact about RAS activation is that it gives us signs. For example, a person whose goal is to start a family, is likely to see more couples and families around him.

This happens because of RAS activation. The RAS is aware that this is what the person is paying attention to at this very moment, and hence he chooses to register only the information related to it.

Before deciding to start a family, the RAS would naturally have filtered out any such information. The person may have seen so many couples walking past him earlier, but never really paid attention to them, until the time he decided to get married himself (Alvarez & Emory, 2006).

The reticular activation functions in two ways when it comes to goal-setting:

1. Writing goals

RAS gets activated by the simple act of putting our goals in pen and paper. Seeing our aims written in clear words before us, feeling the touch of the pen, or engaging in the thinking process of writing the targets trigger the RAS functions and ensures that we go for it.

2. Planning goals

The art of imagination is essential when it comes to goal-setting. Studies have shown that people who have the power to visualize their goals before setting their actions have a higher activation at the brain level.

Repeatedly imagining success and reminding ourselves of our targets maintains a steady stimulation in the RAS and promotes effective goal-setting (Berkman & Lieberman, 2009).

The RAS activation helps in focusing the mind to attend to only those pieces of information that are related to the goals we seek to achieve.

Neurologists working on the science of goal-setting have proved that the brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagined reality. So, when we give ourselves a picture of the goal we want to achieve, the mind starts believing it to be real.

Eventually, the brain begins driving us to take actions for making the state and hence, the goal-setting becomes a success  (Berkman, 2018).

As the famous saying goes, “ Begin with the end in mind. ” The most crucial aspect of goal-setting is to build an effective plan.

If we set goals by our character strengths, core values, level of motivation, and pledge on sticking to the plan until we reach the aim, there is no way that we won’t get there.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

• Alvarez, J. A., & Emory, E. (2006). Executive function and the frontal lobes: a meta-analytic review.  Neuropsychology Review ,  16 (1), 17-42.
• American Psychological Association. (2017, September 27). Beyond goal setting to goal flourishing. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/highlights/spotlight/issue-101
• Balcetis, E., & Dunning, D. (2010). Wishful seeing: More desired objects are seen as closer.  Psychological Science ,  21 (1), 147-152.
• Berkman, E. T. (2018). The neuroscience of goals and behavior change.  Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70 (1), 28-44.
• Berkman, E. T., & Lieberman, M. D. (2009). Using neuroscience to broaden emotion regulation: Theoretical and methodological considerations.  Social and Personality Psychology Compass ,  3 (4), 475-493.
• Carson, P. P., Carson, K. D., & Heady, R. B. (1994). Cecil Alec Mace: The man who discovered goal-setting.  International Journal of Public Administration ,  17 (9), 1679-1708.
• Doran, G. T. (1981). There’sa SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives.  Management Review ,  70 (11), 35-36.
• Erez, M. (1986). The congruence of goal-setting strategies with socio-cultural values and its effect on performance.  Journal of Management ,  12 (4), 585-592.
• Evans, L., & Hardy, L. (2002). Injury rehabilitation: A goal-setting intervention study.  Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport ,  73 (3), 310-319.
• Granot, Y., Balcetis, E., & Stern, C. (2017). Zip code of conduct: Crime rate affects legal punishment of police. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 3 (2), 176-186.
• Hardin, D. L. (2013). Case studies using goal-setting theory. Retrieved from https://wikispaces.psu.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=118882898
• Hollenbeck, J. R., & Klein, H. J. (1987). Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Problems, prospects, and proposals for future research.  Journal of Applied Psychology, 72 (2), 212–220.
• Ioniţă, D. (2013). Success and goals: An exploratory research in small enterprises.  Procedia Economics and Finance ,  6 , 503-511.
• Kerns, C. D. (2005). The positive psychology approach to goal management.  Graziadio Business Report ,  8 (3).
• Kleingeld, A., van Mierlo, H., & Arends, L. (2011). The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis.  Journal of Applied Psychology ,  96 (6), 1289-1304.
• Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (2007). New developments in and directions for goal-setting research.  European Psychologist ,  12 (4), 290-300.
• Locke, E. A. (1968). Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives.  Organizational Behavior and Human Performance ,  3 (2), 157-189.
• Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting.  Applied and Preventive Psychology ,  5 (2), 117-124.
• Locke, E. A. (2002). Setting goals for life and happiness. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 299–312). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2006). New directions in goal-setting theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15 (5), 265-268.
• Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior.  Journal of Organizational Behavior ,  23 (6), 695-706.
• Mace, C. A. (1935). Incentives: Some experimental studies (Report No. 72). London, UK: Industrial Health Research Board.
• Matthews, G. (2015). Goal research summary. Paper presented at the 9th Annual International Conference of the Psychology Research Unit of Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) , Athens, Greece.
• McClelland, D. C. (1985). How motives, skills, and values determine what people do.  American Psychologist, 40 (7), 812-825.
• McDaniel, R. (2015, June 30). Goal setter or problem solver? HuffPost . Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/goal-setter-or-problem-so_b_7543084
• Nowack, K. (2017). Facilitating successful behavior change: Beyond goal setting to goal flourishing. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 69 (3), 153-171.
• Redmond, B. F. (2011). Goal setting case study. Retrieved from https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/Goal+Setting+Case+Study
• Smith, D. K. (1999).  Make success measurable! A mindbook-workbook for setting goals and taking action . New York, NY: Wiley.
• VanSonnenberg, E. (2011, January 3). Ready, set, goals! Positive Psychology News . Retrieved from https://positivepsychologynews.com/news/emily-vansonnenberg/2011010315821
• Yukl, G. A., & Latham, G. P. (1978). Interrelationships among employee participation, individual differences, goal difficulty, goal acceptance, goal instrumentality, and performance.  Personnel Psychology ,  31 (2), 305-323.

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Incredible article! Such powerful insight on goal setting and achieving. Saving this one everywhere with reminders to review each year.

This is such a great article. I have written a concise summary of this and that shall definitely help me set up for the future. “The brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagined reality”, I Have read that many times but for the first time understood its meaning.

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SMART Goals and Objectives: Definition, Characteristics, and Examples

Setting SMART objectives and goals is an important step toward success in both personal and professional life. However, merely stating goals or purpose is insufficient; it must be SMART goal. SMART objectives and goals assist you in developing objectives that are clear, specified, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

In this article, we’ll define SMART objectives and goals, describe their qualities, and present examples to help you understand how to use them.

Content Index

What are SMART goals and objectives?

What does s.m.a.r.t. stand for, why should you clearly define smart goals and objectives, management by objectives (mbo).

• Principles in setting up SMART Goals and Objectives
• What is the Difference between Smart Goals and Objectives?
• Importance of SMART Goals and Objectives
• Advantages and disadvantage of SMART goals and objectives
• SMART Objectives and Goals Examples

SMART goals and objectives are a method for establishing Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound aims. The SMART framework defines goals and objectives clearly and practically, making them more actionable and increasing the likelihood of success. SMART is an acronym that stands for SMART goal and is used to help in goal setting. 

In this modern, technology-driven world, one of the most widely used words is “SMART.”

This word is utilized in many industries due to its efficiency and objectivity. The SMART technique is also a practical tool that can save relevant professionals in competitive industries like marketing, sales, advertising, market research, etc. 

Smartphones, smart TVs, and other everyday items have this word prefixed to their names. We now realize that term refers to something intelligent due to its operation and technological progress.

More than just Theory: 300+ Ready-Made Survey Templates to evaluate your SMART goal and objective.

Take a few minutes to clear your head; let us analyze the SMART method to achieve SMART objectives and goals. With constant practice, it will be easier to apply this method. However, for starters, let us understand what each alphabet in the word “SMART” mean.

M-MEASURABLE

A-achievable, t-time-based.

Do you know what the importance of clearly defining objectives and goals is?

• Time doesn’t pass in vain for anyone, more importantly, not for organizations or businesses. Every minute, every second, a new idea is conceptualized, and with these ideas growing, there is a growing competition out there.
• Every day there is a new organization or business ready to give tough competition to its counterparts and competitors.  In this competitive atmosphere, it is also essential to win customers and also understand customer satisfaction levels. Not only this, you have to constantly monitor to verify that every department in your business or organization is working efficiently, just like perfect machinery. 
• It may sound like a tedious process in which one question leads you to more questions , and then it seems like a never-ending story because only some know how to land their thoughts. Remember, putting down your goals and objectives on paper will help you put your thoughts and your imagination to work in reality.

To summarize it in a concise and very significant sentence: walking without objectives is like navigating without a compass. 

Imagine the immensity of the open sea and you in the middle of it, it is a moment in which you do not know what to do, nor do you know the resources you can count on and much less know which side of the ocean or sea will be better to go.

The best thing is to start making some kind of effort to move forward, right? You cannot stay there; however, it is difficult to know at that stage if everything you do will have optimal results and bring you closer to the right path. 

