It’s 2019: Do You Know Where Your Domain Was Purchased?
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Finally, it’s 2021. Your business may have struggled in 2020, and that’s to be expected. But as we enter the new year, it’s time to start a conversation about growth and your new business goals for the year with your marketing team. Let’s review our top three items to discuss with your marketing team soon.
KPIs or Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators are self-explanatory, defining metrics for how companies choose to measure their success. Your KPIs may vary based on your goals. You might track sales, inbound leads, or conversion rates. But whatever they may be, the start of a new year is an ideal time to re-examine them. The questions you’ll want to answer with this exercise are: Which KPIs apply most to your business, and what are you using to track them? And if you’re using them already, are you using the right ones?
Before choosing KPIs, an organization needs to determine a few different things: what the organizational objectives are, how you plan to achieve them, and which person or people will be responsible for implementing them. After determining these basic logistics, you’ll then move on to assess your company-specific KPIs. There are different KPIs for different businesses depending on the products or services they offer, and you should look through and study them to find out which ones pertain to you.
SMART Goals
A portion of determining your KPIs consists of setting goals. However, a plan is useless in the business world unless it meets specific criteria. Creating a goal too broad or too narrow isn’t going to help with growth either. When setting goals for your business in the new year, you should refer to the acronym SMART.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Try this exercise with your current goals. First, be sure they are specific and measurable. If your plans aren’t detailed enough, reaching the goal won’t mean much. Additionally, be sure you can measure your goal. Whether you’re looking at conversions, cost reduction, or the amount of content delivered, make sure you can measure it. Something else to consider is if the goal is achievable and relevant, and if it isn’t, you’ll definitely want to reconsider your goals. Lastly, is your goal time-bound? Always set a time constraint for your plan if you’re serious about it.
Need an example of the perfect SMART goal? Here’s one: I will improve my current customer relationships and promote the business through referrals, increasing sales over the next three months by signing five more clients. Moving to a cheaper establishment will reduce my business’s operational cost and therefore give room to the growth of profits.
Changes in a COVID World
As we know, the pandemic isn’t over just because it’s 2021. Nearly every business sector is still being affected by the events that unfolded in 2020. This means that as business people, we don’t need to brush it under the rug and pretend that everything is normal. It’s easy to see that you aren’t authentic, and tone-deaf is never a good look for a business.
Many of us are still working from home, although some are returning to work. As an organization, be transparent about these steps you are taking. Be clear about how you are addressing COVID-19 concerning your business. If your business is taking extra measures and precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, be sure your audience is aware.
Whatever changes your business is going through, it’s best to discuss them with your marketing team. Your marketing team will help strategize and formulate a plan. Please don’t feel like you have to do it alone!
Need a Raleigh marketing team to discuss all of this? Contact the DofM team!