smart goals in a business plan

21 SMART Goals Examples for Your Small Business Development

Starting a business isn’t easy, and running it is even more challenging. New entrepreneurs often feel fear and a lack of motivation, not knowing how to act. Even experienced business owners may be hesitant about their business development. Some may say, “if it works, don’t fix it,” but this isn’t a universal rule.

That’s why SMART goals for business development are crucial for any entrepreneur. This guide will explain how to set goals that work and provide you with seven examples.

Table of Contents

What Is a SMART Goal?

It's crucial to understand SMART goals before you can set your own goals to help with your small business development.

The easy way to remember the core characteristics of a SMART goal is to familiarize yourself with the acronym: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If your goals fit the SMART goal framework, there is little to no chance of failure. So now, let’s take a closer look at the criteria of a SMART goal.

Your goal should be definitive, answering a specific question and setting a specific target. That’s necessary to know exactly how the goal can be achieved and when it has been met. Strive to narrow down your goals as much as possible. Being excited isn’t enough .

Your goals should have some sort of metric to help you track your progress. If your goals truly meet this criterion, you should be able to answer questions starting with “How much?” “How many?” or “How long?” The ability to track your progress also motivates you to achieve further goals.

Set reasonable goals with reasonable deadlines. Consider any additional steps and changes in circumstance that may affect your progress and evaluate your abilities fairly. Breaking down large goals into smaller, more achievable goals helps you stay motivated and fight procrastination. Setting unachievable goals only leads to frustration.

Your goals should help you achieve your long-term plans. If you didn’t come anywhere closer to your main goal after completing your smaller goal, you might have wasted time and effort.

Your goals have a specific deadline that keeps you focused and motivated. Knowing you only have a limited amount of time to complete your tasks is a great push forward. Conversely, goals without deadlines often lead to procrastination.

Only with all these criteria combined do goals become SMART. However, if even one element is neglected, you may have trouble completing your goals. For example, let’s say you’ve set a goal of building a website for your small business.

This goal aligns with your long-term objective, is both achievable and measurable. However, it isn’t specific enough, nor is it time-bound. To make this goal work, you should specify the website functionality, purpose, and deadline.

The SMART framework works not solely in a business goal setting. It can be applied to any life situation, be it work, hobby, self-improvement , or even finding your life purpose . Make sure to check out our detailed guide on the SMART goal framework if you’d like to learn more.

Why Are SMART Goals Important for Small Business Development?

One of the most common reasons small businesses fail is the lack of organization and ambiguity in objectives. However, running a business involves more than just organizational tasks, such as managing resources and employees or dealing with logistics.

For a business to succeed, it should continuously improve – not necessarily by expanding into a larger business, but by maintaining or elevating product or service quality and increasing customer retention.

And if you’re only planning to start a business, you will encounter even more challenges. The top reasons beginning entrepreneurs fail are lack of motivation, procrastination, and fear of starting something new.

In the case of an existing small business, SMART goals are necessary to create a comprehensive business development strategy. For example, you may have a general aim but not know how to achieve it.

By breaking your main objective into SMART goals, you create a path to the next level. Most importantly, your SMART goals for business development should be relevant and specific.

In the case of a beginning small business, SMART goals are even more helpful. Achievable tasks eliminate the fear of starting something new. The broader your goals are, the less achievable they seem.

Time-bound and measurable goals ensure that you don’t waste time instead of moving towards your dream. When you start seeing your smaller SMART goals completed, you’ll receive a boost in motivation that will help you do more and achieve your primary objective even faster.

Now that you know why you need to set SMART goals for business development, let’s look at some examples of such goals:

21 SMART Goals Examples for Small Business Development

1. improve employee efficiency.

“Over the next four weeks, I will improve my employee workflow efficiency by evaluating which tasks they’re best at performing and assigning them accordingly. I will measure this every day based on the time it takes to complete a task and the quality of work, changing the tasks every three days.”

S : This statement identifies how exactly you’re planning to improve the workflow efficiency of your employees. Furthermore, it describes how you are going to define which tasks you’re best at performing.

M : The time required for an employee to complete a task is a specific, measurable value. Although the quality of work of one particular employee can’t always be measured objectively, you can compare the quality of work of different employees for justified conclusions.

A : This is an achievable goal, as you can evaluate your employee work quality, measure the time it takes to complete a task, and draw conclusions based on this information.

R : This goal is relevant to any business owner wishing to maximize profits and create a better working environment for their employees by giving them jobs they like and can do well.

T : This statement sets a specific period during which you will closely monitor your employee work. It also defines how often you will evaluate the results.

2. Improve Working Environment

“Over the next six weeks, I will improve the working environment for my employees by collecting anonymous feedback from each individual per week.”

S : This statement specifies how you’re planning to make your team members’ lives at work better – by collecting feedback to consider their wants and needs.

M : Employee feedback serves as an excellent basis for drawing conclusions and setting new goals. Receiving input from each employee each week is a simple metric.

A : This is an achievable goal, taking just a little time collecting and evaluating feedback each week.

R : This goal is relevant to any business owner, as happy employees tend to do their job better and are less likely to leave.

T : This goal will be met in six weeks.

3. Improve Time Management

“Over the next month, I will improve my time management. I will do this by creating a schedule every day and marking tasks I have and haven’t completed and the time I started and finished doing them. I will also reduce the time I spend on my phone and measure it using a dedicated mobile app.”

S : This statement is specific. It defines how exactly you’re going to improve your time management – by creating a daily schedule and reducing the time spent on your phone.

M : The marks on your schedule are a good measure for evaluating and improving your time management. A dedicated mobile app provides insights into the time you’ve spent on your phone.

A : This is an achievable goal, taking just a little time to plan and track progress through the day.

R : Time management is crucial for business success. It helps to improve your overall workflow efficiency, which is beneficial for any business owner and aligns with your main objective.

T : This goal should be accomplished in one month.

4. Improve E-Commerce Website

“Over the next six weeks, I will improve my e-commerce website’s user experience. I will do this by implementing A/B testing and comparing how long visitors remain on the site and how many purchases they make on each site version.”

S : This statement specifies how you’re going to improve your website’s user experience – by implementing A/B testing.

M : The time spent and purchases made on each version of your site are a reasonable metric that helps to determine which site version works better.

A : This is an achievable goal if you have the time and resources to implement A/B testing and can evaluate the results afterward.

R : This goal is relevant for any online business owner, as site design and navigation play a crucial role in e-commerce profits.

T : This goal should be achieved within six weeks.

5. Launch Business Website

“I will launch my business website by the end of November. I will hire a skilled website developer, SEO content creator, and web designer to achieve this goal. I will clearly communicate my vision and goals to them and keep in touch throughout the development process.”

S : This statement specifies what you need to do to launch your website – not only hire professionals but also communicate with them.

M : A completed, functioning website is your measurement.

A : This is an achievable goal, as it simply requires hiring three employees and communicating with them.

R : This is a relevant goal for a beginning entrepreneur to build a business online or start a web business portfolio.

T : This goal should be met by the end of November.

6. Improve Customer Service and Product Quality

“I will improve my customer service and product quality by collecting customer feedback on my brand’s social media and my website over the next 12 weeks. I will pay attention to negative feedback to define which sides of my business require more work.”

S : This statement specifies how you will improve your customer service and product quality – by collecting customer feedback and addressing negative comments.

M : Customer reviews are your measurement. You can track how customer feedback regarding specific points changes throughout the 12 weeks.

A : This is an achievable goal, requiring only that you analyze feedback on your company’s social media and website.

R : This is a relevant goal for any small business owner. Excellent customer experience and product quality ensure better customer retention and, consequently, higher profits.

T : This goal will be accomplished within the next 12 weeks.

7. Attract More Customers

“Over the next four weeks, I will attract more customers by promoting my posts on social media. After that, I will measure the results based on the follower and order number.”

S : This statement specifies that you will reach new potential customers by promoting your social media posts.

M : The number of new followers and change in the number of orders is your measurement.

A : This goal can be achieved by regularly devoting some time to promoting social media posts.

R : This goal is relevant to any small business owner wishing to reach new audiences and expand their business.

T : This goal will be completed within four weeks.

8. Reduce Business Expenses

“In order to reduce business expenses, I need to stop outsourcing so much. With this in mind, within the next two months, I will have one of the current employees trained in doing payroll and I will hire one part-time employee to take care of cleaning and maintenance. ” “ In this way, I can eliminate the outside payroll services and cleaning companies. I estimate that this alone will save several thousand dollars within the year.”

S: This is very specific. It lists what will be done, how it will be achieved, and the timeframe of the action. 

M: This goal is measurable. You can know if you stopped some services and hired a person, as well as trained another person. For the amount of money saved, you only need to figure out the cost involved in paying the new employee and training the current one and subtracting that amount from the amount you would normally have paid for the other two services during a year.