The most likely thing is that these efforts might exhaust you, and you do not know if everything you did will be worthwhile for something. On the contrary, if you know the goal you should reach, it will be easier to use your energy to achieve it once and for all.

People, groups, and systems need clear, structured, and well-defined objectives from the particular to the general. setting a goal is stated to gain a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered, and the person assessing may then judge the outcome based on defined smart criteria.

The same happens with the objectives of a company. We all have an end to this life, and we cannot get up every day thinking about facing when we are approaching the end because, in this way, there will come a time when we feel that we are not doing enough to sustain ourselves in this world.

Learn more: Demographic Segmentation .

SMART objectives are a primary way to collect feedback and communicate within the organization. SMART goal and objective is directly derived from management by objectives (M.B.O.). It was an effective way of completing tasks by prioritizing objectives.

Feedback is important because it showcases the room for improvement and is an insight into the company. Feedback includes periodic checks to measure current results vs. expected and current results vs. end objectives. The progress can be recorded by asking basic questions like:

• Is the plan being executed in the right manner?
• Are the efforts tangible that they are aiding the progress of the project?
• Are changes required to be made to the current plan?

The SMART objective helps break down these questions and goals even further, where the scope of every milestone is measured. The SMART objective help set goals and track progress to meet the end objective. 

A SMART goal helps in following through on goals and prevents getting distracted. Through these goals, different objective goals can be set up, namely:

Long term goals

Intermediate-term goals, short term goals, principles in setting up smart goals and objectives.

It is an essential task to write SMART goals and objectives and setting up them. The smart goal criteria or the principles of goal-setting theory are:

Task complexity

What is the difference between smart goals and smart objectives.

“SMART goals” and “SMART objectives” are frequently used interchangeably, although their meanings might vary depending on the context. However, in some circumstances, a difference can be made between the two. Let us analyze the distinction:

• Goals are broad, all-encompassing statements that describe the desired outcome or result. They are frequently long-term and give a general framework for your activities.
• These goals are clear, measurable, doable, important, and have deadlines. They use the SMART goal framework to ensure their goals are clear and improve their chances of success.
• Goals concentrate on the “what” you want to accomplish and provide a precise aim to work toward.

SMART Objective

• Objectives are more defined, short-term milestones that help to reach the overall aim. They are actionable steps that explain the actions and activities needed to achieve the intended result.
• SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They are intended to be more specific and to provide a clear roadmap for attaining the goal.
• SMART Objectives concentrate on the “how” and “when” of achieving a goal, breaking it into achievable steps.

Importance of SMART goals and objectives

SMART goals and objectives are highly important for individuals and organizations alike. Here are several reasons why they are crucial:

Clarifies end objective

Effective time management, reminds you of priorities, obliges to take action, advantages and disadvantages of smart goals and objectives.

SMART goals and objectives offer several advantages, but they also have some potential disadvantages. Let’s explore both sides:

Advantages of SMART goals and objectives

SMART goals and objectives have several advantages that make them effective. Some of the primary advantages are as follows:

They are not vague: Since SMART goals and objectives are extremely procedural, each milestone and feedback is planned and monitored in complete detail. It mitigates the factor of uncertainty.

Missed work is easy to track: Each person is given a specific responsibility; hence, when work is not completed, it is very easy to troubleshoot the gaps in delivery. It makes everyone extremely accountable, and any loss of work is easy to track.

Goals are divided into small achievable objectives: SMART goals have an end, but SMART objectives are further divided into bite-sized milestones. Hence, no matter the scale of the end goal, it is very easily achievable.

Disadvantages of SMART goals and objectives

SMART goals and objectives have several disadvantages that make them effective. Some of the primary disadvantages are as follows:

No importance to other tasks: All other work gets ignored due to the system’s rigidity. Also, there is lesser scope for innovation or trying to complete work differently because the work is milestone based.

Lots of pressure: There is immense pressure to complete work in a given time frame, making the environment extremely stressful and challenging.

Different interpretations by different people: The pressure to complete goals and objectives is open to interpretation by different people. The urgency or rigidity of the process is construed differently by different people.

LEARN ABOUT: Theoretical Research

SMART objectives and goals examples

Here are a few examples to help you strategize and define your organization’s SMART objectives and Goals :

• Defining objectives requires time, patience, and the complete know-how of how an organization functions, but it needs clarity above anything else. For example, many organizations need to define clear objectives, which reflects in many ways. But with SMART objectives and methods, it is possible to define goals clearly.
• To clearly define objectives, one may need to sit down and ask questions, for example, “What is that I would like my organization or business to achieve? Why do I want to achieve these targets? Do I have the necessary resources to achieve these objectives?”, among many other questions that you need to ask yourself, let’s accept it feel like this is boring and absolutely unnecessary.  
• Take a step back and think, do you even know how many companies have suffered bankruptcy because they didn’t feel the need to define their objectives? You might even be tempted to think that the process is a complete waste of your time. Instead of wasting your valuable time speculating and penning down your thoughts, it is advisable to get down to do some real work and start with the action plan.
• While you may have decided to start functioning without a plan, there are hundreds of companies that take the target date to do it step by step and then achieve goals in a faster way, winning customers, reducing customer churn , taking away place, and even unseat everything you have already achieved. Taking action concretely and clearly understanding facts and figures will not take you anywhere. On the contrary, this will waste your time, effort, work, quality, and even your reputation in the market.
• To avoid all the tragedies previously reported, do you still think this is a waste of time? Do you still believe that it is better to postpone it? If your answer is NO, congratulations! The SMART method is easier than you imagined it to be.  

Learn more: Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Let us take an example to understand how SMART objectives and SMART goals help save time. Image an organization that works to remove plastic bags and similar waste from the entire city has objectives and goals defined as:

“Our goal is to make the entire city clean and free of any plastic and plastic waste.”

This goal is a little vague. However, if the objective and goal were rewritten as, “As an organization, we aim to clean the city and make it free from any plastic waste in the next two years with the help and support of our volunteers.”

The second time the goal and objective were rewritten, it had a particular timeline, the specific activity was mentioned, who would be helping the organization was clear, and what they wanted to achieve was certain.

In this manner, people who are associated with the organization know what their tasks are and what the time-bound in which they need to achieve them. This helps avoid any confusion, and activities go on smoothly without hesitation.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Targeting

SMART objectives and Goals are an important part of a company’s growth. The Managers and Directors of Marketing, Sales, Human Resources, and many other areas must be fully involved in defining these goals.

For all, the growth of the company also implies personal growth. The only way to achieve this is by having order and structure clearly defining the objectives.

Do not waste more time doing actions that won’t yield the desired results. Start defining your SMART objectives and give your team enough reasons why they should get down to work as soon as possible. 

Giving them a good goal is part of the motivation everyone in the organization needs. Remember increasing team productivity is always favorable and does wonders for achieving the organization’s overall growth.

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How to Write a S.M.A.R.T. Project Objective

By Kate Eby | November 22, 2016 (updated February 25, 2023)

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In this article, you'll learn all there is to know about the S.M.A.R.T method, and how to write the most effective goals for your project.

Included on this page, you'll learn what a project objective is , examples of successful project objectives , tips on how to craft a clear, concise objective using the S.M.A.R.T. method , and much more.

What Is a Project Objective?

A project objective states the desired results of a project at its outset, including goals and deliverables. An objective should be specific and measurable, and identify any time, budget, and quality constraints.

Objectives can be used in project planning for business, government, nonprofit organizations, and even for personal use (for example, in resumes to describe the exact position a job-seeker wants). A project may have one objective, many parallel objectives, or several objectives that must be achieved sequentially. To produce the most benefit, objectives must be defined early in the project life cycle , in phase two, the planning phase. 

Benefits of the Well-Written Objective

A well written objective is crucial because it can affect every step of the project life cycle. When you create a specific objective, you give your team a greater chance of achieving the objective because they know precisely what they’re working towards. Clear project objectives also support the current emphasis on total quality management: every member of the team can consider themselves responsible for quality, because the whole team can see the desired outcome from the beginning of the project. 

All types of endeavors can benefit from objectives. As an individual, you may use an objective to target exactly what to plan for. For example, you may know you want to go to graduate school, but finding an objective will help you to understand that you want to obtain a sociology degree at your local community college and to graduate in six years. A small nonprofit group may use objectives to determine that success for a recycling education program is when 40 percent of households in a county request free composting buckets. A construction company might use objectives to keep a building project on schedule and within budget . 

No matter what the project type, templates can make the job easier, from crafting the objective statements to planning the project .

Download Project Goal and Objectives Template

Excel | Word | PDF

Download Project Objectives Worksheet Template

The Taxonomy of Project Definitions

You may encounter several definitions of objectives , such as vision statements and business goals. While these terms are often used interchangeably, we’ve outlined the relationships among them to help you use them correctly:    

Vision Statement -  A statement that expresses the high-level intention of a project (often with lofty or unachievable goals). For example, a school may aim for perfect pupil attendance or a company may strive for 100% customer satisfaction. 

