Try to set SMART goals when you start a new internet project.
SMART is an acronym coined by the “Power Business Person League” in the 90’s. The type of people who used to talk about Type-A and Type-B personalities, who used to Power Dress, take Power Naps and went to networking meetings at 5am.
SMART stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Agreed Upon
- Realistic
- Time-Based.
And although I joke about it – it’s a good system.
Here’s an example of the kind of thing that people say when they approach us for a new website.
We would like to get more business from our website.
Now – I bet you’re saying “that’s a bit of a woolly goal” and you’re right. So lets make it SMARTer.
We would like to generate 200 qualified business leads per month.
Much better eh? But is it SMART?
Is it specific? Yes – 200 leads per month.
Is it measurable? Yes – I can count the number of leads and if they exceed 200 – bobs your uncle.
Is it agreed upon? Not Yet
Is it realistic? Who knows? Maybe not if you are selling battle-ships or the implementation costs exceed £200million.
Is it time based? Not completely. We have a time base to measure the number of leads over but when will the flow of lucrative new leads start. How long will it take for the new site to ramp up.
So the new goal is a bit SMARTer but not completely SMART.
To make it completely SMART we would need to do some market research, planning and produce a specification.
Then it would be really SMART!
Happy goal setting :@)
Adrian Smith