A : This is an attainable goal that should be easily put into place.

R: This is relevant to cutting expenses. In-house employees often cost less than a specialized service and these are two positions that lend themselves well to in-house employees.

T: This goal is time-bound because you state you will do this within two months.

9. Become More Eco-Friendly

“To start becoming a business that is more aware of our impact on the environment, all paper will now be placed in a bin to be shredded and used as packing material. ” “ This will begin immediately and is just the first step as I research more options to make us more eco-friendly by the end of the year.”

S : While future actions aren't specified here, the act of having a required bin for papers to be shredded and used as packing material is definitely specific.

M: Measuring the impact on the environment isn't measurable, but this goal is in that you have visual evidence of it being done. 

A: This goal is attainable as long as each employee is aware of what needs to be done and cooperates. You might need to find a way to ensure employee cooperation.

R : Recycling paper and reducing the use of such items as Styrofoam or plastic for shipping is a great way to save on adding to environmental distress and help become eco-friendly.

T: Starting immediately is most definitely a time-bound element in regard to this goal.

10. Improve Teamwork among my Employees

“To foster employee teamwork, I will schedule monthly team-building seminars. These will include activities that allow employees to fully get to know each other and realize how success depends upon working together. ” “ Two of the activities will include an escape room and also a weekend camping trip, where each employee will be responsible for one portion of the trip – such as gathering firewood or preparing food.”

S: This is specific. The only way to make it more specific would be to give a precise month that these activities would be starting and an estimated time at least for when the camping trip would take place.

M: The measurement is built in by keeping track of each meeting or event. Keeping track of attendance will help measure the success of the meetings, and see if there is a correlation between the meetings and increased productivity can also be noted.

A: Scheduling these meetings and events is perfectly attainable. With a bit of planning and research, acceptable activities can be put into place.

R: Studies have shown that a spirit of teamwork often creates a better work atmosphere than one of severe competition. Happy employees who care about each other often care more for the company and will give their best.

T: Stating that there will be a meeting or activity every month makes this a time goal, but it could be made more so by stating when these activities will start.

11. Add a New Service or Product

“I need to expand the services I offer customers. Instead of being a simple dog groomer, I will utilize warehouse space that is currently sitting empty to design a pet daycare center for dogs. This will be ready to open in four months and I will work on getting the word out now to help garner interest.”

S: This is very specific. You state what you will do and how you will go about doing it. You also state when you plan on having the goal met.

M: This goal is measurable in that you can make a list of activities that need to be completed in order to convert the warehouse and create an acceptable place for a daycare. Each step you can check off measures a step closer to the completion of the goal.

A: With the proper planning of sub-goals, this main goal is completely attainable.

R : Adding a doggie daycare to your grooming business is definitely relevant to both adding additional services and growing your business.

T: You have given yourself a time-bound goal by stating that it will be completed in four months.

12. Promote a Deeper Community Connection

“I want to start making connections with the community so they think of me in positive terms. To this end, I will host a summer block party in August. It will include live music, free hot dogs and drinks, a free drawing for prizes, and activities for the kids. ”

S: This is a very specific goal. It lists exactly what you will do and what it includes. It also gives a general time period in which you will do this.

M: The goal itself is measurable. You will know if you actually hold the event and you can even get a good estimate of how well attendance turns out. You won't be able to measure its effectiveness in gaining a deeper community connection for a time, however.

A : With hard work and planning, this is an entirely achievable goal.

R: Holding an event like this is relevant to connecting with the community. It is a way to make people feel like you care about them and it gets you noticed.

T: Setting aside time in August makes this a time-bound goal.

13. Open Another Branch

“It is time to start giving easier access to customers who may not be familiar with this side of town. One year from now, I will open a second location of my business across town that offers the same products and services with less travel time for customers.”

S: This goal states a specific thing you want to do and even mentions why, which gives you incentive. Adding in when you want to open the branch and the general geographical area makes it even more specific.

M: This is measurable. You will know when you actually open the branch. In addition, the steps needed to accomplish this will be the measurement of how much progress you are making.

A: This is attainable as long as you have the funds available to make it happen.

R: Opening a second location is definitely relevant to expanding your business as it allows you to potentially double your sales.

T: You have made this time-bound by giving yourself a one year deadline. 

14. Increase Website Traffic

“Over the course of the next 12 months, I will improve the amount of website traffic by 25%. I will do this by using content marketing and SEO optimization. I will outsource content creation using a team of writers familiar with SEO to bring in fresh ideas. I will measure this quarterly using website analytics tools to ensure we are on track and trending upward in visits to our website.”

S: This statement shows your intention to increase website traffic by 25% through SEO optimization and content marketing efforts.

M: The progress you make towards the goal will be measured using website analytics tools.

A: The goal can be attained because, in your efforts to succeed at increasing traffic to your website, it is well-known that SEO optimization and content marketing efforts have been proven to increase website traffic to other sites.

R: The goal is relevant because a 25% increase in website traffic is a reasonable target for your timeframe of a year with intentional marketing efforts.

T: The goal you’ve stated is time-bound because it has a specific deadline for the end of a 12-month period.

15. Boost Sales

“Within the next quarter, I will improve sales by 15%. In order to accomplish this, I will offer exclusive promotions to repeat customers, tracking purchases with in-house software applications. I will also implement targeted email and direct mail marketing campaigns.”

S:  To accomplish your goal of boosting sales, you’ve set a specific goal to reach 15% to be accomplished in the next quarter.

M: The progress towards the goal can be measured using past and current sales figures.

A: Your goal is attainable because offering exclusive promotions to repeat customers and implementing targeted email and direct marketing campaigns have been proven to increase sales.

R: The goal you’ve set is relevant to your business because a 15% increase in sales is a realistic and reasonable target for your quarterly timeframe and the efforts you’ve set forth.

T: The goal is time-bound because it has a specific deadline of the next quarter for you to assess your progress.

16. Reduce Overhead Costs

“Over the next six months, I will reduce overhead costs by up to 10%. I will do this by analyzing current and projected expenses for my business. I also plan to negotiate better deals with my current suppliers. For instance, I will look at market values and set prices for goods and services accordingly.”

S:   To reach your goal of reducing overhead costs by 10% in the next six months, you’ve created specific and realistic parameters.

M: The progress you’ll make towards the goal can be measured using your financial statements and your budget reports.

A: The goal can be attained due to analyzing expenses and negotiating better deals with suppliers can reduce overhead costs.

R: The goal is relevant because a 10% reduction in overhead costs is a reasonable target for six months, plus the parameters you’ve set.

T: Your goal is time-bound because it has a specific deadline of the next six months.

17. Release a New Product Line

“I will take steps within the company to launch a new product line by the end of a 12-month period. With the release of this new product line, the company will realize a 20% increase in revenue.”

S:  You’ve set your expectations of launching a new product line specifically by the end of the year. Plus, you’re set to achieve a 20% increase in revenue within the first six months of its release.

M: Your progress towards this goal can be measured using sales figures and revenue reporting.

A: The goal is attainable because launching a new product line and achieving a 20% increase in revenue within six months is achievable if the product is well-received and marketed effectively, which is what you’ve planned to do.

R: The goal is relevant and realistic because a 20% increase in revenue is doable for a successful new product line within the time given.

T: Your goal is time-bound because it has a specific deadline of the end of twelve months of the product launch.

18. Improve Customer Satisfaction Ratings

“I plan to improve customer satisfaction ratings by up to 90% by the end of the next quarter. I will do this by taking action on customer feedback survey information. I will also address common customer complaints in a timely manner using appropriate language and offering appropriate solutions.”

S:  You’ve specified how you’ll improve customer satisfaction ratings to 90% by the end of the following quarter.

M: The progress you’ll make towards your goal will be measured using customer satisfaction surveys.

A: The goal is attainable because you’ll be using customer feedback surveys and addressing common complaints that can quickly improve customer satisfaction.

R: Your goal is realistic because setting a 90% customer satisfaction rate should be achievable with your use of effective customer service and complaint resolution.

T: The goal is definitely time-bound as it has a specific deadline of the end of the next quarter.

19. Increase Our Social Media Following

“By the end of the next quarter, I plan to increase followers for our social media platforms by 20%. I will accomplish this with targeted advertising campaigns. I will also employ the use of user-generated content that will appeal to our target audience.”

S: You’ll use social media content and ad campaigns to specifically increase your following by 20%. You can do this using targeted ad campaigns and user-generated content that you can efficiently hire on a contract basis.

M:  Your efforts will help the company to realize a 20% increase in its social media following.

A: The goal can be attained when you use targeted ad campaigns and user-generated content to reach potential followers on your social media platforms.

R: Your goal will be relevant as long as you ensure your ads and content are effective in reaching potential followers.