Business Goals - A company creates these to describe the overall outcomes it wants to accomplish in a certain time frame. Business goals are captured in business plans.     

Goals - A high-level, broad, non-specific, and long-term definition of what the group or organization wants to accomplish. Goals are not measurable, and several discrete projects may be needed to achieve a goal. Some people say that project goals do not need to be defined, so long as a project manager understands the business goals. However, project objectives are always needed. In a business, project goals are influenced by business goals. 

Objectives - Influenced by goals, an objective is a low-level description of the specific and measureable outcomes desired from a project. Activities and most likely deliverables will contribute to achieving the objective. The project and its objectives must always contribute to the goal, otherwise the project should not be attempted.          Bottomline: Goals are high-level, general statements about the aims of the project, while objectives are detailed statements about what the project should accomplish. 

Activities - This is what your team will do to achieve the objective. An activity can be a specific action or a process, and many activities will likely be involved to meet objectives. As with everything in project management, the key consideration for activities is that they contribute directly to achieving the objective, and thereby the goal. 

Deliverables - A specific, tangible product or thing, like a report or a software app. One or more deliverables may contribute to achieving an objective, but it is important not to define the objective as a deliverable. In other words, if the objective is written at too low a level, you risk creating the wrong deliverables. Rather, the objective is there to guide you and the team to determine what products or processes are needed. For example, say you have difficulty falling asleep each night. You may decide that your objective is to buy relaxing chamomile tea. Drinking the tea might help, but if your objective had been to ensure at least seven hours of sleep a night by the following month, you might have explored other solutions that would have greater benefits, such as making sure to get an hour of exercise every day.      Requirements - A description of features and functions. Objectives should not include features and functions. 

How to Define S.M.A.R.T. Objectives

SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. To write SMART goals, consider the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are specific to your business or project. 

Specific: Define your objectives clearly, in detail, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Think of the five w’s (who, what, when, where, and why). 

Measurable: State the measures and performance specifications you’ll use to determine whether you’ve met your objectives.  

Achievable or Attainable: Choose objectives that the team has a reasonable expectation of successfully completing. 

Realistic: Set objectives the project team believes it can achieve. Relevant objectives align with group or company goals.

Time-bound: Include the date or specific period by which you’ll achieve the objectives.

If you’re interested in creating S.M.A.R.T. goals, use our template as a guide. 

Objectives and Indicators In some project management guides, you may also find reference to objectives and indicators. This is a different way of expressing the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. An objective may be stated as, Children in x county shall read better. The indicators would be, 60 percent of children under age 13 read at the appropriate reading level for their age.

Best Practices for Writing Successful Project Objectives

A project objective should be a brief, one-sentence statement that includes actionable, measurable goals. We’ve outlined some best practices for writing a successful project objective below.

Keep in mind that an objective should not specify how something is done, and consider the context and guidelines the organization you’re writing for use.

Here are a few suggestions to help you as you write the statement:

• Write the objective before starting the project.
• Identify all objectives at the beginning.
• An objective cannot be written in isolation. Get support from all levels of the team. If the team doesn’t believe in the objective, they won’t work towards it and stakeholders won’t provide resources. If stakeholders disagree with the objective, work with them until you get a statement you can all stand behind.
• Be brief; it increases the chances of objectives being read and understood.
• Be clear; don’t give a list of options or a range of target numbers. Ask for what you need and what you expect.
• Use plain English, not jargon so everyone can understand your objective.
• Make sure your objectives are things you actually can control. For example, “I will send out 50 letters of interest by next week” describes something you can achieve. “I will book 15 jobs by next week” is not something you can control, because it’s up to someone else to hire you.

Examples of Project Objectives

 Although project management guides and organizations differ on how specific the verbs used in an objective should be, all sources agree that an objective should be detailed to be effective. The following are examples of how not to and how to write an objective.

Poorly Written Objectives

• Personal: Earn more money.
• Personal: Go to university.
• Nonprofit: Help children read better.
• Business: Create a new app.
• Business: Install a new system.

Examples of Well Written Objectives

• Personal: Your goal may be to buy a house, but your objective is to get a condominium for under $250,000 with two bedrooms by August.
• Business: The goal is to build up the company in the near future. The objective is to increase sales of Super Widget by 10 percent by the second quarter of next year. 
• Business: The goal is to make existing customers happier. The objective is to improve customer satisfaction rates by 50 percent by June 30 through training of customer service team.
• Nonprofit: The goal is to restore a native habitat around the retention pond near the Old Road to encourage native bird and animal species to visit and improve water filtration. The objective is to support residential homeowners around the pond to remove and replace non-native plants on one-third of the designated area by December. 
• Objective 1: To locate a kitchen and eating space on a bus route that can serve 30 women by December 15. 
• Objective 2: To recruit volunteers who will staff the kitchen for breakfast and dinner by December 30. 
• Objective 3: To organize a regular donated food supply for breakfasts and dinners from local organizations and restaurants by December 30.

Use Smartsheet to Create and Document Your SMART Goals

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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2.3: SMART Objectives

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• Abdullah Oguz
• Cleveland State University via MSL Academic Endeavors

All the business cases, projects, project deliverables, activities, and milestones are characterized with objectives that describe what is expected to be achieved at the end. The information provided in this subsection can be used not only for business cases but also for projects and their components. Successful organizations are intentional about the actions they take to fulfill their vision and mission. These organizations analyze their external and internal environments to understand the opportunities and threats present in the environments in which they operate (see Chapter 3 – Project Initiation). An organization also must analyze and work within its own strengths and weaknesses. This analysis directly refers to a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. These analyses can be used to inform the decision-making that follows.

The primary goal of a business case and a project and their objectives must be clearly defined, must contain a measure of how to assess whether they have been achieved, and should be realistic. A commonly utilized guideline to create this kind of objective is to follow the SMART protocol. SMART is an acronym that represents the criteria of being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based . SMART objectives also serve as performance metrics to monitor the progress of a project and decide whether the outcomes are successful and can be accepted by the client or customer. Thus, the project manager can monitor and control these performance metrics.

Let’s use a scenario to explicate each SMART criterion. Consider that our organization which is a regional office of a government agency (Department of Environment), named as Smalltown Office, has experienced some problems in providing quality service to the citizens in that region. We, as a team, were assigned to examine the problem and offer some solutions to overcome this quality problem.

Specific [1]

We should develop unambiguous objectives that all our stakeholders can understand what we want to achieve. Thus, these objectives should be well-defined, specific, and written in clear, concise, and understandable terms. While creating an objective, we should ask “What do we want to accomplish?”, “What do we intend to impact?”, “Why is this goal important?”, “Who is responsible for carrying out the action?”, and “Who is our target audience/population?”. Such questions would help us create specific objectives.

Based on our regional office’s quality service problem, the business analyst created one of the business requirements as follows:

“The Smalltown Office affiliated with the Department of Environment in the State X will provide quality improvement training to the staff.”

This objective can be considered specific as it addresses the primary objective by referring to the target population and responsible organization, and we want to achieve. However, it still lacks other elements of SMART.

The success of a project relies on measurable quantitative criteria that must be met to achieve the objectives. If we don’t use any metrics to measure the progress and performance, we can never be sure if we are on the track and can accomplish the targets when we finish the tasks or a project. These quantitative measures can indicate a number, percentage, or any standard unit. By means of measures, we can know that change has occurred how much, and in what direction. Besides, we should consider the source of verification and the data to prove the target is met. In our example, we can quantify the objective by adding the percentage of employees who are expected to receive this training.

“The Smalltown Office affiliated with the Department of Environment in the State X will provide quality improvement training to at least seventy-five percent of the staff members who communicate and interact directly with the citizens .”

Sometimes, it is not possible to directly measure the performance or achievement. Quality improvement training could be an effective method to increase the quality of the services provided to the citizens. However, it is of high importance to ask directly the citizens using interviews or surveys about their satisfaction level with the services they receive. Therefore, we can support this objective with another objective as below:

“The satisfaction level of the citizens who receive service from Smalltown Office will increase by 25% according to a survey replied by at least 500 citizens.”

In order to measure the improvement of 25%, the average satisfaction level of the citizens before the training is delivered should be measured, which would constitute the baseline. We also make this objective specific by adding the target audience who are at least 500 citizens.

The last letter of the SMART acronym refers to “time-based” objectives. The SMART protocol doesn’t necessarily impose an order of letters to follow while creating SMART objectives. However, discussing the time-based criterion can be more practical taking into consideration the nature of time as a measure itself. While assessing this criterion, we can address the issues such as how long to expect a project to take, and how much time for different success metrics to be met.

“The Smalltown Office affiliated with the Department of Environment in the State X will provide quality improvement training to at least seventy-five percent of the staff members who communicate and interact directly with the citizens by the end of July 2022.”

