Setting SMART goals for successful B2B digital marketing campaign

Setting up ads on social media or search engines, capturing an audience’s attention with compelling content, and so on seems very exciting, and it is, but unless each of these activities is driven by defined goals, the efforts can turn out to be quite futile.

That’s why it is best to begin your B2B digital marketing initiatives by setting SMART goals.

What are SMART goals? 

As the name suggests, they are SMART, and they will keep you on track to achieve your end goal. SMART stands for:

• Specific –

  Goals must be specific. Consider which areas you want to focus on to help your company expand. Your aim, for example, could be to create more qualified leads. That is being precise.
  
  

• Measurable –

  The goal you set should be measurable so that you know at the end if your efforts have led to any fruitful results. For example, your goal could be to increase the number of qualified leads generated by 20%.
  
  

• Attainable –

  Is your goal reasonably achievable? While it is tempting to set big goals, it is best to keep numbers in such a way that it does not burn out or disappoint the team. For example, if so far you have been getting 20 leads per quarter from your blogging activities, suddenly increasing the goal to 100 can be daunting for the team.
  
  

• Relevant –

  Are your marketing goals relevant to the overall business goals and in sync with what the trends say? For example, if your research says that webinars, free demos, and free trials work well in generating leads, then that is what your SMART goal can focus on.
  
  

• Time-bound –

  Every goal must be bound by time, or else there will be no way to measure its success. For example, your goal could be to increase lead generation by 20% by the end of the next quarter.

Why choose SMART goals?

Well, SMART goals ensure that you don’t go off-track with your marketing efforts. As every goal is measurable, you don’t have to guess the success of your initiatives, but you know whether your strategies are working or not. If your attained numbers are not as high as you had planned, you know exactly what to tweak to increase your chances of success.

Best practices for setting SMART goals 

Setting SMART goals can be easy if you have clarity on the direction in which your business wants to go. Here is a quick look at what you need to keep in mind while preparing for these goals.

• Choose specific over vague –

  Having a clear idea about what you want to achieve and then creating a specific goal around it will lead to better results. So rather than having a goal of ‘Be a global leader’, break it down into SMART goals which talk about specific percentage increases in awareness, sales, subscriptions, collaborations etc.

• Identify meaningful KPIs to track  –

  It is logical that you choose metrics that help you track the success of your goals. For example, if your goal is awareness, then you could use metrics such as the number of followers on social media or the number of ad impressions. Incorporate these into your SMART goals.

• Align campaign goals with marketing goals  –

  Several campaigns may be running to achieve a marketing goal, but for every marketing campaign, there will be a separate SMART goal. Each campaign goal should align with the overall marketing goal. For example, if the overall marketing goal is to increase website visitors, then LinkedIn campaigns, paid search campaigns, and email campaigns must all align with the main goal.

• Align your SMART goal with the business goal –

  SMART goals should be in sync with the direction in which business is going. For example, if your business is looking at increasing sales in a particular geography, then your SMART goal cannot be to generate leads from across the world.

• Set goals as per the target audience –

  Understanding the target audience and their likes and needs helps you set meaningful goals. For example, if you try to build brand awareness for hospital admins using educational content, it may not work. Instead, you could create awareness using infographics with statistics, tips, and processes.

• Set reasonable and achievable goals –

  Setting goals that are achievable motivates the team, whereas unrealistically set goals can demotivate the team from accomplishing them. For example, if you have observed 10% growth in followers in the last year, you could now look at 20%, but expecting 100% growth can put a lot of pressure on the existing resources.

• Use a SMART Goal Setting Template  –

  A template can guide you in creating SMART goals. You can download our template to not only prepare the goals but also evaluate if they are realistic.
  
  

In short, every time you plan a B2B digital marketing campaign, begin with a SMART goal to turn the campaign into a winning one.

How does Ethosh help companies drive their digital marketing goals to success?

Once you have SMART goals in place, we, at Ethosh, have domain and digital marketing experts who strategize, plan, and implement winning digital marketing campaigns for you. Our blend of services, which include digital marketing and marketing automation services, helps businesses achieve their goals and convert customers into brand advocates.