T: Your goal is time-bound as you’ve set it for the end of the following quarter.

20. Improve Employee Retention

“Within one year, I will improve employee retention rates by 80%. I will do this by implementing employee recognition programs. I will also offer professional development opportunities to employees at all levels to not only retain them but to make them feel the company invests in them.”

S:  Your investment in current employees will help them feel appreciated and improve employee retention. Your goal of reaching rates of 80% through implementing employee recognition programs and professional development opportunities is specific.

M:  You will easily be able to measure employee retention rates to make sure you will reach your goal of 80% by using company metrics.

A: Your goal is attainable, provided the employee recognition programs and professional development opportunities are effective in retaining your current employees.

R: It is realistic for you to expect an increase in retention rates with the implementation of such programs.

T: Your goal is time-bound by the end of one year from implementation.

21. Expand Geographic Reach

“I will expand the company’s geographic reach by establishing partnerships with local businesses. I plan to accomplish this by attending industry-specific trade shows. I will concentrate on trade shows in new regions. I will use the company metrics to measure progress for this ongoing process.”

S:  As you expand the company’s geographic reach, you’ll accomplish this by establishing partnerships with local businesses and attending industry-specific trade shows in new regions.

M:  You’ll be able to measure your success using your company’s metrics, which you’ll track as your geographic reach grows with new regions through partnerships and trade shows.

A: Your goal is attainable when the partnerships and attendance at trade shows are effective in expanding the company’s reach.

R: Your goal is relevant as it is realistic for you to expect the company’s geographic reach to expand with the implementation of your strategies.

T: Although your goal is ongoing, your progress can be measured at set intervals while it will continue to be ongoing overall.

Final Thoughts on SMART Goals for Small Business Development

Setting SMART goals for business development is the easiest way to succeed. Reasonably evaluating your ability to achieve them, setting deadlines, and being specific helps you stay motivated and fight the fear of failing. And if you still doubt that setting SMART goals will help you achieve your objectives, consider checking out our detailed article on goal-setting theory.

And if you want more SMART goal ideas and examples, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 15 SMART Goals Examples for Increasing Your Sales
• 15 SMART Goals Examples That Fit Your Marketing Plan
• 6 SMART Goals Examples for Digital Marketing Professionals
• 7 SMART Goals Examples for Improving Your Networking Skills
• 7 SMART Goals Examples for Time Management & Productivity
• How to Resist Shiny Object Syndrome and Focus on What’s TRULY Important

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .

• Starting a Business

Our Top Picks

• Best Small Business Loans
• Best Business Internet Service
• Best Online Payroll Service
• Best Business Phone Systems

Our In-Depth Reviews

• OnPay Payroll Review
• ADP Payroll Review
• Ooma Office Review
• RingCentral Review

Explore More

• Business Solutions
• Entrepreneurship
• Franchising
• Best Accounting Software
• Best Merchant Services Providers
• Best Credit Card Processors
• Best Mobile Credit Card Processors
• Clover Review
• Merchant One Review
• QuickBooks Online Review
• Xero Accounting Review
• Financial Solutions

Human Resources

• Best Human Resources Outsourcing Services
• Best Time and Attendance Software
• Best PEO Services
• Best Business Employee Retirement Plans
• Bambee Review
• Rippling HR Software Review
• TriNet Review
• Gusto Payroll Review
• Best Text Message Marketing Services
• Best CRM Software
• Best Email Marketing Services
• Best Website Builders
• Textedly Review
• Salesforce Review
• EZ Texting Review
• Textline Review
• Business Intelligence
• Marketing Solutions
• Marketing Strategy
• Public Relations
• Social Media
• Best GPS Fleet Management Software
• Best POS Systems
• Best Employee Monitoring Software
• Best Document Management Software
• Verizon Connect Fleet GPS Review
• Zoom Review
• Samsara Review
• Zoho CRM Review
• Technology Solutions

Business Basics

• 4 Simple Steps to Valuing Your Small Business
• How to Write a Business Growth Plan
• 12 Business Skills You Need to Master
• How to Start a One-Person Business
• FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Comparison
• Salesforce CRM vs. Zoho CRM
• RingCentral vs. Zoom Comparison
• 10 Ways to Generate More Sales Leads

Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies. We research and recommend products and services suitable for various business types, investing thousands of hours each year in this process.

As a business, we need to generate revenue to sustain our content. We have financial relationships with some companies we cover, earning commissions when readers purchase from our partners or share information about their needs. These relationships do not dictate our advice and recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates and recommends products and services based on their research and expertise. Learn more about our process and partners here .

5 Tips for Setting SMART Goals in Your Business Plan

Give your business goals clarity, structure and guidelines.

Table of Contents

Goals and dreams have crucial differences. Dreams are wishes and fantasies; for example, many of us long to be rich, famous, more successful, happier and healthier. In contrast, goals put your dreams on a deadline and require actionable steps toward achievement. 

As with personal goals, you have a greater chance of achieving business goals when you work within a structure that sets you up for success. We’ll explore the SMART goals system and how you can apply this goal-achievement method to your business. 

What are SMART goals?

SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. The SMART goals framework is a way to stay on target and achieve your goals more systematically. 

The process includes the following components:

• Making your goal specific
• Quantifying your goal 
• Ensuring your goal is attainable, reasonable and realistic
• Hitching your goal to a deadline

An example of a SMART goal is to add 600 Instagram followers within 90 days.

How to incorporate SMART goals into your business plan

Here’s a look at each SMART goal element, along with implementation examples you can apply to your business. 

1. Make goals specific.

A specific goal clearly states what will be achieved, by whom, where and when (and sometimes why).

For example, let’s say you’re a wedding planner. Here’s how a non-SMART goal compares with a SMART goal in specificity: 

• Non-SMART goal: Market my business in Toronto.
• SMART goal : Start a monthly networking group for women on event planning in Toronto. Set a monthly attendance goal of 20 women, with two attendees per month signing up for my “How to plan your wedding without stress” workshop.

2. Make goals measurable.

Measuring your goal means evaluating the results and the milestones you must hit on the way. When you measure, you assess if you’re on the right track to achieve your goal by asking these questions:

For example, let’s say your goal is to increase sales to $96,000 per year. To measure your goal, you could take the following actions:

• Set a milestone target of $8,000 in sales each month. 
• Create a process that focuses on achieving $8,000 per month (adding up to $96,000 for the year). 
• Check your sales totals monthly to evaluate if you’re reaching your goal. 

Measuring draws your focus, helping you boost your odds of achieving your goal. One good way to measure is to have a dashboard arranged by month. For example, you could use a chart like this:

3. Make goals attainable.

Ensure that your goals are achievable. If you believe you can reach the goal, you’ll be more likely to do so. Setting unreachable goals is a mistake because you’re setting yourself up for failure. 

Setting attainable goals is also essential for team goal setting and can boost employee engagement . If you set unrealistic goals for your team, your team members won’t fully engage in the project. They need to be fully on board for the project to succeed. Everyone on the team should share in the goal setting so they own the goal and know it’s attainable. 

4. Make goals relevant.

Goals tend to fall into two categories: short-term and long-term. It’s essential to understand how both goal types fit your organizational or personal vision, mission and purpose.

It’s tempting to set a goal because it’s easy or sounds great, only to find out later that it is of no long-term importance to what you want to achieve as an individual or an organization.

5. Make goals time-based.

Setting a deadline attaches a time frame to your goals. A deadline can be an excellent motivator. For example, let’s say you want to run a marathon in a year. A time-based goal would look something like this:

Set up a system to get yourself marathon-ready in a year.

• Run twice a week for three months, gradually increasing your distance.
• Run three times a week for three months, gradually increasing your distance.
• Be ready for a half-marathon by the six-month mark. 
• Increase your frequency and distance over the next six months. 
• Be ready for the marathon in 12 months. 

Time-based goals help you avoid procrastination because your process offers incentives as you meet smaller achievements along the way. 

Why use SMART goals?

SMART goals allow you to chart a course and stay organized when reaching personal or professional goals. You’re more likely to succeed because you’re less likely to get overwhelmed and abandon your goal entirely. 

In a business setting, particularly, SMART goals provide teams with clarity, structure and guidelines. Here are a few reasons to use SMART goals in business:

• Setting specific goals provides accountability. Accountability helps ensure goals are achieved. For example, if your goal involves reducing customer complaints by a specific amount, your customer service manager should be the point person for the initiative and have some accountability for the goal’s success.
• Measurable goals help you refine strategies. When your goals are measurable, you can gauge your success — or how close you came to it. Tracking metrics and key performance indicators allows you to compare the efficacy of various strategies and use only the most successful ones in the future.
• Achievable goals boost morale. When you set achievable goals, employee morale is raised and your team is less likely to experience employee burnout and frustration. Employees are set up for success, helping you build an empowered employee culture .
• Relevant goals propel company growth. Goals are useless if they don’t contribute to overall business success. Find goals that help move the organization forward. Relevant goals can include meeting financial metrics, like increased profitability, and more general goals, like reducing business expenses , limiting waste and increasing recycling.
• Time-based goals provide accountability and urgency. Goals with deadlines are extremely motivating. A timetable brings a goal to life. Achieving time-based goals allows you to set new goals after your initial goals are met.

