How To Create A Good Marketing Plan With Smart Goals

When planning a new year or launching a new product or email finder tool, one of the most difficult challenges we face is knowing how to define a good marketing plan and difficult but achievable goals and strategies. For this, the most common and best-known way for people who are dedicated to Marketing uses the so-called ” smart goals ” or smart objectives.

The definition was coined by George T. Doran, the promoter of this theory with the famous publication: ” There’s a smart way to write Management’s goals and objectives. ” In this publication, Doran explained deeply the meaning that all objectives should have following the criteria of the acronym smart

How To Structure A Marketing Plan

The  Digital Marketing plan is a very elaborate report in which we specify the objectives to be achieved, as well as the strategies and tactics that we will use to achieve them. It is vitally important that this document is planned correctly and is the result of in-depth research.

The ability to develop a good Marketing Plan is highly appreciated, and it is not that complicated if you know how to follow the steps well.

• Mission, Vision, PTM
• Strategic analysis
• Internal: SWOT, CAME, VRIO
• External: 5PP, PESTEL
• Definition of objectives
• Strategies and Marketing Mix: 4P of the Marketing Mix
  • Inbound Marketing
  • Outbound Marketing
• Tactics or actions to execute the strategies and achieve the objectives
• Execution schedule: tactics and actions
• Marketing Expense Budget

How To Structure A Product Marketing Plan

• Positioning
• Value Proposition: Unique Sales Proposition
• Differentiation
• Customer Segments
• Relationships and Channels: GotoMarket
• Cost structure
• Income
• Strategic Alliances
• Key Activities and Resources
• PSFit, PMFit BMFit

And one of the things that make it hardest for every marketer to understand what a goal is and how to define them well will be key for your entire marketing plan to roll out.

What Does SMART Stand For?

• S PECIFIC (SPECIFIC): YOU MUST BE A SPECIFIC, SIMPLE, AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE.
• M EASURABLE (MEASURABLE):  MUST HAVE AN INDICATOR AND QUANTIFIABLE QUANTITY.
• A SSIGNABLE (ASSIGNABLE): YOU MUST SPECIFY WHO WILL DO IT.
• R EALISTIC (ACHIEVABLE): MUST BE EASY TO ACHIEVE WITH THE RESOURCES USED.
• T IME-RELATED (TIME / DURATION): YOU MUST SPECIFY WHEN IT CAN BE DONE.

Currently, many ‘marketers’ set their marketing plan objectives following these criteria, since, in this way, the entire process and the execution of a goal are clarified, leaving no doubt as to its correct realization. It is also widely used because people can write SMART goals without prior knowledge or training.

Also Read: What is A Digital Marketing Plan, And How Is It Done?

How To Write SMART Goals

To write a SMART goal in the marketing plan or product plan correctly, it must be written, taking the following points into account:

• That meets the acronym SMART.
• Be simple, concrete, and clear.
• Inform the process and its work to each member.

Steps To Write SMART Goals

Clarify and simplify your SMART goals Goals sometimes tend to be confusing. Each of the objectives should be summarized to such an extent that each can be written in two sentences. In these sentences, the points should be clarified: S-specific, M-measurable, A-achievable, R-realistic, and T- timely

1. Organize And Rank Your SMART Goals

In the creation of a marketing plan objective, it is important to classify it since we will not only create an objective in the business so when organizing it by its typology, it will clarify each one of them: number of Web visits, growth of possible clients, sales, an increase of the brand on Instagram, etc.

2. Mark A Specific Number For Each SMART Objective

The appropriate thing is to create a spreadsheet (or Excel) and create a table like this (example below) to mark the figures for each objective and update those data every so often: 1/4 or 1/6 of the duration of the objective. For example:

3. Objective Estimated     Figure      Current Figure

             Web visits                     10,000                   8,500

             No. of Sales                  twenty                     5

In case of being an already advanced project, it will be easy to estimate these figures, making them real. Still, in a new project and without previous data, it won’t be easy to mark these SMART objectives, so you must have an original reference such as:

1. 1. Know the numbers of your direct competition.
   2. Do small tests and get your own results.

4. Select A Deadline

By setting a date, the goal ceases to be mental and becomes real, becoming a more aggressive environment that will produce constant work and will pursue this goal.

But ask yourself, can you get it? It would help if you did not only create a commitment to time but also be realistic. What time do you have? What resources do you have to fulfill it?

5. The Road Is Never “Rose-Colored.”

The time of each target is always estimated smoothly along the way. But inconveniences will arise that will make us delay times. We must estimate these problems and set realistic goals in an environment with possible drawbacks.

Setting SMART goals in our marketing plan assures us of a good procedure to achieve them, although they are not a guarantee of success. But if by following your criteria we may have more possibilities of meeting them.

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