“The satisfaction level of the citizens who receive service from Smalltown Office will increase by 25% according to a survey replied by at least 500 citizens by the end of December 2022 .”

While we create these objectives, we should also consider if the performance measures and deadlines are realistic (achievable).

We should also consider the factors that may affect the achievability of objectives. These factors include the evaluation of resources, knowledge, and time that are available to carry out the tasks to achieve the objectives. Therefore, in order to clarify achievability, it may be helpful for our team to explain who will deliver this quality improvement training to Smalltown Office employees, the availability of funds that can be allocated to the trainers, and the availability of an adequate number of employees that can serve the citizens in a timely manner while others receive the training. We should also clarify if the time to achieve these objectives is realistic. Can Smalltown Office provide this training to at least 75% of the staff by July 2022? Or do we need to reassess the percentage and the deadline? Constraints that may affect the achievement of these objectives should also be taken into account.

As can be seen here, SMART is an iterative process through which each criterion should be evaluated constantly considering the impact of each of them on other criteria.

The last criterion that needs to be considered is the relevance of these objectives with higher-level organizational goals such as strategic objectives, mission and vision statements, and the goals of programs or portfolios that the business need or project is affiliated with. This alignment can ensure that the business case or project would have a higher chance of approval from the organizational leadership and greater buy-in from the stakeholders.

In our example for Smalltown Office, we should check the strategic plan of the Department of Environment. We need to see if there is an objective for the quality management and improvement that is planned for the organization as a whole, or the departments and regional offices. The review should not be limited to the strategic plan, but also other projects, programs, and portfolios since there may be a planned or ongoing project regarding quality management. Therefore, we can also avoid duplications and redundancy, and save time and budget.

Case Study 2.1: SMART Objectives for Grocery LLC’s Mobile-Commerce Scenario

We started working on a case study in Chapter 1 as regards a grocery chain, Grocery LLC, with fifty branches across five states. There were two business needs for this scenario:

• Long lines form in front of the current check-out stations where the cashiers work.
• Declining sales in markets since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let’s work on the second business need to develop SMART objectives. The primary objective is to create solutions for customers who purchase goods and services from our grocery stores through their smartphones. Based on the business case, it was decided to produce two solutions which are the optimization of the mobile website for Android and IOS, and a smartphone application. Objectives in line with these two solutions have been determined as:

• To redesign the website in 2 months so it’s responsive and easier for the customers to place orders on their smartphones.
• To create a new mobile application in 2 months that can work in both operating systems (Android and IOS).

These two objectives can be considered specific as both describe what is intended to achieve for which audience. Besides, both are time-based. So, we know when we can have both solutions operational for the online customers. But we need more to evaluate other criteria (measurable, achievable, and relevant). Let’s create another objective that supports these two objectives:

• In three months after the mobile website and the new mobile application go live, online sales will increase at least 25%, customer satisfaction will increase at least 20%, and we can retain our loyal customers.

This objective provides us with the quantitative measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the two solutions. Both help us understand if the customers do online shopping and if they are happy with their online shopping experience. Besides, we can ask our loyal customers if they also buy online, and thus they don’t often prefer other stores and e-commerce websites to substitute for the physical shopping they used to do in our grocery markets. To verify these measures, we should have reliable sources as detailed below:

• Online sales figures before the mobile solutions are introduced and three months after they go live will be compared.
• Two surveys (before the mobile solutions are introduced and three months after they go live) will be conducted by a market research company to measure the satisfaction level of customers.
• The customers who have bought items from our company for the last three years will be interviewed to understand if they still do their shopping at our grocery markets and on new mobile solutions.

We also should answer these questions to assess if these objectives are achievable and relevant?

• Does the grocery chain have the time, budget, and resources to conduct and finish the whole project?
• Are these objectives in line with the grocery chain’s mission statement, and strategic objectives?
• Are there any conflicts with other ongoing or future projects? Is there a need to cooperate with other projects to share and assign resources or to synchronize some activities and deliverables?
• https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/practice/resources/phqitoolbox/objectives.html ↵

SMART goals case studies

Making goals stick…well before worrying about how to make them stick, step one is to pick a goal, or a set of goals, and make them “SMART” – I mentioned this in my last blog, so let’s get in to an example of this!

SMART Goal setting Case Study 1:

Joanna, a 38 year old, currently inactive graphic designer, initially came to us with the goal of “getting more fit and staying healthy” which upon further investigation, meant “be able to run 10k.”

Using the acronym SMART for goal setting, this is how we set it up for Joanna:

Specific – learn to run 10k

Measurable – distance: 10k

Action items – Register for a 10k running clinic. Contact friends that are (a) runners (b) other newbies that want to learn (c) set up running schedule in the week for 13 weeks

Realistic – is this goal realistic?  Yes!

Timeline – 13 weeks

Looks simple, right? Right! My favourite principle, KISS!  (Keep it simple, silly!)

Each of the above elements need to consider (a) what is important to you, (b) what’s going on in your world and (c) your personality.  For example, if Joanna had told me that she wanted to run 10k (as a complete beginner) in one month, I may have said that her TIMELINE was not REALISTIC and therefore needs adjustment.

If Joanna had said that she just wanted to learn to run, ANY distance (“oh, I don’t know, 5k…20k…what do you think?”) and didn’t care when she achieved it, it would be important for us to review the pros and cons of different distances, which would determine an appropriate timeline.  Finally, I’d suggested finding an event that puts a deadline on achieving the goal and gives her something to celebrate and be proud of on the day of!

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Examining objectives.

Having looked at each stage in the SMART objectives model, we can now evaluate some examples of how this system can be implemented in a real business situation.

Increase the annual banquet dinner (March 28th) attendance by 150% by emailing out 300 additional invitations to program sponsors and volunteers, having ten local businesses sponsor tables, and asking guests to RSVP by January 15th.

What do you think about this objective? Do you think it's precise enough? Does it fit into the SMART model? For example, is it specific? Well, if you examine it closely, we know who we're targeting, and how many invitations we want to send.

We know exactly when the annual banquet takes place, March 28. Therefore, we can say it is time-bound. And we know when we want them to answer, by January 15, so that’s another example of this objective being time-bound – the T of our SMART objective. Now, is it measurable? We have a component here, 150%. So at the end of this campaign, the company will be able to evaluate the success of their goal by asking: “Did we achieve this attendance, did we increase the attendance by 150% by emailing 300 additional invitations?”

Is this goal achievable? With the information available to us in this context we can't really know, but we can imagine that the company has done its research and knows, approximately, how many people usually answer, and how many extra invitations it will need to send to raise the attendance of the event.

Now, is the objective relevant? Well, again, this depends on the context, but we can imagine that as part of its main strategy the company wants to raise awareness with sponsors and other guests. Crucially, we can infer that the company wants to make sure these sponsors and guests come to the event because, perhaps, it is launching a new product or service, and the company intends to exhibit its new values and direction.

Drawing from the overall marketing budget of €90,000.00, the PPC element of the campaign will use €22,500 (25%) of the available funds. Within the 12 month period, the PPC campaign will deliver 12 new customers, each with a lifetime value of €7,000.00. PPC will deliver a total return of €84,000, a total ROI of 273.3%.

By September 21st, 2019, increase website traffic by 21% using owned content optimization to drive customers to our site organically by increasing our website authority, delivering 13 new customer per month.

Take a look at the other examples here and see if you can spot each quality in the objectives.

• Do they fit into the SMART model?
• Are they specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound?

Please note that the module slides are designed to work in collaboration with the module transcript document. It is recommended that you use both resources simultaneously.

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Philippe Polman

Philippe is a digital engagement specialist with extensive experience helping clients to create and manage deeper, more personal relationships with their target audiences. In previous roles, Philippe has designed and executed international communications programs focused on internal communications, UX, brand management, media engagement (traditional and digital), investor relations, and corporate positioning. More recently, he has founded his own aviation consultancy business, which combines both his passion and experience for the aerospace industry.

The following pieces of content from the Digital Marketing Institute's Membership Library have been chosen to offer additional material that you might find interesting or insightful. While relevant to this module, you will not be assessed on this content.

You can find more information and content like this on the Digital Marketing Institute's Membership Library

• eBook:  Skills Gap and Rise of Emerging Technologies are Key Issues
• Article: Tech Advances: The Importance of Keeping Up to Speed
• Video: Market Yourself - Building Your Personal Brand with Morgan Cummins
• eBook:  The Complete Guide to Shaping a Successful Digital Marketing Career

ABOUT THIS DIGITAL MARKETING MODULE

Introduction to Digital Marketing

This module introduces the core principles and purpose of digital marketing. It will enable you to develop clear and actionable business objectives for a digital marketing plan, to gain audience and industry insight by conducting digital research, and to prepare the foundations for a fully integrated 360 digital marketing campaign by connecting effectively with your customers and target audience.