With SMART goals, you and your team know what success entails and can measure it within a project’s framework. Everyone knows the steps they must take to achieve their goals. With ambiguity gone and a direction mapped, SMART goals set up your team for success.  

How to identify and reach your goals

It’s crucial to set a goal that matches your personal or professional vision. After you set the goal, focus on a process that makes your goal achievable. Here are some steps to follow.

1. Identify your goal.

If you are unable to set a SMART goal, it’s usually because you need to clarify exactly what you want to accomplish within a set period. It’s inadvisable to skip the process of SMART goal setting and just “go for it.” You have a greater chance of success when you analyze your goals and match them to your vision.

To save time, prevent disappointment and avoid costly mistakes, perform the following exercise when you implement SMART goals.

What are your goals? Writing down your goals helps to clarify your thinking. Can you stretch yourself both personally and professionally by setting three goals in each area.

2. Determine what is reasonable. 

Because SMART goals are attainable and time-based, you must ensure you set a reasonable goal. For example, if your goal is to increase sales by 30 percent in a year but you have been successful in increasing sales by only 10 percent a year in the past, consider extending the period to two years or reducing the amount to 15 percent for one year. That way, you’re improving on previous years without being overly ambitious.

Also, examine the resources at your disposal. In the previous example, a 30 percent increase in one year might be attainable if you just received a cash infusion that you can put toward marketing expenses. Or, maybe you’ve recently made an acquisition or added to your sales team , making a once-ambitious goal more reasonable.

3. Focus on essential metrics. 

When you’re ensuring that your goals are relevant, specific and measurable, carefully determine which metrics to use. For example, you may want a better digital marketing return on investment (ROI) from your social media marketing . In this case, follower counts and engagement levels (likes, shares, comments) are appropriate metrics. If you have a relatively small number of followers, you may want to focus on follower counts. But if you have many followers who don’t contribute to sales, you should focus on engagement metrics.

It’s not enough to mindlessly pursue your goal; you must keep the overall business benefit in mind. In the previous example, if you wanted to grow your followers on social media, you could buy followers and seemingly accomplish that goal. However, this would not help you boost your social media marketing ROI, because most of those people would not engage with your company or become paying customers.

4. Identify and implement tactics to meet your goal.

Once you’ve set a goal, develop a system to achieve it. For example, if you want to write a book in one year and you’re not an author, you may feel overwhelmed. 

Instead, try writing 250 words per day. Don’t agonize over what you are writing — just write. At that rate, if you write five days per week (260 days per year), you will have 65,000 words in a year, or approximately a 250-page paperback.

Business goals work the same way. Set the goal, and then find a system to help you reach it. For example, when setting a sales goal, you may want to focus on consistently achieving 10 quotes per month with a 50 percent success rate.

Get Weekly 5-Minute Business Advice

B. newsletter is your digest of bite-sized news, thought & brand leadership, and entertainment. All in one email.

Our mission is to help you take your team, your business and your career to the next level. Whether you're here for product recommendations, research or career advice, we're happy you're here!

13 SMART Goals Examples for Strategic Planning

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, organizations must have a clear vision and direction to achieve their goals. This is where strategic planning comes into play.

Strategic planning can be defined as defining an organization’s direction, making decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy, and guiding the implementation of the chosen plan.

It’s a structured approach that helps organizations set priorities , focus resources, strengthen operations, and ensure employees work towards common goals.

Below, we’ll cover examples of SMART goals to help organizations effectively utilize strategic planning for their success. Let’s dive into it.

Table of Contents

What is a SMART Goal?

The SMART template is a powerful tool that can help you establish goals for strategic success. If you’re unfamiliar, SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

Let’s better understand each element of the SMART approach:

Rather than setting broad and ambiguous objectives like improving strategic skills or climbing the corporate ladder, it’s crucial to specify what you want to devise a roadmap.

Whether increasing revenue by X% or seeking professional growth opportunities, be sure to have a well-defined strategic plan to fuel your journey.

Quantifiable goals enable you to monitor progress and pinpoint areas that need enhancement. For instance, if your goal is to boost profits by 35%, then routinely tracking the financial metrics can help you ascertain whether this is being realized.

While it might be alluring to aim for the stars, keep your feet grounded in reality. Setting unrealistic goals can often cause frustration, adversely affecting your performance. Therefore, evaluate what’s achievable given your current capabilities.

Formulating goals that align with your core values is the secret to enduring tough times. Doing so can ignite an inner passion that resonates with us profoundly. Otherwise, it’s easy to lose steam and abandon our goals when confronted with hurdles.

Incorporating a timeline can ensure consistent progress and keep your aims in view. Understand that success isn’t an overnight phenomenon; it’s the cumulative result of persistent resilience over time.

1. Improve Employee Retention

“Our company will boost employee retention for three years by providing more opportunities for professional growth, implementing a fair and transparent promotion process, and creating a positive work environment.”

Specific: The actions taken are providing professional opportunities, implementing a fair promotion process, and fostering a positive workplace.

Measurable: Reduction in employee turnover rate can be determined. Employee satisfaction can also be tracked through surveys.

Attainable: As long as the company is willing to implement these changes, they are possible.

Relevant: This goal ties into promoting a positive work environment and improving employee retention .

Time-based: The actions should be implemented over three years.

2. Expand Market Share

“By the end of two years, I want to increase our market share by 30% through targeted marketing campaigns and expanding into new territories. I’ll evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts every 6 months to ensure we are on track.”

Specific: The goal is to increase market share by 30% within two years.

Measurable: Progress will be evaluated every 6 months to track the growth in market share.

Attainable: Although ambitious, this is doable through the listed action items (targeted marketing and expanding into new territories).

Relevant: This statement pertains to strategic planning as it focuses on the organization’s long-term growth.

Time-based: The goal has a time frame of two years for accomplishment.

3. Minimize Carbon Footprint

“The company will reduce its carbon emissions by 20% within three years by implementing energy-efficient practices, utilizing renewable energy sources, and promoting remote work options for employees.”

Specific: The goal is explicit in stating that the company will reduce carbon emissions by 20%.

Measurable: The company can track its progress through regular energy consumption reports and employee surveys about remote work options.

Attainable: Assuming the organization has the resources to implement energy-efficient practices and renewable energy sources, this goal is feasible.

Relevant: Reducing carbon emissions is essential for environmental sustainability and can also decrease energy costs for the company.

Time-based: There is a three-year window for strategic success.

4. Strengthen Brand Awareness

“We want to increase our social media presence by 20% for the next year through consistent posting and engaging with followers. That way, we can increase brand recognition and reach a larger audience.”

Specific: This goal specifies the desired result (20% increase in social media presence) and how to reach it (consistent posting and engaging with followers).

Measurable: Monitor the number of followers, likes, shares, and comments on social media platforms.

Attainable: Increasing social media presence is feasible with a consistent and strategic approach.

Relevant: Strategic planning must include marketing and promoting the organization’s brand.

Time-based: The goal is set for one year, providing a timeline for completion.

5. Develop New Products or Services

“Our company will develop three new products or services to expand our customer base. We plan to conduct market research to identify potential ideas and then allocate resources to create these products/services within the next 18 months.”

Specific: This specifies the number of new products or services to be developed and a timeline of 18 months.

Measurable: The outcome of conducting market research and allocating resources can be measured by successfully creating three new products or services.

Attainable: While it may require significant resources, launching new services or products is a matter of careful planning and execution.

Relevant: If the market research is conducted effectively, the new products/services will appeal to a larger customer base and contribute to the organization’s growth.

Time-based: Success is anticipated over the following 18 months.

6. Enhance Customer Satisfaction

“The goal is to improve customer satisfaction by enhancing the quality of our products and services. Over the two years ahead, we aim to increase our customer satisfaction score from 85% to 95%.”

Specific: The goal is clearly defined as improving customer satisfaction.

Measurable: Gauge progress by the customer satisfaction score, increasing from 85% to 95%.

Attainable: Any company can strive to improve customer satisfaction by enhancing the quality of their services and products.

Relevant: High customer satisfaction is crucial for strategic planning as it can lead to positive word of mouth.

Time-based: The SMART statement will be met after two whole years.

7. Streamline Business Processes

“Our organization aims to streamline business processes by automating repetitive tasks within 10 months. This will involve thoroughly analyzing current processes and selecting appropriate software solutions.”

