Business goals are part of a larger process that starts with the vision and mission of your company and ends with specific goals, objectives, and action plans that help you move your business forward. Business goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound). This helps ensure they are strategic and clearly defined. Goals are general statements of the achievements you would like to reach, and you can set them in a variety of different areas.
Revenue Goal Examples
Growing revenue is a common goal for many businesses. You want to be sure you include leaders from the marketing, sales and production departments to help make certain that the goals you choose are appropriate and have strong support.
Some examples of revenue goals include:
- Increase sales for green, yellow, and blue widgets by 10% each by the end of the year
- Increase the income in our Midwest Division by 15% by September 1
- Raise prices by 5% over the course of the next 12 months
Once you have set revenue goals, you'll then need to establish specific business objectives that will help you achieve the desired results.
Sample Profitability Goals
Simply bringing in more money does not mean that your organization will be more profitable. To increase profitability, you must improve revenue and cut costs at the same time. You may also include efficiency goals, because increasing efficiency saves the company money. When your business saves money, you can be more profitable.
You may set the following profitability goals:
- Negotiate with suppliers to cut costs on raw materials by 3% within the next two years
- Implement a training program to help sales representatives shorten sales calls by 5%
- Reduce facilities expense by 15% over the next five years
Setting and meeting goals that increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve efficiency is essential for businesses focused on boosting profitability.
Examples of Customer Service Goals
All companies operate to serve their customers. Whether your clients are individual consumers or other companies, you want them to have a great experience every time they interact with you. When your organization is known for being easy to do business with, it will be simpler to attract new clients and build your company.
Examples of customer service goals include:
- Reduce the response time in the customer service queue by 10% by the end of the year
- Improve customer satisfaction survey results from an average of 3.5/5 to an average of 4/5 by December 1
- Increase the number of self-service help articles from 50 to 150 by October 1
When you have strong results in customer service, you will retain more of your current clients. This will help you grow more quickly and improve profitability more easily.
Sample Goals for Employee Retention
In addition to improving customer retention, it's also important to retain your valued employees. When you can keep your top talent happy and performing well, your business will be more productive and cost-efficient.
Consider the following examples of employee retention goals:
- Reduce first-year turnover by 15% before January 1
- Implement an employee feedback system by October 1
- Create a special purpose team focused on improving employee engagement by September 15
Employee retention can make a considerable difference in the success of your business, especially in industries where talent is in high demand.
Key Considerations When Setting Goals
When setting business goals, be sure to:
- Include the affected stakeholder groups in the goal-setting process. For instance, setting sales goals without involving your sales manager can lead to unrealistic objectives and poor buy-in from the sales department.
- Keep in mind your five and ten-year goals when setting annual goals. When you have a strong sense of where the company is going long-term, you can set annual goals that will help the company reach your larger ambitions for the future.
Goals Are Just the Start
Setting goals is an important first step to improving your company's performance. However, unless they are backed up by specific action plans, your annual plan will just be a document that gathers dust. By breaking goals down and assigning responsibility for specific objectives, you'll be able to turn your business goals into reality.