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How to Write Well-Defined Learning Objectives

Writing effective learning objectives is a necessary skill in academic medicine. Learning objectives are clearly written, specific statements of observable learner behavior or action that can be measured upon completion of an educational activity. They are the foundation for instructional alignment whereby the learning objectives, assessment tools, and instructional methods mutually support the desired learning outcome. This review article describes the essential components of a learning objective and provides practical tips on writing well-defined learning objectives.

Introduction

An anesthesiologist starts his grand rounds presentation on the topic of malignant hyperthermia (MH) with the following learning objectives:

• Understand the pathophysiology of MH.
• Review the clinical presentation of MH.
• Discuss the treatment of MH.
• Become familiar with caffeine-halothane contracture testing for MH.

This list informs the attendees about the topics covered during the presentation. However, do they know what is expected of them when they apply this content in their own clinical practice?

We have all seen learning “objectives” mentioned, such as the ones above, at the beginning of a presentation or workshop. But is what we see actually a learning objective ? Learning objectives are often confused with learning goals; the example above is such a case in point. Learning goals are related to—but different from—learning objectives. A learning goal is a broad statement of an expected learning outcome of a course or curriculum. Learning goals provide a vision for the future and often summarize the intention or topic area of several related learning objectives. Learning objectives are drawn from the learning goals. They are guiding statements for each learning encounter, and they connect intention with reality within the learning experience as well as to the assessment planned. In keeping with the Roman philosopher Lucius Seneca, who said, “If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable,” this review article describes the essential components of learning objectives and provides practical tips on writing well-defined learning objectives.

Defining “Learning Objective”

A learning objective is a description of what the learner must be able to do upon completion of an educational activity. A well-written learning objective outlines the knowledge, skills and/or attitude the learners will gain from the educational activity and does so in a measurable way.

An effective learning objective should include the following 5 elements: who, will do, how much or how well, of what, by when. 1 The mnemonic SMART—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound—can be used to describe the elements of a well-written learning objective. 2 One example of a SMART objective for an airway conference is: “Upon completion of the difficult airway workshop, participants should be able to formulate an accurate algorithm for the management of an obese adult patient with inadequate face mask ventilation, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists difficult airway algorithm.”

Practical tips for writing learning objectives are summarized in Table 1 . Since the point of a learning objective is to describe the intended outcome for learning, begin the learning objective with: “Upon completion of this educational activity, learners should be able to . . . .” The next step is to identify the concepts the learners need to learn and how they will demonstrate their understanding. It is recommended that the instructor choose one action verb that is measurable and observable. Verbs such as understand , know , learn , appreciate , believe , be familiar with , comprehend , and so on, are not observable or measurable and should be avoided. Each learning objective must be separate; two actions (such as diagnosis and management ) or topics (such as bronchospasm and hypotension ) must not be combined. It is also important that the action verb identify the level and cognitive domain at which the learner is expected to perform. Bloom's Taxonomy connects the depth of learning with action verbs that may be used when writing learning objectives.

Practical tips for writing effective learning objectives.

Blooms' Taxonomy and Action Verbs

When writing learning objectives, educators leverage Bloom's Taxonomy 3 ( Table 2 ). Bloom's Taxonomy describes 6 levels of hierarchy in the cognitive domain: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This taxonomy was revised in 2001 4 ( Figure 1 ). Each level of the hierarchy correlates to action verbs that educators use within learning objectives. To help anesthesia educators apply Bloom's Taxonomy more readily to their own learning, we will briefly review what each level of the hierarchy means to learning.

Original and revised versions of Bloom's Taxonomy (Reprinted with permission from Wilson LO. http://thesecondprinciple.com )

Revised Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Objectives

(Adapted from http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/education/degree_programs/MDProgram/administration/curriculumoffice/Documents/CUSOM_Learning-Objectives-Guidelines.pdf )

Knowledge “involves the recall of specifics and universals, the recall of methods and processes, or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.” 3 This category appreciates and distinguishes factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge as separate elements of “knowledge.” In anesthesia teaching, we frequently use the first 3 types. For example, we provide factual knowledge (eg, lecture to undergraduate medical learners), procedural knowledge (eg, teaching in simulation or during an operation), and conceptual knowledge (eg, case-based learning, principles of anesthesia). Metacognitive knowledge is often applicable when giving feedback to learners; for example, when helping learners understand their competency in communication with patients and families.

Comprehension “refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other material or seeing its fullest implications.” 3 Application refers to the “use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations.” 3 Analysis represents the “breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or the relations between ideas expressed are made explicit.” 3 Synthesis involves “putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole,” 3 and evaluation includes “judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes.” 3

All educators should make the important connection between the intended learning depth (eg, comprehension) and the action verbs that reflect that intended learning outcome within the learning objective. Action verbs guide the learner about the intended outcome; for example, “critically appraise the evidence related to rapid sequence induction for airway management in pregnant patients.”

Incorporating Bloom's Taxonomy and SMART for Effective Learning Objectives

Both Bloom's Taxonomy and SMART are necessary for writing effective learning objectives that communicate the intention for the learner with the intended learning outcomes. Examples of weak learning objectives and suggestions for better wording, based on incorporating Bloom's Taxonomy and SMART, are listed in Table 3 .

Examples of weak learning objectives and suggestions for SMARTer learning objectives. All of the learning objectives are written for an hour-long grand rounds presentation and begin with “Upon completion of the grand rounds presentation, participants should be able to:”

When faculty are leading sessions on writing SMART objectives, the authors often hear participants challenge that SMART objectives are longer and very detailed—consequently, will learners even follow them? The counterargument is that any objective worded too broadly, with no measurable standard that is attainable and repeatable for the learner in the given time frame, leads to confusion about “what to study” or “what performance is expected.” The value in writing SMART objectives includes helping educators focus and specify what they intend to teach, assess, and offer as feedback for the learner. This shapes the learning session's scope, the method of instruction, and the type and quality of the assessment.

Do Learning Objectives Add Value to Curriculum and Assessment?

For many, writing out the learning objectives appears to be an effort to its own end. However, learning objectives are the foundation for instructional alignment. Instructional alignment means that learning objectives, assessment tools, and instructional methods mutually support the same educational outcome. 5 This is known as the Golden Triangle 5 ( Figure 2 ). Well-defined learning objectives outline the desired outcome for learners, which will help specify the instructional method. For example, if we want the learners to demonstrate correct intubation procedure in a normal adult 100% of the time, we need the instructional method to involve some sort of hands-on experience so that learners can demonstrate their skills. In contrast, if the teacher lectures about correct intubation without the opportunity for learners to complete hands-on skills, the learning activity is not aligned with the stated learning objective.

Instructional alignment of learning objectives, assessment and instructional methods.

Likewise, learning objectives guide the assessment method. Taking the above example: If the objective is for learners to be 100% successful in normal adult intubation, assessing their skill using a written exam would misalign the objective and assessment method. As educators, we would miss the accuracy of the skill! Instead, the assessment method needs hands-on performance.

Constructive alignment underscores what learning objectives contribute towards achieving the intended educational outcomes. Learning objectives also contribute to shaping expectations, preparing learners for the educational activity and the standard by which their performance will be measured; the objectives also define faculty and learner responsibilities towards achieving the intended learning outcomes. Learning objectives may also guide teaching, by defining and limiting content or activities.

Are SMART Learning Objectives a Required Component of Medical Education?

Learning objectives are a required component in the planning of all medical education curricula. At the undergraduate level, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) requires that “the faculty of a medical school define its medical education program objectives in outcome-based terms that allow the assessment of medical student's progress in developing the competencies that the profession and the public expect of a physician.” 6 At the graduate medical education level, one of the common program requirements from the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) states that each program must distribute competency-based goals and objectives for each assignment at every educational level. 7 Even for continuing medical education (CME), both the American Medical Association (AMA) and Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) require that a CME activity has learning objectives to qualify for category 1 credit. 8 Consequently, writing effective learning objectives is a core skill that every academic anesthesiologist should master.

Writing effective learning objectives is a necessary skill in academic medicine. Well-defined learning objectives describe what the learner must be able to achieve upon completion of the educational activity. Bloom's Taxonomy and SMART are two tools that educators may leverage towards writing learning objectives that effectively relate the intended outcomes to the learners, simultaneously setting up the educators to successfully attain the learning outcomes within the time and resources provided. The successful academic anesthesiologist can align the instructional method, assessment, and intended learning outcome by using SMART learning objectives rather than learning goals. In closing, we revisit the learning goals in the opening anecdote of this review article.