Specific: The goal is clearly defined as streamlining business processes using technology and automation.

Measurable: This can be evaluated based on the number of tasks successfully automated within the given time frame.

Attainable: With proper resources and planning, automating repetitive tasks is a feasible goal for a company to achieve in 10 months.

Relevant: Streamlining business processes through automation is an excellent strategic goal for organizations looking to improve efficiency.

Time-based: Your company has an end date of 10 months for optimal success.

8. Increase Revenue

“For this fiscal year, we will increase revenue by 20% by implementing a new marketing strategy and expanding into international markets.”

Specific: This goal states the desired outcome—increasing revenue and the methods to achieve it.

Measurable: The 20% increase in business revenue is a quantifiable target.

Attainable: Implementing a new marketing strategy and expanding into international markets are feasible actions that can lead to increased revenue.

Relevant: This strategic goal relates to the organization’s overall objective of growth and expansion.

Time-based: The deadline for this statement is within the fiscal year.

9. Foster Innovation and Creativity

“I’ll help foster a culture of innovation and creativity within my department by creating a dedicated team and providing resources for brainstorming. Within 15 months, I aim to increase the number of original ideas generated by 50%.”

Specific: The SMART goal clearly outlines steps towards fostering innovation and creativity.

Measurable: You can track the number of new ideas the team generates over time.

Attainable: A well-defined plan is in place to encourage innovation within the department.

Relevant: It aligns with the organization’s strategic plan of promoting innovation and staying ahead of the competition.

Time-based: Goal achievement is expected over the following 15 months.

10. Build Stronger Partnerships

“We will develop a partnership with two local businesses to support our community initiatives for four years. That should allow us to expand our reach and increase our impact in the local area.”

Specific: You’ll help build partnerships with two specific local businesses.

Measurable: Assess if the partnerships are formed and how strong they are.

Attainable: As part of your strategic planning, forming partnerships with local businesses for community support is feasible.

Relevant: This goal aligns with your organization’s mission and values to positively impact the local area.

Time-based: Four years are allotted for the partnership to grow and expand.

11. Review and Update Company Policies

“Within two years, I’ll review and update all company policies to ensure they align with current laws and regulations. This includes conducting a thorough analysis of any changes needed and seeking legal counsel where necessary.”

Specific: The SMART goal is evident as it outlines the steps involved in reviewing and updating company policies.

Measurable: Keep a record of policies that have been reviewed and updated within the two-year time frame.

Attainable: Commencing the review process and seeking legal counsel are not extremely difficult tasks.

Relevant: Adhering to updated company policies is relevant to the organization’s strategic success.

Time-based: There is a two-year end date for goal attainment.

12. Improve Work-Life Balance

“I’ll limit my work hours to 40 per week for three months and use my weekends to disconnect from work and spend quality time with my family. I must balance work and personal life, so this is my first step.”

Specific: This explains what you’ll do ( limit work hours ) and how long you will do it for (three months).

Measurable: Counting the hours worked per week can determine if the goal has been met.

Attainable: Limiting work hours is reasonable with proper time management and prioritization.

Relevant: Your strategic plan might be less effective if you constantly feel overworked and lack quality time with loved ones.

Time-based: The SMART statement will be achieved in three months.

13. Reduce Production Costs

“By implementing more efficient processes and sourcing materials at lower costs, I aim to reduce the overall production costs of my company by 20% within the next two years.”

Specific: The goal states what will be done (implementing efficient processes and sourcing materials) and how much production costs should be reduced (20%).

Measurable: Many tools and metrics can track production costs, like cost per unit or total production expenses.

Attainable: The goal is feasible by implementing practical process changes and materials sourcing.

Relevant: Cost reduction is an important aspect of maintaining a successful business.

Time-based: The deadline for this SMART goal is two whole years.

Final Thoughts

Strategic planning is a vital process that helps organizations succeed. Using the SMART method , you can ensure that your organization’s strategic goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

This framework boosts the likelihood of success and provides a roadmap for accomplishing goals. Remember to review your goals to align them with your company’s vision and objectives.

Keep striving towards these goals to stay ahead of the competition and drive organizational success. With proper planning and execution, strategic goals can pave the way for a prosperous future.

Human Resources | Tip List

10 SMART Goals Examples for Small Businesses (+ Template)

Published January 23, 2023

Published Jan 23, 2023

WRITTEN BY: Rebecca Michael

Utilizing the SMART goals methodology will help your company achieve its strategic objectives. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. This strategy will focus your team members on the most important objectives for your business, which will help you in achieving them efficiently.

We outlined some SMART goals examples you can use to help you create your own and stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve. Practical application is the best way to truly understand how SMART goals are utilized in small business today. These examples show you how you might apply the process for your own business.

1. Create a Marketing Plan for a New Business Within 1 Month

When starting a new business, there are plans within plans to make. Creating the marketing plan for the new company is an important SMART goal.

• Specific: We need to create a marketing plan that has a specific outline we can follow to ensure we covered the most important information.
• Measurable: Each week of the month, we will finalize 25% of the plan’s details to ensure completion within one month.
• Achievable: One month should be plenty of time to do all the market research and company analysis required to create a good marketing plan.
• Relevant: Without a solid plan for marketing, the company is missing a crucial component to success.
• Time-bound: The time limit is one month.

Check out our guides to writing a marketing plan and creating an effective blog content strategy for additional information on SMART marketing goals.

2. Pay Off $10,000 in Business Debt Within 30 Months

Setting financial goals is an important step toward gaining control of your business finances. One SMART goal example may be to pay down the company’s debt, thus making more money available for employee pay increases and other projects.

• Specific: Pay off $10,000.
• Measurable: We can measure progress by monitoring our cash accounts as we go, and track how we are doing month to month.
• Achievable: We will achieve this by spending less on growth-goal related items and will work to encourage vendors to pay on time and in full.
• Relevant: We will highlight development and project opportunities throughout the year that can benefit from increased investment once the debt is paid down.
• Time-bound: Within 30 months, we will achieve our objective.

Did You Know?

SMART goals actually do work. According to a study by Dominican University , 76% of people that recorded their goals, created actionable steps to do and reported on them weekly to another person achieved their goals. This is 33% better than those who didn’t write down their goals.

3. Set Up a Remote Sales Networking System Within 7 Days

This scenario became painfully real to many companies in the early months of 2020. Setting SMART goals for transitioning to remote operations at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was an important part of maintaining an effective sales culture during a very stressful time. This SMART goal example is rooted in a real-world experience that many people faced.

• Specific: Every member of our remote sales team should be connected and operational.
• Measurable: The task is complete when the networking system is operating and our remote workers are able to work.
• Achievable: Although this goal might be ambitious, we can move this to the top of our priority list and temporarily pull in resources from longer-term projects to complete this necessary goal.
• Relevant: Remote work is a good setup even when there’s not a pandemic making it necessary. In 2020, remote networking allowed companies to continue operating. In a post-COVID world, remote networking helps employees be productive and companies achieve results.
• Time-bound: The time limitation for this goal is seven days.

4. Increase New Customer Reviews by 30% Year Over Year

Most companies’ growth these days has to do with the brand awareness your business has in the market. One of your most important goals in brand cultivation is your brand awareness growth throughout the year.

One SMART goal example for this: The number of new customer reviews we get must increase 30% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis.

• Specific: Increase customer reviews by 30%.
• Measurable: We measure our progress through monthly reporting, and it shows if we reach our target or not.
• Achievable: We increased our customer reviews last year by 20%. We believe the 30% target is achievable.
• Relevant: Based on our research to date, an increase in the number of customer reviews corresponds with increased sales in our top growth channels.
• Time-bound: This is a YoY comparison.

5. Ensure All Our Overseas Factory Workers Are Paid a Living Wage Within 3 Months

As consumers become more conscious of where their goods come from, the demand for ethically sourced products increases. If you source your products ethically, you can gain customer loyalty and charge a premium while doing it.

The word “ethical” is vague and can mean many things. Different companies have different standards of ethics that they are able and willing to implement. For example, you might insist that the overseas workers who make your product be paid 25% higher than the average wage for that industry, or that your production lines provide well-paying jobs and valuable job training to women escaping domestic violence. You might also make your manufacturing carbon-neutral by planting trees to offset the carbon emissions produced in creating your products. In this SMART goals example, the specific goal is to vet the working conditions of our overseas factories and ensure that all workers are paid a living wage.

• Specific: We are focused on all our overseas factory workers earning a living wage.
• Measurable: We will request cost of living data from our overseas partners and then evaluate their compliance with our living wage goal or select new partners on a region-by-region basis.
• Achievable: Since we already work with overseas factories, vetting suppliers and choosing new partners based on our updated requirements is an achievable goal.
• Relevant: Many customers base their spending habits on their ethical values. Sourcing our products ethically will help us win loyal customers.
• Time-bound: The goal is to accomplish this within three months.

