2019 was one roller-coaster ride, your business and life had many ups and many downs. Yet, here we are in 2020 ready to take on the New Year's challenges and goals. Did you reach most of the goals you set? Are you happy with where your business is? Have you set goals for 2020?
If you said NO to any of these, you are in the right place. Here we will talk about a few Goals your business needs to set in order to reach another level. Always aim a bit higher and we promise you will be satisfied with where you will be. Trust your gut.
Using Social Media To Expand Your Audience
If you have not heard already, social media is a big thing. If you have not tapped into this yet. Your business will never be where you envision it to be. Instagram and Facebook have roughly 1 Billion users, this is a nice audience your business can present itself to.
Many businesses feel like Social Media is a waste of time and money. Little do they know, Social Media Advertising is easily one of the cheapest forms of advertising on the internet if done right. We dig deep into this subject and how to use social media for your business in this article.
These Social Media platforms have been out for quite a while as of late, it is never too late to get your business in front of this audience. Hiring the right Social Media Manager is key to optimizing full growth in using any of these platforms.
Especially if you are not an expert in creating targeted campaigns for the right audience, engaging potential customers, having a constant flow of new followers, and creating great content that catches anyone's eye. These are some factors you need to keep in mind in order to be successful on these platforms.
Increase Traffic To Your Site & Blogs
Definitely one of the most important factors in having a successful business. having a great website and having a steady stream of traffic will create growth, as you know. Using Blogs are a perfect way to create organic traffic. It can be time-consuming, so hiring someone to make your blogs for your business could be a good idea.
We discuss one of the most important ways to optimize your website here.
Make sure to use your Social Media platforms to promote your website or blog. This is one of the ways that successful businesses use social media to boost their web traffic immensely. If you have not known already, when someone shares your site or blog on Instagram, Facebook, etc., then this will gradually build your site's reputation and rank on search platforms.
Creating The Ultimate Customer Service Experience
Have you ever been to a store where the cashier has a terrible face on and as you suspected, when you approach the cashier they have a horrible attitude? This makes you think that the company you are purchasing from is not so great because it does not focus on the customer experience.
Then, on the other hand, you go to a store that has a cashier waiting at the front of the register with a smile on waiting for you to approach them. This will make you feel very welcomed and appreciated for your purchase. This will also incentives you to talk about your experience with others.
Whatever service or product a company sells, customer service is paramount to almost anything they do. Having a great marketing funnel with a poor sales and customer service team is a recipe for disaster.
Following the footsteps of well recognized customer service giants such as, CVS, Ritz-Carlton, Publix, Zappos and Apple to name a few that will surely set a great path for any business to thrive.
Creating Different Goals & Measuring Them
There are many types of goals that we can discuss in this article, today we will talk about Short and Long term goals. There is a structure we use in order to achieve most if not all our goals. We segment them!
The reason we use short term goals is to obtain those daunting long term goals. Using these short term goals allows you to gradually build your way up to where your business needs to be.
Using the S.M.A.R.T. rule will open up any company's horizons. We will show you what this rule means and why it has been used successfully by countless businesses.
Specific - be clear about what your short and long term goals are.
Measurable – make sure the goal can be measured, and you can recognize if you’ve achieved your goal.
Achievable - check that your goal is something you have the time, money, and resources to meet. Make sure to get help if you do not.
Relevant – ensure your goal is relevant to the path you want your business to head in, for example, increasing profit, employing more staff, increasing brand awareness using different avenues.
Timely - set a realistic deadline for completing the goal. This is why short term goals are vital, these goals can be easily achieved within a month at max. Deadlines are essentially short term goals that you need to set.
We dig much deeper into S.M.A.R.T. in this article if you need to get more insight. Use these tips to your advantage and gain a leg over your competition.
Competitive Analysis & Review Your Past Performances
These exercises will help you compare performance in various fields across your organization, and across your competitors’ organizations. This information will be helpful during the business goal-setting process by showcasing where you are strong or weak.
Without knowing your numbers and how far you have come, it’s hard to decide where you should be heading. Past performance can help inform a number of your future business goals. This will allow for optimal success and give you a smaller chance of creating errors in the future.
Identify Resources Needed & Don't Forget To Celebrate
For example, if one of your goals is to develop and use a customer relationship management (CRM) system, do you have the funds appropriated for it? Do you have enough room in your budget to hire another employee? Can you hire a manager to manage your marketing campaigns?
Know your numbers and make sure you are well aware of what you can and can not do with your budget or the number of employees you have. Try to not overwork yourself... which will be discussed next.
One of the most important things business owners forget is to celebrate things. Celebrating the small yet pivotal accomplishments your company achieved is a great strategy to keep not only you happy but your employees. Who does not like a random work party that will get everyone's mind off of the everyday pressure. This brings everyone together and happiness is being shared.
Evaluate Progress & Collect The Right Data
This ensures everyone involved stays on task no matter how much change happens in the business. Keep in mind that some adjustments may be required as your team starts to pursue these goals.
Do not hesitate to cut people that do not carry any more value to your business anymore or if they are taking advantage in any way. Everyone enjoys being the boss that everyone likes, but actions need to be made for the betterment of the business.
Once your goals have been set accordingly, select measures that will help you monitor performance toward each goal. For example, being on top of Google Analytics, researching social media account insights, and of course revenue data. Ensuring you have data that informs each measure is imperative.
Conclusion
The first six months for any business in a given year is a tough grind. The holiday rush is gone but not forgotten and a new trend starts. Every year is the same pattern, and it is up to every business to stay on top of these trends in order to have long term success.
Staying on top of each of your marketing channels, engaging your customers in the greatest way possible, optimizing your site to its full potential and continue doing so, researching your competitors, researching the trends, and measuring your goals as best as you can for you and your business is the best advice you will hear all year. We got your back every step of the way. Never Stop, Never Settle.