Upon completion of the grand rounds presentation, participants will be able to:

• Describe at least 3 intracellular mechanisms within the muscle cells during an episode of malignant hyperthermia (MH). The description must include: unregulated calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum, sustained muscle contractures, and the resulting hypermetabolic response.
• Relate the 4 most common clinical signs of MH (hypercarbia, tachycardia/tachypnea, generalized muscle rigidity, and hyperthermia) to the underlying physiological mechanisms in the muscle cells.
• Summarize, in order, the critical steps in the intraoperative management of an MH crisis according to recommendations from the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States.
• Formulate an anesthetic plan for management of a MH-susceptible patient that must include the use of: non-triggering anesthetic agents, monitoring for signs of MH, and preparedness to treat acute MH.
• Critically appraise the role of caffeinehalothane testing for MH including indications, location, sensitivity, and specificity.

rrh: Learning Objectives

Financial Disclosures: None.

Conflicts of Interest: None.

Author Contributions: Debnath Chatterjee, MD, wrote the manuscript and reviewed the final draft before submission. Janet Corral, PhD, reviewed the initial and final draft and contributed to the content.

Guide to Set SMART Marketing Objectives with Examples

Marketing Objectives: Why are They Important?

Marketing objectives are defined, attainable goals created to offer general guidance and drive actions. They are SMART marketing goals, which stand for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based goals.

Marketing goals shouldn’t just be an arbitrary number; one should be able to link them to the company’s overall success. For instance, a marketing objective would be to boost web traffic by 50%.

However, how will you arrive there, and why will all of the traffic be there? When do you hope to reach that figure?

In addition to outlining a precise number, objectives also describe how you want to get there and how that outcome will affect the business as a whole.

Without marketing objectives, there is no clear direction in which to direct your marketing efforts. These objectives aid in tracking and measuring the success of your actions. They also help provide your team with a direction and target to work toward. Furthermore, knowing your goals clearly can help you decide which particular marketing strategies and tasks to use to get them.

How to Develop SMART Marketing Objectives?

The widely utilized SMART acronym is frequently employed when determining marketing goals to support the long-term goals of your company. You will be aware that SMART is used to evaluate whether goals set to drive various strategies or enhance all business processes are appropriate.

• Specific: Can problems or opportunities be identified using the information’s level of detail? Is the purpose specific enough to evaluate possibilities and problems in the real world?
• You should base your marketing objectives on specific indicators. Don’t just state that you want to raise sales; specify by how much, in either a percentage or a monetary figure.
• Measurable: Can a measure be created using a qualitative or quantitative attribute?
• Your goals must be quantifiable and specify how they will determine success. Increased brand recognition may be your goal, but your goal must define how you plan to achieve it.
• For instance, you may measure it by tracking a rise in organic product searches, social mentions, or social media followers.
• Attainable: Can the data be applied to boost performance?
• There isn’t much of an objective if it doesn’t alter worker behavior to help them perform better. You could wish to double your revenue, but is it a realistic goal to have?
• Make sure the goals you establish are sensible and doable and specify the procedures to achieve them.
• Relevant: Can the knowledge be used to solve the marketer’s particular issue?
• One of the main problems with goals is that they describe the destination but not how achieving that objective will affect the entire marketing plan. You should link the main goal of your company to your objectives.
• Time-based: Can targets for reviewing be defined for multiple time periods?
• Last but not least, objectives should specify a realistic time period for achieving the particular standard.
• The majority of marketing goals are based on the year or the financial quarter. However, this aspect might change depending on the goal and the amount of effort needed to meet the benchmark.

Maintain your strategic goals. Make sure all your team members understand the aim by making your objectives SMART and connecting them to your strategy and KPIs. Your team can stay on task with the help of marketing tools and strategies from Smart Insights.

Why are SMART Marketing Objectives Important?

Marketing teams may clarify their objectives, find areas for development, and develop successful advertising campaigns with the aid of effective SMART goals. You might increase your total revenue and strengthen your relationships with customers by implementing SMART objectives in your marketing campaigns. 

But does this approach most suitable for your needs? To determine that, it is critical to grasp how to apply this technique to marketing.

• Creates a cohesive team: Marketing teams can talk about the parameters of the objective to better create a single purpose for their goals.
• Determines how to acquire data: To meet your marketing objectives, you may gather a variety of data, and the SMART technique can help you decide how to use it.
• Aids the team’s task prioritization: The team can boost overall productivity by comprehending the criteria of the goal-setting procedure and better understanding the importance of each assignment.
• Tracks your development over time: Teams can create more well-structured goals using SMART objectives as minor phases in a broader process.

How to Get Started With SMART Marketing Objective Planning?

The knowledge of the environment in which it operates should form the foundation of a brand’s objectives, particularly in terms of the possibilities now available to it.

It means that in the process of developing a plan, a situational analysis must come before goal-setting. SWOT analysis, which pushes marketers to consider Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is one efficient situational analysis tool.

You would include a number of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a complete SWOT analysis, typically conducted through interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders. You can use SWOT to analyze a company’s overall operations and targeted marketing initiatives.

The results of a SWOT analysis or other situational analysis can be useful for SMART goal-setting in the following ways:

• You can identify associated strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats from your SWOT analysis.
• Use them to help you create some goals that make use of your opportunities while taking into account your shortcomings and threats.
• Edit a goal to match the framework if it doesn’t meet a SMART criterion.
• After completing these four processes, you need to have a set of objectives that are appropriate for implementation and tailored to your situation.

An alternative strategy is to set SMART goals based solely on the SWOT-identified deficiencies.

Writing SMART Objectives

• Prepare yourself as well as other team members to ask a lot of questions when establishing SMART goals. 
• The solutions will help you hone your plan and ensure the objectives are ones you can realistically achieve. 
• While being as realistic as possible, writing SMART goals with an optimistic attitude is crucial. After all, you want to succeed in doing this.

SMART Marketing Goals Examples Based on Case Studies

The following are some of the SMART marketing objectives examples :

• Boost brand credibility

It becomes simpler to compete against rival businesses when brand authority grows since there are more options to engage audiences. Of course, your goods or services can set your company apart from the competition in the market, but what else can you offer them to make them happy?

Marketing greatly aids prospect education; now is your chance to carve out a position.

Related KPI examples include:

• The number of media appearances.
• The number of favorable customer interviews.
• Increased Profitability

In addition to reducing wasteful spending, marketing can significantly contribute to the company’s increased profitability. After identifying the most lucrative goods and services, marketing can devote more resources to promote them, generating more leads for the profit center.

• Number of fresh possibilities
• Rate of recurring revenue (often monthly).
• Increase interest in and demand for new items

Aligning your organization’s focus on promotion will be crucial if you are getting ready to launch or have already introduced a new service or product. You may tie the KPIs to social media. You can also associate KPIs with the volume of new product-related requests, opportunities in the sales pipeline, or both.

• The number of articles and questions for new items written.
• The number of brand-new product opportunities created.
• Reduce the proportion of lost sales/deals

Although sales can undoubtedly affect this goal, marketing can also have a big impact. Prospects enter sales with a certain attitude, thanks to marketing. Additionally, it will be quite difficult for a salesperson to shift direction and still clinch the purchase if the sales promotion is not correctly qualifying or setting expectations.

KPIs for e-commerce businesses could be statistics or projects aimed at lowering cart abandonment rates. In contrast, marketing can help with non-e-commerce by upgrading the content of websites or other resources that potential customers view before speaking with sales.

• Reduced percentage of shopping cart abandonment.
• Launched training programs and sales enablement resources in plenty.

Challenges in SMART Marketing

On the way to innovation, marketers frequently encounter a few basic obstacles. Overcoming these obstacles equip marketers to provide excellent customer experiences and remain relevant to their target audiences.

• Across-Team Cohesive Communication

All employees must be on the same page since many marketing teams contain individuals that play many responsibilities (such as content, SEO, and social media). Misunderstandings over messaging, campaign launches, or statistics might make it difficult to determine how to maximize your efforts across platforms.

Other departments that collaborate with marketing, such as sales and customer service, require effective communication of KPIs and campaign messaging. Silos no longer exist in these fields, particularly in the digital era. All customer interactions with a firm are now combined and have the power to encourage or deter purchases.

All divisions must know who to reach, the best messaging to convey to that audience, and the channels that are working and those that aren’t to combat muddled signals. There will inevitably be inconsistency in the campaign if each team examines analytics from separate platforms that can’t be averaged and compared.

Marketers must concentrate on collecting person-level information using a common measuring approach to reduce this. It will provide a reliable beginning point of data that business units can share between themselves for each department of the marketing team and other stakeholders.

• Working in an Artistic, Motivating Setting

Marketers should feel free to explore novel concepts, ideas, or a shift in the status quo in whichever business they choose to operate in. It is crucial for marketers to feel motivated and challenged when working in a sector that is highly regulated, B2B-focused, or just “not that fascinating” (in a good way).

Even if a business operates in a very clear-cut manner, think about what the marketing division might be able to do to better concentrate on innovation. Include a half-day or a few hours each week for brainstorming meetings or for staff to reflect on fresh ideas on their own.