6. Grow Worldwide Market Share of Our Top-selling Software at Least 10% by the End of the Year

Growing market share is the goal of most organizations, large or small.

• Specific: We know the geographic area, the product line, and the level of growth (10%) we’re looking for.
• Measurable: We will be able to measure our goal by tracking new customers, growth in new markets, and overall growth in current markets.
• Achievable: We grew, overall, by 8% last year and we feel this increased goal is doable.
• Relevant: Growth in market share often results in higher revenue and more customers, among other benefits.
• Time-bound: We will reach our goal by the end of the year.

It’s very important to create and use SMART objectives because they provide a frame of reference for all involved. That way, at the end of the period being measured your team can reassess whether or not it was truly “achievable.”

7. Transition IT Support From Contract to In-house in 6 Months

All companies that use computers have to have IT support. Many companies hire IT support companies to take care of their computer needs. As a company grows, it might become more financially beneficial to create an IT department and handle those needs in-house rather than contracting out to a service, as in this SMART goal example.

• Specific: This goal requires adding a new department to the organization structure and staffing it.
• Measurable: This goal is measurable by the existence or non-existence of an IT department. The number of people who will need to be hired is another measurement that will be determined in a sub-goal of this overarching goal because SMART goals can and usually do have additional goals required to make the plan happen.
• Achievable: This is a reasonable timeline for this goal, and we have the resources and expertise to create this department and hire qualified people.
• Relevant: An in-house IT department will save us time and money and make our employees more productive by decreasing technology-related downtime.
• Time-bound: The timeline for this goal is six months.

8. Plan 5 Customer Education Webinars by the Fourth Quarter

A good idea here may be to plan and execute five customer education webinars by the fourth quarter with 15-plus attendees per event and at least 80% highly satisfied or very satisfied responses regarding content.

• Specific: The goal is to plan five webinars.
• Measurable: We will assess the number of attendees in each webinar and distribute and analyze attendee survey results.
• Achievable: The personnel and system resources are available and the need is active.
• Relevant: These webinars will help generate additional customers and/or our brand will establish expertise in the market.
• Time-bound: We will have this completed by the fourth quarter of the current year.

9. Increase Sales Cold Calls by 10% This Year

In many businesses, cold calls are key to sales. Whether you’re doing business-to-business or direct-to-customer sales, if your business model requires you to reach out, then increasing your cold calls can be the key to setting higher sales goals , as demonstrated in this SMART goals example.

• Specific: We want to make 10% more cold calls this year than last year.
• Measurable: It is easy to compare the number of calls made last year to the number of calls made this year.
• Achievable: We can add incentives to push our team to make more calls. If we need to hire more people or move some part-time employees to full-time, we can do that.
• Relevant: If the conversion rate for our calls remains constant, this will increase our overall sales.
• Time-bound: We have until the end of this year to complete this goal.

10. Increase Website Traffic 25% by December 2023

If your website is successful, you already are aware of your overall conversion rates, both in terms of click-throughs from search engines and social media and in terms of sales generated per click-through. Increasing your website traffic will increase your sales, as long as your sales conversion rate remains relatively constant, in this SMART business goals example.

• Specific: To increase the number of visitors that come to our site by 25%.
• Measurable: Increase our annual visitors from 100,000 to 125,000.
• Achievable: Our inbound marketing team has solid social media and content creation strategies in place. We can hire additional experts as needed to increase our visibility and our website traffic.
• Relevant:  The more traffic we have, the more money we make and the larger our reach.
• Time-bound: We want to complete this goal by December 2023.

According to the Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness, studies show that goal-setting teams enjoy 20%-25% improved performance . In addition, employees with goals are happier at work, less stressed, and more productive.

How SMART Goals Work

Here’s how each letter in a SMART goal acronym helps you focus your efforts to achieve desired results:

S = Specific

The “S” in a SMART goal stands for “Specificity.”

We all know that it helps us to remember to write down what we want to do, using action words. For example, instead of saying, “I want more clients,” you might say, “I’m going to sign up four new clients within this next quarter.” Being specific and using action verbs focuses you on what exactly you, or your team, needs to do. The key questions that you are asking you or your team are the following:

• What’s the objective?
• What needs to be accomplished?
• Who (what team) is responsible for completing or driving this task or project?
• What steps will you or your team take to achieve it?

In the following SMART goals examples, notice how the goals provide information about what exactly you need to do, even though you still need to outline further tasks and sub-goals to flesh out your plan.

M = Measurable

The “M” in a SMART goal helps you clarify and quantify your efforts so you can “Measure” them.

In the SMART goals example of signing up new clients, we can add the additional note that your goal is to increase, by four, the number of new clients. Although establishing a target may seem obvious, many fail to add this important component to their goal framework. In short, your measurements determine whether or not you achieve your goal.

A = Achievable

The “A” in SMART goals represents the goal’s “Achievability” factor.

This step reminds us to check to make sure the goal is within reach; is it practical? Experienced leaders will tell you that people are motivated by goals that stretch them, as long as they’re not unrealistic. Let’s assume, for example, four new clients is an achievable goal, but the timeline suggested is not. Ensure that you are both ambitious as well as practical.

R = Relevant

The “R” in SMART goals addresses the “Relevance” of the goal.

If your overall business plan calls for increasing profitability, instead of sales, perhaps new customers aren’t your primary goal. Instead of focusing on new customers you may need to focus on retention of existing customers and their profitability per sale transaction, price increases, or reducing production costs. Make sure the goal you set makes sense for you. In the following SMART goals examples, notice how Relevant often means “how will this benefit me?”

T = Time-bound

The “T” in SMART goals references the “Time” aspect of your goal.

Setting a time frame around your goals is essential; it not only identifies the end or conclusion of your goal’s duration, but motivates the identified endeavor. Working to achieve four new customers is fine, but if you don’t set a time frame it could diminish the objective overall as it could take much longer to achieve four customers than desired.

(ADD: Infographic template for SMART goals. Fill in the blank format, with the following entry fields: “S: What SPECIFICALLY do I want to do?” “M: How is this MEASURED?” “A: Is this ACHIEVABLE?” “R: How is this RELEVANT to my business?” “T: How much TIME do I have?”)

Do's and Don'ts in Setting SMART Goals

Now that you have seen some SMART goals examples, we want to share with you the “do’s and don’ts” of setting SMART goals. This shortlist has examples of what others have done in the past that have impeded their ability to set successful SMART goals and execute on them thoroughly.

As you can see, following a few simple rules and ensuring that your team follows suit will aid you in setting SMART goals that make sense to everyone on the team.

Additional Tips for Setting SMART Goals

There are strategies for getting your team on board with your SMART goals, which will make you more likely to be successful at implementing your goals. Keep these tips in mind while you’re considering your SMART business goals examples.

• Get your team involved . People are more passionate about goals they help create. Have your team brainstorm ideas, and involve them in the process of narrowing and selecting the goals they want to work on.
• Make a plan of action . There should be specific goals for each step of the way. This is like making mini-SMART goals to help you reach your overall SMART goal.
• Write it down . Every team member needs a copy of the plan, with the big goal and the smaller goals. This helps everyone stay on track.
• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate . After every project, have everyone evaluate their own performance and the team’s performance as a whole. What was the goal? Did you achieve it? What went well? What went wrong? What could you have done better? What did you learn? What specific actions can you take to improve your performance in the future?
• Reassess the goals as needed . As you work on a project, you might find that you need to change your plan, or even adjust your broader SMART goal. Take time to make sure the plan you have is still in alignment with your overall goals and vision.
• Use a performance management system . It can be hard to keep up with all the elements of goal setting and follow-up, especially in a large organization. A performance management system can help you keep track of everything.

Bottom Line

Not having a goal is like hiking without a map or building a boat without a plan. Making your goals SMART ensures that you not only know what you want to achieve, but how you will get there (as well as a way to measure your progress along the way). We encourage you to read more about using SMART goals as part of your performance management process as well.

About the Author

Find Rebecca On LinkedIn

Rebecca Michael

Rebecca Michael has more than 15 years of experience in publishing and digital media. She previously served as a Head of Content and Editor-in-Chief for a large digital marketing company specializing in content strategies for small businesses. Rebecca has over 20 years of writing experience in online TV, blogs, and news sites. She is the Director of Content for Fit Small Business and The Close , where she’s developed topic teams of excellence that deliver high-quality content to our readers.

Join Fit Small Business

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below.

Out of the Box Advisors

Small Business Growth Experts

(904) 468-6268

Blog - post, smart goal examples for small businesses (boring but critical).

Updated: Apr 1

Looking for ways to set your business up for success for 2024? The secret is to stay SMART.