The marketing division’s culture will also play a significant role. Marketers should feel free to ask questions or share ideas with their managers or peers to improve campaigns.

Many businesses have adopted a note-taking tool for group collaboration, such as a Slack channel, office chalkboard, or regular innovation meetings. Creative people are considerably more likely to come up with original ideas when they feel supported.

• Obtaining Stakeholder Support

When it comes to innovation, many stakeholders are more concerned with whether it affects the bottom line than how it is done. Here, marketing attribution is crucial because it enables teams to convince stakeholders of their importance.

Because of this aspect, marketers must make sure they have the attribution tools necessary to demonstrate the conversions and leads generated by their campaigns. More importantly, these tools help alert them to underperforming initiatives that they can adjust for a higher return on investment.

It is crucial to keep in mind when delivering this information that several stakeholders or executive members of the team are not themselves marketers. Thus, they want concepts to be communicated simply and concisely.

Asking the leaders of the bigger teams and the organization what they want to see can help you tailor your approach and win their support. Focus on the primary business objectives and describe how marketing can assist you in achieving them if they are unsure of what they are searching for.

• Utilizing the Proper Tools

The most effective marketing tools can significantly impact target progress evaluation as well as daily marketing measurement and optimization.

Marketers are unable to determine which ideas they should continue and which they should perhaps abandon in favor of fresh ideas. The case can be similar for those ideas that are functioning without the necessary statistics that accurately identify the effectiveness or failure of campaigns.

It takes skill to select the appropriate tools for a company’s marketing initiatives. Numerous tools are available, each with unique functionality, a unique user interface, and a distinct pricing range. Generally speaking, depending on their objectives and campaigns, a marketing division of a medium-sized to large-sized organization typically requires the following tools:

• Analytics/Data Tracking: What percentage of pages are converted? How long does the average visit to the site last? How are people responding to your messaging? A database analytics platform is essential for answering these kinds of queries.
• A tool package like Ahrefs or SEMrush’s SEO tool suite can help with keyword research, ranking tracking, on-page SEO analysis, and other tasks. These have a wide range of features and costs, so do your research and take advantage of free trials to see which is ideal for you.
• Social Media Marketing: Program-and-response systems like Buffer, SproutSocial, and Hootsuite let advertisers plan social media postings, monitor clickthrough rates, and pinpoint their most effective content. Some additionally let users reply to reviews, comments, or private messages from the main dashboard.

The use of appropriate technologies not only facilitates project planning and execution but also allows for accurate campaign optimization and measurement.

From SMART to SMARTER Marketing Objectives

By evaluation and re-adjusting, some have created the definition of SMARTER objectives, which demonstrates the necessity of periodically reevaluating the usefulness of SMART targets. You might wish to compare your present strategy to these definitions of digital marketing objectives since they clearly demonstrate how varied they are. 

SMART Marketing Objectives

Alternatives

Specific 

Stretching, Sustainable, Significant, Simple 

Manageable, Motivational, Meaningful 

Attainable 

Agreed, Appropriate, Actionable, Assignable, Achievable, Ambitious, Adjustable 

Relevant 

Realistic, Resourced, Results-Based, Reasonable, Results-oriented 

Time-bound 

Trackable, Timed, Time-specific, Time-framed 

Evaluate 

Evidenced, Enjoyable, Ethical, Engaging 

Reevaluate 

Revisit, Rewarding, Recordable, Rewarded, Reaching  

SMART Marketing Objectives Examples

Here are some SMART marketing objectives examples in detail:

• Fresh services are products

The main duty of marketing teams is to market a company’s goods and services to its target market. Marketers can use the SMART method to develop fresh approaches to customer data collection and plan fresh content, such as targeted blog entries, product demos, and commercial commercials. You can discover which marketing tactics help a team to complete each phase by setting up a systematic goal-setting procedure.

Consider a business that intends to boost daily sales by 6% by launching a product in trade exhibitions to illustrate how to employ SMART goals while introducing new goods and services. They calculate so each trade fair can increase their income by 2% over a month to achieve this specific aim. Following a discussion of their resources, they decide to join one trade fair per month, indicating that they will be able to reach their target in three months. They then establish a timeframe for preparedness.

• Boost user interaction on websites

Marketing departments frequently devise strategies to improve website traffic. To determine which tactics work best and keep track of the volume of website traffic, you can develop SMART goals. It is possible to improve a brand’s search engine visibility and discover new websites to host online adverts. You can use the SMART technique to discuss each step of this procedure.

Consider a brand that wants to achieve a URL rank of five or above on key websites by the end of its fiscal year, for instance. They examine their website to identify a practical and realistic plan and decide that using more SEO keywords and updating the material once a week will result in better ranks. After reviewing their budget and human resources, they determine that this aim requires a three-month schedule to successfully execute a new website approach.

• Employ social media marketing techniques

Marketing departments occasionally use social media platforms to promote a business’s brand and interact with potential customers. Using SMART goals, you can decide how to promote content using statistics and respond to customer feedback.

You can also make an exact timeline for social media efforts, which are an important component of this kind of marketing. Teams can better plan each step of the process when they are aware of the campaign’s overall goal.

Think about a social media promotion team that uses the SMART strategy to gain 20% more followers in a year. They examine analytics to identify areas for improvement to evaluate this particular goal.

They discover through surveys that readers respond favorably when the team posts three articles per day on subjects with pertinent metadata. They look at their facts to ensure their initial objective is both doable and feasible given their current approaches and create a precise time frame.

• Locate fresh leads

Leads are potential clients who have expressed interest in the goods or services offered by the business. You can develop SMART targets to boost the number of identified prospects and retain them as long-term clients.

The team can create more effective communications campaigns and figure out how to utilize customer information for tailored marketing content by analyzing your present methods.

Take a look at the brand below as an illustration of how to employ SMART goals to locate new leads. The brand wants to boost its purchasing rate by 7% in thirty days.

The marketing team analyzes customer feedback to gauge this particular objective and learns that many customers discovered the company due to influencer marketing campaigns. They finally change their time frame to three months to ensure the objective is feasible and attainable given their available resources.

• Ensure customer satisfaction

Because satisfied customers are likely to spread the word about a company to their social networks, marketing teams frequently build relationships with their clientele.

A SMART goal-setting approach can help assess customer interaction procedures and motivate adherence. You can identify new ways to customize adverts and run more effective sales events by following a guideline to reflect on your client service procedures.

Think about a company, for instance, that wants to grow client recommendations by 11% within the upcoming fiscal year. The marketing team examines data to gauge this particular objective and discovers that client recommendations rise immediately following a favorable national rating for their service.

To assess which approaches would be more successful, they look into their email marketing from the past and their sales techniques. After that, they change the value of their initial aim to one that is more feasible and realistic given the time frame.

• Increased promotions in person

Marketing departments occasionally employ in-person strategies to raise customer perception of a company’s goods and services. You may evaluate its efficacy against digital tools and schedule in-person sales events using SMART targets. Applying the SMART method, you can discover the most beneficial techniques for spreading material locally.

Consider a brand that wants to use a new subscription model to specifically double annual revenue. The marketing team monitors the pace of new subscribers to gauge this and finds that more customers sign up for the service following team appearances at conferences. To increase subscriptions, they decide to increase their conference attendance.

However, they first assess their financial situation to ensure their initial objective is both attainable and practical. After that, they would change the objective to a 10 percent increase in total income in six months to provide a more precise schedule.

• Create an email list of recipients

To promote brands, marketing departments build email subscriber lists. The SMART technique can help analyze customer trends and improve email programs. You can evaluate the best ways to update subscribers and identify fresh approaches to grow the list of subscribers by assessing your strategy using SMART goals.

Consider a business that aims to boost email subscriber-driven revenues by 2%, for instance. The marketing team uses data from subscribers to measure this precise goal and finds that giving frequent discounts accelerates sales. They then see that raising the goal to 5 percent is still feasible and realistic. Then they decide on a six-month timeline and allocate assignments.

The Bottom Line

The most effective marketers in their field are able to demonstrate the value of their work. But they never let their ego get in the way of keeping up with emerging marketing trends.

Marketers must remain current and receptive to new ideas as digital marketing develops with new techniques and tools. Innovation may play a crucial role in any team’s advancement by working with other teams and being sure to measure results with data accurately.

SMART marketing  objectives are a surefire approach to generating ROI when used in conjunction with inbound sales and marketing techniques. They compel you to consider your actions carefully in relation to the outcomes you hope to achieve. SMART goals aid in eliminating marketing based on misconceptions.

Shelly Parker

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This is a really simple tool to help you write objectives that follow the SMART format:

Although the approach seems straightforward, it’s very easy to write objectives that are not specific, measurable or time-bound. This tool will be of particular use to students, who Mike (lecturer at Southampton University)  finds frequently don’t write SMART objectives, even when they are reminded to do so.