With SMART goals, you can stay organized, more effectively execute a plan, and have a significantly increased chance of achieving your goals! Small Business SMART goals can help you avoid missing critical details in your plans. Otherwise, you might lack the necessary direction once you get started.

Let’s start with the obligatory stat: About 3% of MBA graduates who regularly write their goals down earn 10 times as much as the other 97% of graduates put together. By setting SMART goals, you could set yourself up for success.

What are SMART goals, exactly? Don't worry, we have you covered! In this guide, we'll help you understand how to form your SMART goals that work for your small business. We will even toss in a few SMART goal examples to help guide you!

Start your small business near year off on the right track with our SMART goals guide (2024)!

If you're already familiar with SMART goals and just looking for the examples, click here !

What are smart goals.

First, let's answer the question that's likely on your mind: what are SMART goals, exactly? Let's preface our explanation with a note that there are many different definitions for each item of this acronym. We feel the following is the best example for your use as a small business owner.

The Basics:

SMART stands for S pecific, M easurable, A ttainable, R esults-Driven, and T imely. Establishing SMART goals will help you remain more specific in scope for both yourself and your company. Along the way you can set your team up for success and track your progress along the way.

It is key to remember that this is less of a process to follow than it is a guideline. You will notice a lot of overlap between the factors as we go through the basics below.

Make sure your goals are clear, concise, and specific. A good way to look at this item is to view it from the perspective of your employees or team. If you anticipate questions from them regarding your goal, then it is not specific enough.

The Problem Areas:

A broad goal could leave members of your team asking questions at the very least. If you leave goals open ended you’ll likely experience miscommunication and/or poor execution regarding what you're trying to accomplish for any given goal.

The most common issue is that your employees or key figures might interpret your goals in a different way than intended. Or worse still, they all think they ‘know’ what you mean and therefore their individual actions are oriented towards their personal interpretations. I’m sure you can imagine the chaos that could create internally.

For example, simply saying you want to "generate more leads" isn't specific enough to give your team proper direction. You leave open questions such as:

How many leads exactly? One person might think 20 is another, while another might aim for 100.

What kind of leads count towards this goal? One might decide you simply mean newsletter signups, while the other is only counting website form fills.

The Right Way:

Instead, say, "I want to generate 20 more leads through our website by the next quarter." As you’ll notice this statement is specific in multiple fronts. This SMART goal has a specific action, count, source, and timeline.

When specifying your goals, ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish. Which members of your team will help drive this project? What steps will they need to take to achieve individual SMART goals?

Think through the exact process you envision for you, or your team needs to take to accomplish the task.

Measurable goals help you quantify and clarify your efforts. It stands to reason that if you're unable to measure your goals, you'll struggle to track your progress.

Easily the stickiest area with respect to making your SMART goals meet the measurable standard is … well, the actual measurements. Even though it sounds a bit wonky, what I mean is that it’s easy to toss out a number when jotting down a goal. The hard part is the act of measuring for that number.

In the previous example, "20 more leads" was the measurable portion of the goal. It also mentioned those were website leads. Therefore, you will need to ensure that you have a way to both capture and quantify website leads. In this case, you would need to know you have Google Analytics Conversions set up for your website or some other method for counting new leads.

When crafting the measurable factor, you must check both boxes:

Set a measurable value … i.e., you have number shoved in it somewhere.

You have a way to take measurement of the stat your assigned said number.

Additionally, measurability allows you to then break this quantity into benchmarks. If your team only has a quarter to gather 20 leads, they'll need at least six new leads a month. If they fall behind, they'll know to adjust their strategy.

If you want to set your team up for success with your small business SMART goals, you need to establish practical goals. Otherwise, your team might feel the pressure of a seemingly impossible goal. As small business owners , we typically are both the villain and victim of setting ourselves up for impossible goals.

‘I want to make $1M in sales this year!’ sure buddy... you just opened your business 3 months ago. We pull all sorts of wizardry here at Out of the Box Advisors , but even our magic has limits. I jest, but the example happens more often than you would expect when we are working with newer business owners.

The majority of why some slip on this one is that they are either inexperienced or just plain unrealistic.

Realism and pragmatism are absolute key here.

You can motivate your team with a goal that's within reach but take that extra push to achieve. As you continue setting SMART goals over time, you can push them a little further with each iteration.

Oh, and make sure that you keep your timeframes in mind when determining the achievability. Seems like a silly error, but it can trip up potential success when deploying your goals to your team.

Results-Driven

Results-Driven is more about the why and has a more philosophical aspect to it than cold, hard numbers. The primary purpose here is to get you to think about the goal you are setting and if it truly achieves what you’re going for as a business strategy.

A good parallel to the point of this item is metrics involving employee scorecards. You’ve likely heard the term ‘what you measure, is what you get’ in terms of what you want from an employee.

As a very crude example: Let’s say you give your sales team a single goal of total number of sales per week. Your initial idea is that more sales equals more revenue, right? Well, that COULD be true, but it could also mean that your employees will find a clever way to hit goals while still being ethical (hopefully). i.e., perhaps they break down a single sale of 5 items into 5 sales of single items. It takes a bit of extra work on their end, but they can hit their goals without the business reaping any benefit.

First, ask some simple, surface level questions: Why are you setting this goal? Is it relevant to your business? How does it accomplish your overall business objectives? Focus on the results you're trying to produce. Instead of "I want to generate 20 leads," say "I want to generate 20 to drive business growth."

Therefore, this one is more philosophical; it is meant more of a check and balance on your goal creation. The goal may be ‘generate 20 more leads for business growth’, with the results being business growth ultimately. You still need to be aware of the pitfalls of executing the goal like our crude example above in order to avoid them.

Don't forget to set a timeframe for each goal. A deadline motivates your team and encourages them not to procrastinate. Otherwise, it could take longer than anticipated to accomplish your goals.

The issues regarding timeliness of your goals should be somewhat self-evident so we won’t elaborate as much here. You need to find that sweet spot of being reasonable but aggressive. The typical failures here are either goals with either too long or short of a timeframe.

We strongly recommend that you try to stick to existing timeframes within your business as it exists today. This has the benefit of being more easily accepted, but also helps with planning, measuring, and contrasting with your existing processes.

For example : if you are setting sales goals, then your time frame for each goal should at the very least start at the quarterly level.

Chances are you're already measuring sales data and hopefully meeting on a quarterly basis. This both makes measuring and setting the goal values a bit easier based on existing trends, but also you can easily bridge meetings and expectations into what your team is already comfortable with.

If you need to drill down further, it then simply becomes a matter of dividing out the ‘common’ timeframe into equal parts to set those goals. i.e., your quarterly goal is 30 sales so your monthly is 10 per month.

Fun Fact: You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Grab a sheet of paper and pen or even better toss them on a whiteboard for the whole team to see regularly.

We know these are the most exciting items in your business strategy. So, to help keep your attention on these examples we will happily provide you with a puppy or kitten photo for each example!

As a bonus we are going to link each one to a rescue that we enjoy if you want to support them! -Ryan, CEO

SMART Goal Examples for Small Business

Now that we're answered the question what are SMART goals, let's start setting you up for success . Here are eight small business SMART goal examples you can use in 2022.

1. You’re Starting a Small Business

Start by asking yourself those basic, yet core questions such as: Why do you want to start a new business? What type of business? When do you want to open your doors?

Then elaborate on them to form your new business’s first SMART Goal.

Their Notes:

I want to start a new bakery that specializes in French pastries.

I'll need to sell 20 pastries a day to break even by the end of next year.

I'll establish a menu, gather recipes, and start promoting my business through digital marketing.

Starting a bakery will allow me to benefit financially from my passion.

I'll open my doors by December 2024.

With this information we will formulate the goal of ‘starting a new business’ which can be a bit more general than say a sales goal. But we wanted to provide solid examples that real world small business owners may use.

SMART Goal:

Within the next month, I want to set up a new French patisserie Downtown. For the next two weeks, I'll focus on my menu and marketing strategy. Once I open my doors in December, I'll need to sell 20 pastries a day to break even. This goal will allow me to enjoy my passion and make money.

There are several S pecifics relating to what items need to happen to start the business.

While pastries per day is the only number technically, the due dates established are also M easurable. For example: did you open in December Yes or No is still measurable in terms or our topic today.

For each of the tasks, the timelines are reasonable which enables them to be A ttainable.

The R esults here can be a bit vaguer. But the ultimate goal is to accomplish a passion and dream which is a solid motivating result.

The T imelines here are reasonable and specific.

2. Growing a Small Business

Once you open your doors, you'll need a plan for long-term growth. What items do you want to focus on in order to ensure success for your business? Your first few customers and new customer growth is probably the most important right out of the gate.

I want to gather three new clients for my marketing business.

I can generate three new clients while maintaining my current clients.

I can develop a social media marketing campaign and ask clients for referrals.

Generating new clients will allow me to boost my revenue and grow.

I can generate three new clients within two months.

I will generate three new clients for my marketing business within the next two months. I will focus on using marketing strategies like referral programs and social media marketing for these new clients. Achieving this goal will enable us to hire the next designer to enlarge our capacity for new customers.

This goal is S pecific both on the count of new customers, but also on the how you plan on tackling it.

It is easily M easurable with defining the need of three new customers

We assume here that 3 new customers in two months is A ttainable

We are looking to hit a new milestone with hiring the next designer to be the primary R esult. Note how it does not always have to be revenues when a goal involves an increase in sales.

Again, we assume that two months is a reasonable T imeframe for this hypothetical

3. Becoming a Thought Leader

Becoming a thought leader in your industry can establish your company's credibility. Even if you do not aim to acquire speaking engagements like this example, becoming a knowledge expert is a heck of a way to ensure success.

I want to become an expert in the transportation industry.

If I'm successful, someone will ask me to speak publicly at an upcoming event.

I can work with a PR company to accomplish my goal.

Becoming a thought leader will allow me to reach more clients and generate brand trust/loyalty.

I want people to see me as a thought leader within two years.

I'll work with a PR company to become a thought leader in the transportation industry within the next two years. They'll help me demonstrate my expertise by booking me to speak before at least 3 major transportation events during that time. With their help, I can boost my brand's credibility to gain more clients.

While the goal does not S pecify which PR company, it does not that they would be required to book at least 3 major gigs.

The goal is easily M easured by how many major speaking engagements that you are booked

We assume that this goal considers an existing workload to justify why two years was chosen for only 3 events. We might recommend a bit more aggression and still maintain A ttainability.

The R esult here is the ultimate growth of their brand awareness within their industry

Again, we hope that the two years was chosen with a mindfulness, but either way it has an established T imeliness for the goal.

4. Improving Customer Response Time

Improving the customer experience can increase your revenue by 80% . Otherwise, unhappy customers will spread the word about their negative experiences. You could lose future customers as a result.

I will improve customer response time by creating a dedicated customer service team.

I will hire three people for the customer service team by the end of the year.

We have enough room in our offices and enough money in our budget for new team members.

Improving our customer response time will increase our brand reputation and revenue.

I have four months to hire the customer service team.

By hiring three new people for our customer service team, I can improve customer response time by at least 50%. Improving our customer service response time will improve our brand reputation, leading to more future revenue. I'll need to hire our customer service team within four months.

The goal is S pecific on several levels. It is good to remember to not get stuck on defining one item. Be as specific as you can whenever needed.

This is a good example to remind you to make sure you can M easure the metrics specified in your goal. Do you have the ability to determine response time for example?

When working with % increases / decreases within a goal. A ttainability has much to do with your current position. Double check your percentages for realism.

In this example, the primary R esult is brand recognition with a secondary impact to positive revenue growth.

T imetables can be set in result achievement and / or mechanism (hiring in this example). We prefer you to do both when possible.

5. Improving Employee Retention

Are you struggling to hold onto your employees ? You could waste valuable time and money trying to train a new team. Not only does acquisition costs matter, but disruptions in your team can lead to dissatisfied customers and lower sales.

I will improve employee turnover by 20% by better training our new employees and setting expectations.

We can improve employee turnover by 20% in 120 days.

One-on-one meetings and training will ensure employees know what to expect as a member of this team.

Improving employee retention will reduce costs and boost productivity.

We can reduce talent acquisition by 50% with this 20% turnover improvement.

By better training and closer relationships with our new employees, I can improve our employee turnover by 20% in 120 days. This will boost our team's productivity on its own but will reduce our expenditures on finding talent by up to 50%.

The goal has several metrics, but it is key that it has a S pecific target for both turnover and timelines.

Employee turnover percentage should already be a M easured metric you’re watching in your KPI’s

Depending on the state of this business, 120 days may or may not be an A ttainable timetable for a 20% improvement.

This goal is looking to reduce expenses as it R esult-driven motivator. But it also acknowledges that turnover improvements can also have positive impacts in other areas of the business.

A T imeline has been set at 120 days.

6. Boosting Business Operations Efficiency

Improving your sales process is an obvious was to boost your business growth. This example focuses on the sales process, but this can apply to efficiencies within any aspect of your business. Determine the desired outcomes and set goals based on those metrics.

I will improve our efficiency by challenging our sales department to increase their closing ratio.

Our sales team can increase their closing ratio from 30% to 50%.

I'll discuss this goal with our sales team to make sure it's plausible.

Increasing sales process efficiency by assigning compensation in some way to this metric.

We can accomplish this goal within a year.

We can improve our business sales process efficiency by setting compensation bonuses to coincide with conversion rates. We shall consider this initiative a success by increasing our closing ratio from 30% to 50%. We can accomplish this goal within a year for long-term growth.

The S pecificity of this goal is a bit broad, but as you can see, they are seeking guidance from the experts on their team. It is important to note that you can refine your goals as you gain information along the way.

Conversion rates are another one of those KPI’s any business should be regularly M easuring.

The author of this goal set a range initially that they felt was A ttainable but are aware enough to rely on their team to ensure the goal is not overzealous.

Improving your conversion efficiency has some obvious R esults motivation, more sales.

They set a T imeframe of one year.

7. Paying Off Debts

Although we support carrying some liabilities, debts have the potential hold your business back. SMART goals can help you set goals for reducing your business’ liabilities. We strongly recommend meeting with a CPA to help articulate this goal.

Pay off $15,000 of our Credit Card balance.

We'll monitor our cash accounts weekly to track our ability to direct towards debt payments.

We will improve our ability to pay by focusing on a reduction in optional costs.

Paying off our debts will reduce the interest expense and allow us to grow.

We can accomplish this within 1 year.

I will pay off our $15,000 in debts within 1 year. We will accomplish this by cutting down our current costs. Every week we will monitor our cash accounts and determine an appropriate amount to direct towards the balance for that week. Reducing our debt will improve the financial outlook and stability of the business.

They have set a S pecific amount of debt they want to pay off. Alternatively, they could have also set a specific debt ratio.

M easuring the amount paid down should be a simple task.

The A ttainability of this goal will be largely dependent on their ability to reduce costs or otherwise free up cash to apply towards debt.

Financial stability is one heck of a motivating R esults-Driven goal.

Depending on the size of the business and revenue volumes, one year is probably an acceptable amount of T ime to pay down this debt.

8. Increasing Web Traffic and Leads

Search engine optimization (SEO) can help you gather more web traffic and leads. Defining what results you expect from your SEO efforts is the real trick to setting a SMART Goal. These goals are critical to holding your SEO company accountable as well.

Improve our SEO rankings for five target keywords by the end of the year.

We can reach one of the top three positions by gathering 10 high-quality backlinks and improving our content.

We can achieve this goal with a strong SEO strategy.

Improving our rankings will help us attract more leads.

We can accomplish this within three months.

We will improve our SEO ranking in our primary 5 keywords to be at least in the top 3 placements on average. Doing so will generate more traffic and leads within the next three months.

One of the biggest mistakes of small businesses paying for SEO services is that they aren’t using S pecific goals to hold their service providers accountable.

The key to the M easurability of keyword rankings is to make sure you average it out. At any given time, a keywords rank can fluctuate. You want to make sure you have some regular stability to it overall.

For ranking goals, you should typically set their improvement by about 5 ranks per quarter or so. Anything more than that and they may be beyond A ttainability.

SEO leads to traffic and if your site design is sales oriented it will then lead to more conversions. R esults here could represent either outcome.

Advancing 5 keywords to the top 3 every quarter is a solid T imetable.

Get SMART: Setting SMART Goals Helps Set Your Small Business Up for Success

Keep in mind that these are merely examples to help you craft your vision for how to set your own small business goals. Working with a business coach can significantly streamline this process, but it isn’t a requirement by any means.

The key point that we want to express is that you’re first setting goals at all, but that when you do, they are done in a fashion designed and proven for your success.

However if you need help setting SMART Goals for your business, we're here to help!

Contact us today to get started.

Out of the Box Advisors has been in business for over 10 years with a proven track record of helping small businesses achieve growth. Our clients grew revenues by 17.3% on average in 2023.

Start your path to growing revenues but meeting with one of our award winning business coaches in a free consultation. Just click the Book Now button below to get started!

• Productivity

Related Posts

The Business Plan Fallacy: Why You Don't Need a Business Plan

How to Prevent Small Business Failure: And Why It's Not the End of the World

12 Ways to Market Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget

Setting SMART goals is essential for small business success. If you’re looking for methodologies to help achieve those goals, the crystal agile approach might be worth exploring. It’s particularly useful for small teams that need flexibility in project management. I recommend checking out this in-depth guide on the methodology: crystal agile . It could offer some valuable insights to complement your SMART goal-setting strategies.