Simply fill in the form below to create your SMART objective.

If you think this is a good way to understand how to write a SMART goal, please let us know – we’d love to hear how our tool is being used to help you.

Find out how we can help you achieve your objectives, by increasing the speed prospects travel through your funnel.

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Being smart about writing SMART objectives

Affiliations.

• 1 University of North Dakota, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Center for Rural Health Evaluation, 250 Centennial Dr. Stop 8138, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8138, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
• 2 University of North Dakota, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Center for Rural Health Evaluation, 250 Centennial Dr. Stop 8138, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8138, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
• PMID: 28056403
• DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2016.12.009

This article challenges the conventional wisdom in mainstream evaluation regarding the process for developing specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives. The article notes several advantages of mainstreaming the SMART method including program capacity building and being able to independently monitor progress toward process and outcome objectives. It is argued the one size fits all approach for writing SMART objectives is misleading. The context in which the evaluation is conducted is a key deciding factor in how and when the SMART criteria should be applied. Without an appreciation of the evaluation context, mainstream users may be developing objectives that are far from smart. A case example is presented demonstrating a situation where a stepwise, rather than simultaneous application of the SMART criteria was necessary. Learning from this case, recommendations are forwarded for adjusting how SMART criteria should be presented in mainstream evaluation manuals/guides.

Keywords: Evaluation guidance; Mainstreaming; Objective development; SMART objectives.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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4.5: Case Study- SMART Goals

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• Heather Burns, Connie Ogle, & Allyson Valentine
• Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC)

Case Study: SMART Goals

In the following scenario, meet a fictional student, Melissa, who wants to make improvements in a college class so she writes an effective goal using all of the SMART criteria to do so.

Melissa is taking an anatomy and physiology class which is an important prerequisitie for her nursing degree. The class is challenging, and she's worried about her grade. Melissa knows she needs to earn at least a B in the class to be in good standing for clinical acceptance, but she currently has a low "C" at midterm. She does well in lab quizzes but earned a lower grade on exam #1. Melissa first analyzes her situation in terms of how she has prepared for exam #1, how much time she been reading and studying and how she actually has in terms of her work schedule, family commitments and other classes. Melissa writes the following goal statement:

"By the beginning of week seven of this semester, I will be spending at least one hour per day reviewing the notes I took on the textbook chapters, and I will have scheduled two study sessions with a partner in the tutoring center so that I can earn an 80% or higher on exam #2."

S = earn a certain grade on exam #2

M = one hour per day reviewing notes; two study sessions; 80% of higher

A = Melissa understands the practical lab information but realizes she hasn't been paying enough attention to the textbook.

R = She can spend the time needed based on an analysis of her other commitments.

T = the beginning of week 7

Reflection Questions:

• How will Melissa know that she achieved her goal?
• If you were Melissa's friend or classmate, how would you know whether or not she achieved her goal?

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SMART Goals: Examples for Search Engine Marketing

Consider using SMART goal setting to move your SEO goals forward. See ways it's used in search marketing to achieve better results.

Are you trying to improve results from your search engine marketing ? Whether you want better rankings in organic or paid search, SMART goal setting can help you track and achieve those results.

In this article, we’ll look at SMART goals and how to apply them to your search engine marketing.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART goal setting first appeared in the business world in 1981 . It is an acronym that stands for the following.

S – Specific

Specific goals are clearly defined with an exact amount. Common, but unspecific, goals for SEO could be:

• Improve search rankings.
• Increase organic search traffic.
• Build a diverse link portfolio.
• Develop new content.

Overall, the main goal of any SEO campaign is to increase visibility in search engines . To make your goal specific, you need to state precisely how you will increase visibility in search engines.

A local business, for example, may set a specific goal to claim new local listings/citations in the next quarter.

M – Measurable

Measurable goals can be quantified. The above example of a specific goal needs an exact amount of local listings to claim.

To make it a measurable goal, the local business may update it to claim 25 new local listings in the next quarter.

Now, it is specific and measurable.

A – Achievable

Is the goal you have set for your SEO strategy achievable?

To answer this question, you have to know if the end result you want is attainable. With the local listings goal above, they would have to know there are still 25 local directories left for them to claim.

Note that while a goal should be achievable, it should also be a challenge to achieve it. If a goal is too easily or quickly obtained, it shows that the measurable portion of the goal wasn’t ambitious enough.

Historically, A stood for Assignable. This is also a good component of a SMART goal.

Who will be involved in completing any tasks necessary to achieve the goal? Make certain that someone is accountable for each step in the goal completion process.

R – Relevant

Is your goal relevant to your business needs? In the case of a local business seeking to claim local business listings, the answer is yes, the goal is absolutely relevant to the business and the success of its marketing efforts.

By claiming local listings, a local business will increase its visibility in search results. The listings themselves have the potential to cover most of the first page of search results, as well as help boost local rankings in the map pack.

In the past, R has also stood for Realistic when A was for Assignable.

Is your goal realistically achievable with the current resources you have to invest in it? Or will you need to invest in resources before you can start the goal.

A small business with a single owner may not be able to realistically achieve the goal of claiming so many business listings while simultaneously managing other business operations.

A local chain with a marketing team, on the other hand, may be able to claim even more listings in the same timeframe.

T – Time-Bound

Time-bound goals are simply goals that have a time frame for completion.

With the local business example, the goal may be to claim 25 listings by the end of the quarter.

Assuming this is realistic, it will ensure that you work toward completing your goal in a timely manner.

What happens when we don’t add a time frame to a goal?

In most cases, the goal without a deadline gets put on the back burner while the goal with a deadline gets the focus until the goal is met.

Why are SMART Goals Important?

Unfortunately, it turns out that often-cited study from Harvard or Yale that shows success for MBA students based on goal setting is a myth. However, we do have research that shows the effectiveness of goal setting for marketing.

According to a study by CoSchedule, marketers who set goals are 376% more likely to report success in their marketing efforts versus those who do not set goals. What’s more, 68% of the marketers surveyed set deadlines always or most of the time.

The success of SMART goals is generally linked to the specificity of the goal. Unlike a very loosely defined goal, a specific goal has to be thought out. You have to analyze where you are, where you want to be, and exactly what it will take to get there.

Even the American Psychological Association includes the fundamental components of SMART in their dictionary as the definition of goal setting:

“…a process that establishes specific, time-based behavior targets that are measurable, achievable, and realistic.”

Locke’s theory of goal setting explains why these components improve performance:

“At least four mechanisms explain why goal setting improves performance: (a) It focuses and directs activities, (b) it regulates expenditure of energy, (c) it enhances persistence because the effort is continued until the goal or subgoal is reached, and (d) it can promote the development of new strategies for improving performance.”

SMART Goal Examples for Search Engine Marketing

Using some of the top general goals of SEO campaigns, the following are examples of SMART SEO goal setting.

Search Rankings

One of the top goals for most SEO campaigns is to increase search rankings.

Of course, saying that this is your goal is far from specific. And it’s hard to be specific with a metric that fluctuates regularly.

With that in mind, here is an example of a SMART search rankings goal.

Increase search rankings for [specific keyword] from second to the first page of search results by the end of the year.

To determine if this is attainable, you will need to assess your competitors in organic search. Compare the quality of your content with theirs and incoming backlinks.

Traffic Generation

Generating traffic from organic search is the ultimate goal of efforts to improve search rankings.

To create a SMART traffic generation goal, consider modifying the following:

Increase organic search traffic by 25% by the end of the following quarter.

To determine if this is attainable, you will need to assess your competitors in organic search for your top keywords .

Link Building

Links are key to helping Google discover your content and determine its quality and relevance for search queries. To create a diverse link profile, you will need to set a SMART link building goal.

Acquire 50 relevant links to our website in the next quarter.

To determine if this is attainable, create a list of pages that are most likely to win links.

If you have 10 link-worthy pages of content, it’s realistic to assume you could get five links for each page.

Sales/Conversions

Do you want your search engine optimization to result in driving qualified leads or sales on your website? Create a SMART goal that focuses on revenue-generating conversions.

Increase [sales revenue/leads generated] from organic search by 10% by the end of the year.

If you know how well your organic search traffic currently converts, you should be able to extrapolate a realistic increase.

Key Takeaways

If you want to achieve your SEO goals, consider using SMART goal setting.

Create Smart, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals that are well thought out.

Use these additional tips to ensure SMART goal success:

• Know why you are setting a specific goal. Your reason why (such as the potential in ROI) should motivate you and your team to complete the goal.
• Write down your SMART goals – don’t just formulate them in your mind and forget them.
• Create accountability for each step in the process with regular meetings and progress reports.

More Resources:

• How to Set Up Google Analytics Goals & 10 Tips to Get Ahead
• Content With Purpose: How to Set Goals for Every Content Piece You Create
• SEO for Beginners: An Introduction to SEO Basics

Featured image: It for you/Shutterstock

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